Unit 16 Social groups

1. What is a social group?

A social group is a set of individuals who identify with one another and who interact in informally structured ways based on norms, goals, and values that they share implicitly. Social groups differ from formal organisations (defined below) in several ways: social groups are usually smaller than formal organisations (that is, they have fewer participants); statuses, roles, and responsibilities are more fluid and less precise in social groups than in formal organisations; and goals are explicit in formal organisations but are implicit (understood without being articulated precisely) in social groups.

Social groups influence the lives of members in several important ways. Through membership in various social groups, people's private lives are connected to others and to the wider society. Membership in social groups also provides us with security and support from people we can count on. Finally, social groups shape our values, attitudes, and behaviour.

Not all collections of people are social groups. Shoppers in a grocery store do not constitute a social group: they do not interact frequently; their behaviour is not structured in terms of statuses, roles, and shared norms; they do not agree on collective goals, values, or norms; and they do not consider this activity to be an important part of their social identity. The term " aggregate" is used to describe people who just happen to be in the same place at the same time.

By contrast, the boys marooned on an island in Golding's novel exhibit the following four characteristics of all social groups: the members interact with each other regularly; members' interactions are structured (or organised into patterns of expected behaviour) through statuses, roles, and norms; the members agree (to some extent) on shared norms, goals, and values; and member­ship in the group becomes a part of each member's social identity.

2. What are group dynamics, and how are these affected by the size of a social group?

Group dynamics are the recurrent patterns of social interaction among members of a social group. Groups dynamics include patterns of conformity and control, emergence of leadership roles, and processes of group decision making. Each of these group dynamics is affected strongly by the size of the group.

The number of people in a social group has profound implications for its organisation and for the behaviour of its members. The consequences of group size for group dynamics are apparent even in the seemingly slight increase from a two-person group (a dyad) to a three-person group (a triad). For example, in a dyad both members must participate or the group ceases to exist; in a triad, the third member could quit and the group could continue as a dyad. For this reason, interactions in dyads often contain more tension than those in triads because each member of the pair knows that the group would not survive without him or her. In addition, members of a dyad cannot hide responsibilities for events (if you didn't do it, the other person must be responsible), but in a triad one can never be certain which of the other two members is to be blamed or praised for something that happens. Finally, in a dyad there is no mediator or third party who might intercede in a dispute between the other two members, a situation that cannot occur in a dyad. Finally, two people can join in a coalition against the third in a triad, but this is obviously impos­sible in a dyad.

Other changes occur when a social group is enlarged from two or three members to one hundred or one thousand members. First, the increase in size encourages development of a specialised division of labour, as tasks are assigned to occupants of specific roles. Second, increased group size creates difficulties in communicating information among members (proportionately fewer members speak in large groups than in small ones). Third, large groups have more resources (money, expertise, personnel) to solve problems, but the proportional contribution of each member is reduced as the group increases in size. Fourth, because of greater amounts of differentiation among members, it is more difficult to reach consensus in large groups than in small groups.

3. How do patterns of conformity (to group norms), leadership, and decision making vary among social groups?

Social control in social groups takes two forms. First, members of the group may be committed to a set of norms and values, and their behaviour conforms to these shared expectations. The acceptance of shared norms binds a group together. When such commitment and conformity break down, however, a second form of social control sometimes arises: the use-or the threatened use - of force.

Leadership patterns in social groups also vary depending upon the situation. People who become leaders do not possess a single set of personality traits. Some (but not all) leaders-like John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King—exhibit charisma, a special magnetic quality that causes people to accept their authority. According to Bales, social groups need two different kinds of leaders in order to accomplish two different goals. The task leader directs group members to perform certain tasks, while the socio-emotional leader maintains good spirits and relations within the group. Among the boys in Lord of the Flies, leadership roles shifted over time as circumstances changed; this is the case for most social groups.

All groups are required to make decisions, a process that involves four stages: 1) orientation to the problem and collection of available information; 2) evaluation of the possibilities; 3) eliminating options and making the decision; and 4) restoring equilibrium or balance after the consequences of the decision become apparent. Sometimes groupthink prevents effective decision making: members become so concerned about agreement, consensus, and unanimity that they overlook or dismiss as unimportant some of the major problems that confront them. Groupthink often results when a group insulates itself from new ideas and helpful criticism from those outside the group. The pressures for conformity within the group make it impossible for insiders to question the value of the group's decision.