Reference Groups
Sociologists are also interested in how we use groups to judge ourselves and our
attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and actions (Hyman 1942; Hyman and Singer 1968; Singer
1981). The groups we use for this purpose are reference groups. A reference group is a
group with which we compare ourselves. Each group can be a reference group if we use
it to judge something about ourselves. Considering what a good friend would think of
a new girlfriend or how to dress to fit a new coworker on the first day of work are both
ways to use a reference group.
We can also have negative reference groups that we don't want. Dressing in hip-
hop, punk, or gothic styles distinguishes children from their parents and conservative
stances. Reference groups don't even have to be real. Girls and women who judge their
bodies by flawless-looking, skinny models, featured on the covers of women's
magazines or advertisements are measuring themselves against a fictional, and
unattainable reference group (Kilbourne 2000). Children who compared their parents to
their parents in television sitcoms made similar fictional reference group comparisons.
Group Size
The size of the group affects the interactions that occur within the group.
Sociologist Georg Simmel discusses the importance of this concept. Simmel noted that
the smallest possible group consisted of two people. This group is called group two or
number two. This group is often our strongest and most intimate relationship, like
marriage. The existence of the number two depends on the two people. If someone left,
the group ceased to exist. As Simmel puts it, "for his life, the group needed both, but
for his death, only one" (1964, 124). Each person holds full responsibility for the group's
achievements or failures, as there are no additional members to shift the blame or effort.
Because of the importance of marriage to society and the instability of couples
as a group, cultural, religious, and legal guidance is often provided to support marriage
and increase the stability of number two. A group of three people is a triad. The addition
of a third person greatly changed the dynamics of the group. The addition of just one
person also makes the group more stable. Simmel noted that this third person added the
possibility of a mediator when two members disagreed. If one person is distracted from
maintaining the group relationship, the group continues to exist with the efforts of the
other two members. However, the addition of a third person also increases the
possibility of forming a coalition against one person. Another possibility is that this
third person might be triggering a problem between the other two for personal gain.
Simmel also noted that as groups become larger in size, they generally become
more stable and less intimate, with less need for each member. Larger groups can lose
members and remain in existence. For example, the owner regularly trades members of
a sports team, and military units can lose members in combat but still exist. Although
the relationship between individuals in the unit may be rather intense, the missing
members are replaced by newcomers, and the unit continues to function. Interaction
with members outside the group can also increase as the group grows (Blau 1977;
Carley 1991). As groups become larger, they also tend to develop formal structures such
as bureaucracy which will be discussed later in this chapter.
NETWORK
Sociologists have also pointed out the importance of our relationships that occur
outside of defined groups in networks, patterned relationships that connect us with
people outside of our established groups. Network relationships are constantly changing
as people come and go from our lives. Sociologist Barry Wellman offers a good
illustration of the network when explaining that it was impossible to list New York City
gang membership when he grew up there during the 1950s: "My New York is made up
of unlimited groups of friends and friends of friends. When a fight is coming, a group
of friends will call each other and gather to become a gang for the night. On other nights,
when other friends called, some of the same teenagers would become members of other
gangs" (1999a, 94). Although these network bonds are weaker than those in the group
we are assigning, they remain very important in our daily lives (Granovetter 1973,
1982). Social networks exist throughout society.
They are important aspects of kinship bonds (Lai 2001), providing advice (Cross,
Borgatti, and Parker 2001), organized crime (Chambliss 1988), drug use and HIV/AIDS
prevention (Friedman 1999), finding a job (Lin, Ensel, and Vaughn 1981), and deal-
making between businesses and politicians that occur at social events (Domhoff 1974).
Networks are also formed among Internet users in cyberspace (Wellman 1999b;
Kendall, 2002). Sociological research on how networks connect people in different
places (Milgram 1967; White 1970) even became the basis for the popular Hollywood
film Six Degrees of Separation.
