SOC101 – INTRO TO SOCIOLOGY
th
Oct 26 , 2016
Lecture 7 – Groups and Organizations
The bonds that unite: Speaking of ‘we’
- Looking at how individuals are brought together within larger configurations of people. How
does this occur, under what circumstances and with what effects?
o What purpose do these groups have?
o Why are we drawn to joining particular groups?
o What does our memberships to these groups mean, etc.
- Another way of putting it: who do we mean when we say ‘all of us’, ‘we demand’, and ‘we
would agree’, who is the ‘we’?
o How is it constituted?
Social Groups
- A collection of two or more people who interact frequently with one another person and
share a sense of belonging
o Can also say they are composed of set of people who identify with one another, and
adhere to defined norms, roles, or statuses
o i.e. Members of a family, sports team, college
Primary groups
- Groups where norms, roles and statuses are agreed upon but not put in writing
o Social interaction leads to strong emotional ties, extends over long periods, and
involves a wide range of activities
o Results in group members knowing one another well
i.e. The family (most important)
Secondary groups
- Larger groups and more impersonal
o Social interaction in narrow range of activities over shorter periods of time that create
weaker emotional ties
i.e. Sociology class
Inclusion and exclusion: In-groups and out-groups
- In-Group members: Those who belong to a group
o In-group members typically draw boundary separating themselves from members of
out-group (policing between the two)
o Also try to keep out-group members from crossing the line
i.e. Unions
- Out-group members: Those who are excluded from an in-group
- Boundary separating groups: race class, athletic ability, academic talent, physical
attractiveness
Network:
- Network: A web of social relationships that link one person with other people and through
them with more people that those people know. Patters of exchange determine boundaries
of the network
- Social Network: Maybe formal (defined in writing) but are more often informal (defined only
in practice)
o Used to study spread of ideas or diseases across a population
o Network analysis – becoming more important in sociology (also used for crime)
Networks starting premise
- Social life is created primarily and most importantly by relations and the patterns formed by
these relations
- Defined as a set of notes (or network members) that are tied by one or more types of
relations
Network analysis
- Connectedness (e.g. the idea that individuals are connected by six degrees of separation
- Contagion (i.e. the flow of influence across ties and potency of influence up to 3
connections)
- Our connections shape networks:
o Who we associate with, usually choosing those like us (homophily)
o How interconnected our relationships are (transitivity)
Mutual friends
o The connection between different networks with which we are a part (multiplexity)
Structural dynamics of:
- 1. Group size
- 2. Frequency of contact
- 3. Strength between ties can affect the flow and receipt of influence
o Strong ties offer consistency and reinforcement
o Weak ties can introduce innovation and exposure to novel information
- Networks shape behaviour through processes such as modeling, reinforcement, and
reference group comparisons
Network effects
- Differential effects occur on the basis on the individual’s structural position
o Those with more connections are more central and therefore more privy to the
communication that flows
o Those on the periphery are less influenced (and are less influential)
Organizations
- Organizations: social groups pursuing defined tasks are otherwise called purpose groups
o Have organizational rules members must follow
- Individuals have different ‘roles’ to play within organizations
- Formal organi
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