![social-network](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Social-network.svg)
In the
social science
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...
s, a social group can be defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties. For example, a
society
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...
can be viewed as a large social group. The system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group or between social groups is known as
group dynamics
Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group (''intra''group dynamics), or between social groups ( ''inter''group dynamics). The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision- ...
.
Definition
Social cohesion approach
A social group exhibits some degree of
social cohesion
Group cohesiveness (also called group cohesion and social cohesion) arises when bonds link members of a social group to one another and to the group as a whole. Although cohesion is a multi-faceted process, it can be broken down into four main co ...
and is more than a simple collection or aggregate of individuals, such as people waiting at a bus stop, or people waiting in a line. Characteristics shared by members of a group may include
interests,
values
In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of di ...
,
representations
''Representations'' is an interdisciplinary journal in the humanities published quarterly by the University of California Press. The journal was established in 1983 and is the founding publication of the New Historicism movement of the 1980s. It ...
, ethnic or social background, and
kinship ties. Kinship ties being a social bond based on common ancestry, marriage or adoption.
In a similar vein, some researchers consider the defining characteristic of a group as
social interaction. According to
Dunbar's number
Dunbar's number is a suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships—relationships in which an individual knows who each person is and how each person relates to every other person. This ...
, on
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
, people cannot maintain stable
social relations
A social relation or also described as a social interaction or social experience is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more individuals ...
hips with more than 150 individuals.
Social psychologist
Muzafer Sherif
Muzafer Sherif (born Muzaffer Şerif Başoğlu; July 29, 1906 – October 16, 1988) was a Turkish-American social psychologist. He helped develop social judgment theory and realistic conflict theory.
Sherif was a founder of modern social psych ...
proposed to define a
social unit
The term "level of analysis" is used in the social sciences to point to the location, size, or scale of a research target.
"Level of analysis" is distinct from the term " unit of observation" in that the former refers to a more or less integrated ...
as a number of individuals interacting with each other with respect to:
# Common motives and goals
# An accepted
division of labor, i.e. roles
# Established status (
social rank, dominance) relationships
# Accepted norms and values with reference to matters relevant to the group
# Development of accepted
sanctions (praise and punishment) if and when norms were respected or violated
This definition is long and complex, but it is also precise. It succeeds in providing the researcher with the tools required to answer three important questions:
# "How is a group formed?"
# "How does a group function?"
# "How does one describe those social interactions that occur on the way to forming a group?"
Significance of that definition
The attention of those who use, participate in, or study groups has focused on functioning groups, on larger organizations, or on the decisions made in these
organization
An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is an legal entity, entity—such as ...
s. Much less attention has been paid to the more ubiquitous and universal social behaviors that do not clearly demonstrate one or more of the five necessary elements described by Sherif.
Some of the earliest efforts to understand these social units have been the extensive descriptions of urban street
gang
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...
s in the 1920s and 1930s, continuing through the 1950s, which understood them to be largely reactions to the established authority. The primary goal of gang members was to defend gang territory, and to define and maintain the dominance structure within the gang. There remains in the popular media and urban law enforcement agencies an avid interest in gangs, reflected in daily headlines which emphasize the criminal aspects of gang behavior. However, these studies and the continued interest have not improved the capacity to influence gang behavior or to reduce gang related violence.
The relevant literature on
animal social behaviors, such as work on territory and dominance, has been available since the 1950s. Also, they have been largely neglected by policy makers, sociologists and anthropologists. Indeed, vast literature on organization, property, law enforcement, ownership, religion, warfare, values, conflict resolution, authority, rights, and families have grown and evolved without any reference to any analogous social behaviors in animals. This disconnect may be the result of the belief that social behavior in humankind is radically different from the social behavior in animals because of the human capacity for language use and rationality. Of course, while this is true, it is equally likely that the study of the social (group) behaviors of other animals might shed light on the evolutionary roots of social behavior in people.
Territorial and dominance behaviors in humans are so universal and commonplace that they are simply taken for granted (though sometimes admired, as in home ownership, or deplored, as in violence). But these social behaviors and interactions between human individuals play a special role in the study of groups: ''they are necessarily prior to the formation of groups''. The psychological internalization of territorial and dominance experiences in conscious and unconscious memory are established through the formation of
social identity,
personal identity
Personal identity is the unique numerical identity of a person over time. Discussions regarding personal identity typically aim to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions under which a person at one time and a person at another time ca ...
