week 4 lecture notes

The Real WorldAn Introduction to Sociology

Third Edition

Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein

Chapter 5: Separate and Together:Life in Groups

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What Is a Group?

• A group is a collection of people who share some attribute, identify with one another, and interact with each other.

• Social groups provide the values, norms, and rules that guide people’s lives.

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What Is a Group? (cont’d.)

• A crowd is different because it is simply a temporary gathering of people in a public place whose members may interact but do not identify with each other and will not remain in contact.

Social Network

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Separate from Groups: Anomie

• Since groups provide values, norms, and rules that guide people’s lives, is it possible that the modern world makes people disconnected from their groups and creates feelings of anomie, or normlessness?

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Group Dynamics

• Group dynamics are the patterns of interaction between groups and individuals.

• This includes the ways groups: • Form and fall apart• Influence members

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Group Dynamics (cont’d.)

• A dyad is the smallest possible social group (two members). It is unstable because of the small size—if one person leaves the group, it ceases to exist.

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Group Dynamics (cont’d)

• A triad (a three-person group) is more stable than a dyad. Conflicts between two members can be mediated by the third.

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• An in-group is a group that a person identifies with and feels loyalty toward.

• An out-group is a group that a person feels opposition, rivalry, or hostility toward.

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• A reference group is a group that provides a standard of comparison against which people evaluate themselves.

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• Group cohesion is the sense of solidarity or loyalty that individuals feel toward a group to which they belong.

• A group is more cohesive when the individual members feel strongly tied to the group.

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Group Dynamics (cont’d)

• Too much cohesion can lead to the kind of poor decision making called groupthink, the tendency of very cohesive groups to enforce a high degree of conformity among members, creating a demand for unanimous agreement.

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Social Influence (Peer Pressure)

• Social influence (peer pressure) is the influence of one’s fellow group members on individual attitudes and behaviors.

• Generally we conform to group norms because we want to gain acceptance and approval (positive sanctions) and avoid rejection and disapproval (negative sanctions).

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Types of Conformity

• Compliance: the mildest form of conformity; actions to gain reward or avoid punishment

• Identification: conformity to establish or maintain a relationship with a person or group

• Internalization: the strongest type of conformity; an individual adopts the beliefs or actions of a group and makes them his or her own

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Teamwork

• A group almost always outperforms an individual but rarely performs as well as it could in theory. A group’s efficiency usually declines as its size increases because organizing takes time and social loafing increases with group size.

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Teamwork (cont’d.)

• Group leaders can increase efficiency by recognizing individual effort or by increasing members’ social identity (the degree to which they identify with the group).

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Qualities of Leadership: Power, Authority, and Style

• Power is the ability to control the actions of others. It includes:• Coercive power—backed by the threat of

force • Influential power—supported by

persuasion

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Qualities of Leadership: Power, Authority, and Style (cont’d.)

• Max Weber identified three types of authority found in social organizations.

• Traditional authority is authority based in custom, birthright, or divine right and is usually associated with monarchies and dynasties.

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• Legal-rational authority is authority based in laws, rules, and procedures.

• Charismatic authority is authority based in the perception of remarkable personal qualities in a leader.


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• Instrumental leadership is leadership that is task- or goal-oriented. An instrumental leader is less concerned with people’s feelings than with getting the job done.


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• An expressive leader is concerned with maintaining emotional and relational harmony within the group because this will lead to a positive work environment and improved productivity.


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Bureaucracy

• A bureaucracy is a type of secondary group designed to perform tasks efficiently.

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Bureaucracy (cont’d.)

• Bureaucracies are impersonal but efficient, and they provide many basic necessities.

• George Ritzer coined the term McDonaldization to describe the spread of bureaucratic rationalization and the resulting increase in both efficiency and dehumanization.

The Real WorldAn Introduction to Sociology

Third Edition

Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein

FIGURE 5.1

THE STRENGTH OF WEAK TIES

HIGH STATUSIn the upper class there is a stress on the importance of strong ties and forming elite clubs.

ADMINISTRATIVEAdministrators are most likely to be cosmopolitans and involved in an organization to branch out and form new ties.

PROFESSIONALProfessionals, technical, and managerial workers will most likely hear about new jobs through weak ties.

OFFICE WORKERThe office worker may have mixed connections in both higher and lower classes.

SEMI-PROFESSIONALSemi-professional frequently use weak ties to land or hear about a new job.

EXAMPLE: PART TIME TEACHER4 Strong Ties6 Weak TiesThrough both types of ties he knows people in the class above and below his own.

BLUE COLLARThe majority of people of a lower status will find a job though a relative or close friends.

LOCAL BRIDGEA person who can connect two people who don’t know each other. Bridges can connect people outside their circle and help them reach different jobs.

LOW STATUSFor those of a lower status, weak ties of a similar status are not especially useful or far reaching.

TIGHT CIRCLESWhen everyone in a circle primarily have strong ties with each other, it becomes difficult to reach beyond that circle.

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Life in Groups— Concept Quiz

A collection of people who share a physical location but do not have lasting social relations is called a(n):

a. social network.b. category.c. social group.d. aggregate.

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A bunch of people standing at a terminal in an airport is a(n):

a. group.b. aggregate.c. social network.d. club.


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Your parents would probably be considered a part of your:

a. primary group.b. secondary group.


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A group that provides standards by which we evaluate our own personal attributes is known as a(n):

a. in-group.b. out-group.c. loyal group.d. secondary group.e. reference group.


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Which of the following is the strongest type of conformity?

a. identificationb. peer pressurec. complianced. internalization


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Additional Art for Chapter 5

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The Real World: An Introduction To Sociology, 3rd Edition

Copyright © 2012 W. W. Norton & Company

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© 2012 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.

The Real World3nd Edition

AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

Kerry Ferrisand

Jill Stein

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week 4 lecture notes

Education

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