discussion

Groups

What is a group? The term carries important clinical and scientific meanings in addition to

its generic usage. The concept of a group is central to much of how we think about

society and human interaction. So how can we pin down the meaning more precisely for

sociological purposes?

Defining a Group

The term group can refer to a wide variety of gatherings, from just two people to an

organization of hundreds. A group might be a club, a regular gathering of friends, or

people who work together or share a hobby. A group can be any collection of at least two

people who interact with some frequency and share a sense that their identity is

somehow aligned with the group. Of course, not every gathering of people is a group. A

rally is usually a one-time event, for instance, and belonging to a political party doesn't

necessarily mean interaction with others. People who happen to be in the same place at

the same time but who do not interact or share a sense of identity—such as people

standing in line at Starbucks—are considered an aggregate, or a crowd.

Another example of a nongroup is people who share similar characteristics but are not

tied to one another in any way. These people are considered a category. For example,

people born between about 1980 and 2000 are referred to as Millennials. Why are

Millennials a category and not a group? Because while some Millennials may share a sense

of identity, they do not, as a whole, interact frequently with each other.

Interestingly, people within an aggregate or category can become a group. For example,

during disasters, people in a neighborhood (an aggregate) who did not know each other

might become friendly and depend on each other at the local shelter. After the disaster,

when people go back to simply living near each other, the feeling of cohesiveness may last

since they have all shared an experience. They might remain a group, practicing

emergency readiness, coordinating supplies for next time, or taking turns caring for

neighbors who need extra help.

Learning Resource

Types of Groups

Sociologist Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929) suggested that groups can broadly be

divided into two categories: primary groups and secondary groups (Cooley, 1963).

According to Cooley, primary groups play the most critical role in our lives. The primary

group is usually small and made up of individuals who generally engage face-to-face in

long-term, emotionally significant ways. This group serves emotional needs, and thus it

serves an expressive function for its members. The primary group is usually made up of

significant others—those individuals who have the largest impact on our socialization. The

most common example of a primary group is the family.

Secondary groups are often larger and impersonal. They may also be focused on tasks and

contain particular individuals for a limited time. These groups serve an instrumental

function rather than an expressive one, meaning that their role is more goal- or task-

oriented than emotional. A classroom or office is an example of a secondary group.

Neither primary nor secondary groups are bound by strict definitions or set limits. In fact,

people can move from one group to another. A group of coworkers, for example, can start

as a secondary group, but as the employees work together over the years, they may find

common interests and strong ties that transform them into a primary group.

Sociology in the Real World

Best Friends She's Never Met

Writer Allison Levy worked alone. While she liked the freedom and flexibility

of working from home, she sometimes missed having a community of

coworkers, both for the practical purpose of brainstorming and socializing.

Levy did what many do: She found a group of other writers online. Over time,

a group of approximately 20 writers who all wrote for a similar audience broke

off from the larger forum and started a private one. Their group ended up

consisting of women in their 20s and 30s who all wrote fiction for children and

young adults.

At first, the writers' forum was clearly a secondary group, brought together by

the members' professions and work situations. It was a useful place to

research information about publishers, recent books and authors, and industry

trends. But as time passed, Levy found it served a different purpose. Since the

group shared other characteristics beyond their writing (such as age and

gender), their conversation naturally turned to matters such as child-rearing,

aging parents, health, and exercise. When people didn't post for several days,

others expressed concern. It reached the point where most members would

tell the group if they were travelling or needed to be offline for a while.

Is this a primary group? Most of these people have never met each other. They

live in Hawaii, Australia, Minnesota, and across the world. They may never

meet. But the connection is meaningful and long term Despite the distance

and lack of physical contact, the group clearly fills an expressive need.

In-Groups and Out-Groups

One of the ways that groups can be powerful is through inclusion, and its inverse,

exclusion. The feeling that we belong in an elite or select group is a powerful one, while

the feeling of not being allowed in, or of being in competition with a group, can be

motivating in a different way. William Graham Sumner (1840–1910) developed the

concepts of in-group and out-group to explain this phenomenon (Sumner, 1959). In short,

an individual's in-group is the group that person feels a part of to that point that it is a

part of the person's self. An out-group, conversely, is a group someone doesn't belong to.

Often we feel disdain or competition toward an out-group. Sports teams, unions, and

sororities are examples of in-groups and out-groups. Primary groups consist of both in-

groups and out-groups, as do secondary groups.