, body concept, or
self concept. An adequately functioning individual identity is necessary before an individual can function in a division of labor (role), and hence, within a cohesive group. Coming to understand territorial and dominance behaviors may thus help to clarify the development, functioning, and productivity of groups.
Social identification approach
Explicitly contrasted against a social cohesion based definition for social groups is the
social identity perspective, which draws on insights made in
social identity theory.
[Tajfel, H., and J. C. Turner (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W.G. Austin & S. Worchel (eds.), ''The social psychology of intergroup relations.'' pp. 33–47. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole] Here, rather than defining a social group based on expressions of cohesive social
relationships between individuals, the social identity model assumes that "psychological group membership has primarily a perceptual or cognitive basis."
It posits that the necessary and sufficient condition for individuals to act as group members is "awareness of a common category membership" and that a social group can be "usefully conceptualized as a number of individuals who have internalized the same social category membership as a component of their self concept."
Stated otherwise, while the social cohesion approach expects group members to ask "who am I attracted to?", the social identity perspective expects group members to simply ask "who am I?"
Empirical support for the social identity perspective on groups was initially drawn from work using the
minimal group paradigm The minimal group paradigm is a method employed in social psychology. Although it may be used for a variety of purposes, it is best known as a method for investigating the minimal conditions required for discrimination to occur between groups. Exper ...
. For example, it has been shown that the mere act of allocating individuals to explicitly random categories is sufficient to lead individuals to act in an
ingroup
In sociology and social psychology, an in-group is a social group to which a person psychologically identifies as being a member. By contrast, an out-group is a social group with which an individual does not identify. People may for example ide ...
favouring fashion (even where no individual self-interest is possible). Also problematic for the social cohesion account is recent research showing that seemingly meaningless categorization can be an antecedent of perceptions of interdependence with fellow category members.
While the roots of this approach to social groups had its foundations in social identity theory, more concerted exploration of these ideas occurred later in the form of
self-categorization theory
Self-categorization theory is a theory in social psychology that describes the circumstances under which a person will perceive collections of people (including themselves) as a group, as well as the consequences of perceiving people in group terms ...
.
Whereas social identity theory was directed initially at the explanation of intergroup conflict in the absence of any conflict of interests, self-categorization theory was developed to explain how individuals come to perceive themselves as members of a group in the first place, and how this self-grouping process underlies and determines all problems subsequent aspects of group behaviour.
Defining characteristics
In his text, ''Group Dynamics,'' Forsyth (2010) discuses several common characteristics of groups that can help to define them.
1) Interaction
This group component varies greatly, including verbal or non-verbal communication, social loafing, networking, forming bonds, etc. Research by Bales (cite, 1950, 1999) determine that there are two main types of interactions; relationship interactions and task interactions.
# Relationship interactions: “actions performed by group members that relate to or influence the emotional and interpersonal bonds within the group, including both positive actions (social support, consideration) and negative actions (criticism, conflict).”
# Task interactions: “actions performed by group members that pertain to the group’s projects, tasks, and goals.”
This involve members organizing themselves and utilizing their skills and resources to achieve something.
2) Goals
Most groups have a reason for their existence, be it increasing the education and knowledge, receiving emotional support, or experiencing spirituality or religion. Groups can facilitate the achievement of these goals.
The
circumplex model of group tasks
The circumplex model of group tasks is a circle with four quadrants representing goal-related activities done by groups of people. The activities are: generating a task, choosing correct procedure, negotiating resolutions to conflicts, and executi ...
by Joseph McGrath organizes group related tasks and goals. Groups may focus on several of these goals, or one area at a time. The model divides group goals into four main types, which are further sub-categorized
# Generating: coming up with ideas and plans to reach goals
#* Planning Tasks
#* Creativity Tasks
# Choosing: Selecting a solution.
#* Intellective Tasks
#* Decision-making Tasks
# Negotiating: Arranging a solution to a problem.
#* Cognitive Conflict Tasks
#* Mixed Motive Task
# Executing: Act of carrying out a task.
#* Contests/Battles/Competitive Tasks
#* Performance/Psychomotor Tasks
3) Interdependence in relation
“The state of being dependent, to some degree, on other people, as when one’s outcomes, actions, thoughts, feelings, and experiences are determined in whole or part by others."
