Social relationships and patterns of interactions

become “institutions” the moment they start being

governed by formal and informal agreements (e.g.
written laws, contracts) or by strong traditional
norms. The agreements may dictate the concrete
forms of arrangements within the ambit (bounds or
limit) of specific interest and goals. The word
‘organizations’ here does not exclusively refer to
types of association. Rather, it pertains to patterns
of arrangements shaped and conditioned by the
overarching concern that they aim to address.
 Social
Aggregation

Social
Categories

Social
Groups
In sociology…
o Social Aggregates – a simple collection of
people who happened to be together in a
particular place but do not significantly interact
or identify with one another.

o Social Categories – people who share a common

characteristic (such as gender or occupation) but
do not necessarily interact or identify with one
another.
 When the relationship starts to go beyond mere
“co-presence” or mere “co-category” a group starts
to emerge. That’s why GROUP can be described as
a collection of individuals who have regular contact
and frequent interaction, mutual influence, common
feeling of belongingness, and work together to
achieve a common set of goals.
 Although groups are collection of individuals, they
may differ in terms of what binds these individual
together.
For example:
FAMILY- can be considered
as a group but it is different
from a peer group or interest group.

* Some groups are bonded by the actual feeling of

belongingness but some individuals may have the same feeling
without them being recognized by the group as part of them.
- a collection of people who regularly interact with
one another on the basis of shared expectations
concerning behavior and who share a common
identity.
- Typically a small social group whose members
share close, personal, enduring relationships.
- Marked by members’ concern for one another and
shared activities and culture.
- Examples: Families, childhood friends, and
highly influential social groups.
- They are typically a small-scale, include intimate
relationships, and are usually long-lasting.
- The members of primary groups feel a strong personal
identity with the group.
-can be small or large and they are mostly
impersonal and usually short-term.
-has opposite characteristics of a primary group.
-these groups are typically found in work and school.
Example:
a committee organized to plan a holiday party at
work.
 Basic Features
(in terms of level of
Group intimacy, duration of Examples
interaction, and reason of
interaction)

Small; characterized by Family, childhood friends

long lasting intimate
Primary Group relationship which binds
members together more
than the goal.

Can be large or small; Project group

common interests bind the
Secondary Group members together more
than their relationship.
-this is a group to which we compare ourselves.
-we used reference group in order to guide our
behaviors and attitudes and help us to identify
social norms.
-also called as “identity association group” since its
creation is fueled by a person’s desire to provide a
character connection.
- Can be classified as in-group or out-group.
 Basic Features (in terms
Group of feeling of Examples
belongingness)

Reference Group In-Group; social groups to Fraternity

which an individual feels
he/she belongs. One feels
loyalty and respect for this
groups.

Out-Group; social groups Sports team opponent

that an individual does not
identify with. One feels
antagonism and contempt
for these groups.
Groups and how they behave are not necessarily
categorized in terms of membership, actual as in
the primary and secondary group and imagined as
in the reference group. They may be categorized in
terms of how an individual is linked to an actual or
imagined groups, as in the networks defined as sets
of informal and formal social ties that link people to
each other.
-may not be a physical group or a group that is
populated by actual people.

-formed by the presence of social linkage invoked

and availed by an individual for some personal,
economic, religious, or political reasons.
 Groups may influence their members in a variety
of ways, from their thinking to their actual
behavior.
 Groups are part of our social psyches, in thoughts
and in actions. History is replete with examples
of this phenomenon: the Holocaust, the Guyana
mass suicides and terrorism.
When this happens, the groupthink takes place.

What is a Groupthink?
-A process by which the members of a group ignore
ways of thinking and plans of action that go against
the group consensus.
-In general sense, psychological influence exerted
over us by our respective groups on moral, legal,
scientific and religious matters.
-evaluative in nature, hence, it may affect the
relationships of groups with each other.