While group affiliations can be neutral or positive, the concept of in-groups and out-

groups can also explain some negative human behavior, such as White supremacist

movements. By defining others as "not like us" and inferior, in-groups can end up

practicing ethnocentrism, racism, sexism, ageism, and heterosexism—manners of judging

others negatively based on their culture, race, sex, age, or sexuality, or other forms of

discriminatory othering.

Often, in-groups can form within a secondary group. For instance, there may be cliques

within a workplace, from senior executives who play golf together to engineers who write

code together to young people who socialize after hours. While these in-groups might

show favoritism and affinity for other in-group members, the overall organization may be

unable or unwilling to acknowledge it. It can pay to be wary of the politics of in-groups,

since members may exclude others to gain status within the group.

Reference Groups

A reference group is a group that people compare themselves to, one that provides a

standard of measurement. In US society, peer groups are common reference groups. Both

children and adults pay attention to what their peers wear, what music they like, what

they do with their free time, and more, and they compare themselves to what they see.

Most people have more than one reference group, so a middle school boy might look at

his classmates but also at his older brother's friends, where he might see a different set of

norms. He might also observe the behaviors of his favorite athletes for another point of

reference.

Some other examples of reference groups can include one's cultural center, workplace, or

family. Often, reference groups convey competing messages. For instance, on television

and in movies, young adults often have wonderful apartments, fancy cars, and lively social

lives despite spending little or no time working. This might be at odds with what a young

adult sees in a peer group. At all ages, we use reference groups to help guide our behavior

and establish our social norms.

Group Leadership

Often, groups require some kind of leadership. In small, primary groups, leadership tends

to be informal. After all, most families and groups of friends don't take a vote on who will

rule the group. This is not to say that de facto leaders don't emerge, but formal leadership

is rare. In secondary groups, leadership is usually more overt. These groups often outline

roles and responsibilities, with a chain of command to follow. Some secondary groups, like

the military, have highly structured and clearly understood chains of command, and

sometimes lives depend on those. Other secondary groups, like a workplace or a

classroom, also have formal leaders, but the styles and functions of leadership can vary

significantly.

Leadership function refers to the main goal of the leader, which may be instrumental or

expressive. An instrumental leader is one who is goal-oriented and largely concerned with

accomplishing set tasks. An army general or a Fortune 500 CEO would most likely be an

instrumental leader. In contrast, expressive leaders are more concerned with promoting

emotional well-being and ensuring that people feel supported. Social and religious leaders

—rabbis, priests, imams, directors of youth homes and social service programs, etc.—are

often expressive leaders. Most people, regardless of gender, tend to prefer leaders who

use a combination of expressive and instrumental leadership (Boatwright & Forrest, 2000).

Sociologists recognize three leadership styles. Democratic leaders encourage group

participation in all decision making. They work hard to build consensus before choosing a

course of action and moving forward. This type of leader is particularly common in groups

like school clubs or professional organizations, where members vote on priorities or

activities to pursue. Democratic leaders may be well liked, but there is a risk that

decisions will proceed slowly because it takes time to build consensus. Another risk is that

group members might pick sides and entrench themselves into opposing factions, rather

than reaching a solution.

In contrast, a laissez-faire (French for "leave it alone") leader is hands-off, allowing group

members to self-manage and make their own decisions. An example of this kind of leader

might be an art teacher who opens the art cupboard, leaves materials on the shelves, and

tells students to help themselves and make some art. While this style can work well with

highly motivated and mature participants who have clear goals and guidelines, it risks

group dissolution and a lack of progress.

Finally, authoritarian leaders issue orders and assign tasks with little to no feedback from

group members. These leaders are often instrumental leaders with a strong focus on

meeting goals. Many entrepreneurs, like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, fall into this

mold. Unsurprisingly, authoritarian leaders risk alienating workers. When decisions need

to be made quickly or informed by a high level of expertise, however, this style of

leadership may be required.

In different circumstances, each of these leadership styles can be effective and successful.

Consider what leadership style you prefer. Why? Do you like the same style in different

areas of your life, such as a classroom, a workplace, and a sports team?

References

Boatwright, K. J., & Forrest, L. (2000). Leadership preferences: The influence of gender

and needs for connection on workers' ideal preferences for leadership behaviors.

The Journal of Leadership Studies, 7(2): 18–34.

Cooley, C. H. (1963). Social organizations: A study of the larger mind. Shocken.

Sumner, W. (1959). Folkways. Dover.

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