Some groups are more interdependent than others. For example, a sports team would have a relatively high level of interdependence as compared to a group of people watching a movie at the movie theater. Also, interdependence may be mutual (flowing back and forth between members) or more linear/unilateral. For example, some group members may be more dependent on their boss than the boss is on each of the individuals.
4) Structure
Group structure involves the emergence or regularities, norms, roles and relations that form within a group over time. Roles involve the expected performance and conduct of people within the group depending on their status or position within the group. Norms are the ideas adopted by the group pertaining to acceptable and unacceptable conduct by members. Group structure is a very important part of a group. If people fail to meet their expectations within to groups, and fulfil their roles, they may not accept the group, or be accepted by other group members.
5) Unity
When viewed holistically, a group is greater than the sum of its individual parts. When people speak of groups, they speak of the group as a whole, or an entity, rather than speaking of it in terms of individuals. For example, it would be said that “The ''band'' played beautifully.” Several factors play a part in this image of unity, including group cohesiveness, and entitativity (appearance of cohesion by outsiders).
Types
There are four main types of groups: 1) primary groups, 2) social groups, 3) collectives, and 4) categories.
[ Forsyth, Donelson R. 2009. ''Group Dynamics'' (5th ed.). New York: ]Wadsworth Wadsworth may refer to:
People
* Wadsworth (surname)
* Wadsworth (given name)
Places
* Wadsworth, Illinois, United States, a village
* Wadsworth, Kansas, United States
* Wadsworth, Nevada, United States, a census-designated place
* Wadswo ...
. .
1) Primary groups
Primary groups
are small, long-term groups characterized by high amounts of cohesiveness, member identification, face-to-face interaction, and solidarity. Such groups may act as the principal source of socialization for individuals as primary groups may shape an individual's attitudes, values, and social orientation.
Three sub-groups of primary groups are:
# kin (relatives)
# close friends
# neighbours.
2) Social groups
Social groups
are also small groups but are of moderate duration. These groups are often formed due to a common goal. In this type of group, it is possible for outgroup members (i.e., social categories of which one is not a member)
to become ingroup members (i.e., social categories of which one is a member)
with reasonable ease. Social groups, such as study groups or coworkers, interact moderately over a prolonged period of time.
3) Collectives
In contrast, spontaneous collectives,
such as bystanders or audiences of various sizes, exist only for a very brief period of time and it is very easy to become an ingroup member from an outgroup member and vice versa. Collectives may display similar actions and outlooks.
4) Categories
Categories
consist of individuals that are similar to one another in a certain way, and members of this group can be permanent ingroup members or temporary ingroup members. Examples of categories are individuals with the same ethnicity, gender, religion, or nationality. This group is generally the largest type of group.
Health
The social groups people are involved with in the workplace directly affect their health. No matter where you work or what the occupation is, feeling a sense of belonging in a peer group is a key to overall success. Part of this is the responsibility of the leader (manager, supervisor, etc.). If the leader helps everyone feel a sense of belonging within the group, it can help boost morale and productivity. According to Dr. Niklas Steffens "Social identification contributes to both psychological and physiological health, but the health benefits are stronger for psychological health". The social relationships people have can be linked to different health conditions. Lower quantity or quality social relationships have been connected to issues such as: development of
cardiovascular disease,
recurrent myocardial infarction,
atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis in which the wall of the artery develops abnormalities, called lesions. These lesions may lead to narrowing due to the buildup of atheromatous plaque. At onset there are usually no s ...
, autonomic dysregulation,
high blood pressure,
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
and delayed cancer recovery, and slower wound healing as well as inflammatory biomarkers and impaired immune function, factors associated with adverse health outcomes and mortality. The social relationship of marriage is the most studied of all, the marital history over the course of one's life can form differing health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease, chronic conditions, mobility limitations, self-rated health, and depressive symptoms. Social connectedness also plays a large part in overcoming certain conditions such as drug, alcohol, or substance abuse. With these types of issues, a person's peer group play a big role in helping them stay sober. Conditions do not need to be life-threatening, one's social group can help deal with work anxiety as well. When people are more socially connected have access to more support. Some of the health issues people have may also stem from their uncertainty about just where they stand among their colleagues. It has been shown that being well socially connected has a significant impact on a person as they age, according to a 10-year study by the MacArthur Foundation, which was published in the book 'Successful Aging'
the support, love, and care we feel through our social connections can help to counteract some of the health-related negatives of aging. Older people who were more active in social circles tended to be better off health-wise.
Group membership and recruitment
Social groups tend to form based on certain principles of attraction, that draw individuals to affiliate with each other, eventually forming a group.
*
The Proximity Principle – the tendency for individuals to develop relationships and form groups with those they are (often physically) close to. This is often referred to as ‘familiarity breeds liking’, or that we prefer things/people that we are familiar with
*
The Similarity Principle – the tendency for individuals to affiliate with or prefer individuals who share their attitudes, values, demographic characteristics, etc.
*
The Complementarity Principle – the tendency for individuals to like other individuals who are dissimilar from themselves, but in a complementary manner. E.g. leaders will attract those who like being led, and those who like being led will attract leaders
*
The Reciprocity Principle – the tendency for liking to be mutual. For example, if A likes B, B is inclined to like A. Conversely, if A dislikes B, B will probably not like A (negative reciprocity)
*
The Elaboration Principle – the tendency for groups to complexify over time by adding new members through their relationships with existing group members. In more formal or structured groups, prospective members may need a reference from a current group member before they can join.
Other factors also influence the formation of a group.
Extroverts may seek out groups more, as they find larger and more frequent interpersonal interactions stimulating and enjoyable (more than
introverts). Similarly, groups may seek out extroverts more than introverts, perhaps because they find they connect with extroverts more readily. Those higher in relationality (attentiveness to their relations with other people) are also likelier to seek out and prize group membership. Relationality has also been associated with extroversion and agreeableness. Similarly, those with a high need for affiliation are more drawn to join groups, spend more time with groups and accept other group members more readily.
Previous experiences with groups (good and bad) inform people's decisions to join prospective groups. Individuals will compare the rewards of the group (e.g. belonging, emotional support, informational support, instrumental support, spiritual support; see Uchino, 2004 for an overview) against potential costs (e.g. time, emotional energy). Those with negative or 'mixed' experiences with previous groups will likely be more deliberate in their assessment of potential groups to join, and with which groups they choose to join. (For more, see
Minimax Principal, as part of
Social Exchange Theory
Social exchange theory is a sociological and psychological theory that studies the social behavior in the interaction of two parties that implement a cost-benefit analysis to determine risks and benefits. The theory also involves economic relation ...
)
Once a group has begun to form, it can increase membership through a few ways. If the group is an open group,
where membership boundaries are relatively permeable, group members can enter and leave the group as they see fit (often via at least one of the aforementioned Principles of Attraction). A closed group
on the other hand, where membership boundaries are more rigid and closed, often engages in deliberate and/or explicit recruitment and socialization of new members.
If a group is highly
cohesive, it will likely engage in processes that contribute to cohesion levels, especially when recruiting new members, who can add to a group's cohesion, or destabilize it. Classic examples of groups with high cohesion are
fraternities
A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity ...
,
sororities
Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...
,
gang
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...
s, and
cults, which are all noted for their recruitment process, especially their
initiation or
hazing. In all groups, formal and informal initiations add to a group's cohesion and strengthens the bond between the individual and group by demonstrating the exclusiveness of group membership as well as the recruit's dedication to the group.
Initiations tend to be more formal in more cohesive groups. Initiation is also important for recruitment because it can mitigate any cognitive dissonance in potential group members.
In some instances, such as cults, recruitment can also be referred to as conversion.
Kelman's Theory of Conversion identifies 3 stages of conversion:
compliance (individual will comply or accept group's views, but not necessarily agree with them),
identification (member begins to mimic group's actions, values, characteristics, etc.) and
internalization
Internalization ( or internalisation) is the process of making something internal, with more specific meanings in various fields. It is the opposite of externalization.
Psychology and sociology
In psychology, internalization is the outcome of ...
(group beliefs and demands become congruent with member's personal beliefs, goals and values). This outlines the process of how new members can become deeply connected to the group.
Development
If one brings a small collection of strangers together in a restricted space and environment, provides a common goal and maybe a few ground rules, then a highly probable course of events will follow. Interaction between individuals is the basic requirement. At first, individuals will differentially interact in sets of twos or threes while seeking to interact with those with whom they share something in common: i.e., interests, skills, and cultural background. Relationships will develop some stability in these small sets, in that individuals may temporarily change from one set to another, but will return to the same pairs or trios rather consistently and resist change. Particular twosomes and threesomes will stake out their special spots within the overall space.
Again depending on the common goal, eventually twosomes and threesomes will integrate into larger sets of six or eight, with corresponding revisions of territory, dominance-ranking, and further differentiation of roles. All of this seldom takes place without some conflict or disagreement: for example, fighting over the distribution of resources, the choices of means and different subgoals, the development of what are appropriate norms, rewards and punishments. Some of these conflicts will be territorial in nature: i.e., jealousy over roles, or locations, or favored relationships. But most will be involved with struggles for status, ranging from mild protests to serious verbal conflicts and even dangerous violence.
By analogy to animal behavior, sociologists may term these behaviors ''territorial behaviors'' and ''dominance behaviors''. Depending on the pressure of the common goal and on the various skills of individuals, differentiations of leadership, dominance, or authority will develop. Once these relationships solidify, with their defined roles, norms, and sanctions, a productive group will have been established.
[Halloway, Ralph L., ''Primate Aggression, Territoriality, and Xenophobia'', Academic Press: New York, and London 1974. 496 pp.]
Aggression is the mark of unsettled dominance order. Productive group cooperation requires that both dominance order and territorial arrangements (identity, self-concept) be settled with respect to the common goal and within the particular group. Some individuals may withdraw from interaction or be excluded from the developing group. Depending on the number of individuals in the original collection of strangers, and the number of "hangers-on" that are tolerated, one or more competing groups of ten or less may form, and the competition for territory and dominance will then also be manifested in the inter group transactions.
Dispersal and transformation
Two or more people in interacting situations will over time develop stable territorial relationships. As described above, these may or may not develop into groups. But stable groups can also break up in to several sets of territorial relationships. There are numerous reasons for stable groups to "malfunction" or to disperse, but essentially this is because of loss of compliance with one or more elements of the definition of group provided by Sherif. The two most common causes of a malfunctioning group are the addition of too many individuals, and the failure of the leader to enforce a common purpose, though malfunctions may occur due to a failure of any of the other elements (i.e., confusions status or of norms).
In a society, there is a need for more people to participate in cooperative endeavors than can be accommodated by a few separate groups. The military has been the best example as to how this is done in its hierarchical array of squads, platoons, companies, battalions, regiments, and divisions. Private companies, corporations, government agencies, clubs, and so on have all developed comparable (if less formal and standardized) systems when the number of members or employees exceeds the number that can be accommodated in an effective group. Not all larger
social structure
In the social sciences, social structure is the aggregate of patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of individuals. Likewise, society is believed to be grouped into structurally rel ...
s require the cohesion that may be found in the small group. Consider the neighborhood, the
country club
A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offe ...
, or the
megachurch
A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant or Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant C ...
, which are basically territorial organizations who support large social purposes. Any such large organizations may need only islands of cohesive leadership.
For a functioning group to attempt to add new members in a casual way is a certain prescription for failure, loss of efficiency, or disorganization. The number of functioning members in a group can be reasonably flexible between five and ten, and a long-standing cohesive group may be able to tolerate a few hangers on. The key concept is that the value and success of a group is obtained by each member maintaining a distinct, functioning identity in the minds of each of the members. The cognitive limit to this
span of attention in individuals is often set at seven. Rapid shifting of attention can push the limit to about ten. After ten, subgroups will inevitably start to form with the attendant loss of purpose, dominance-order, and individuality, with confusion of roles and rules. The standard classroom with twenty to forty pupils and one teacher offers a rueful example of one supposed
leader
Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...
juggling a number of subgroups.
Weakening of the common purpose once a group is well established can be attributed to: adding new members; unsettled conflicts of identities (i.e., territorial problems in individuals); weakening of a settled dominance-order; and weakening or failure of the leader to tend to the group. The actual loss of a leader is frequently fatal to a group, unless there was lengthy preparation for the transition. The loss of the leader tends to dissolve all dominance relationships, as well as weakening dedication to common purpose, differentiation of roles, and maintenance of norms. The most common symptoms of a troubled group are loss of efficiency, diminished participation, or weakening of purpose, as well as an increase in verbal aggression. Often, if a strong common purpose is still present, a simple reorganization with a new leader and a few new members will be sufficient to re-establish the group, which is somewhat easier than forming an entirely new group. This is the most common factor.
See also
*
Bureaucracy
*
Club (organization)
A club is an association of people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities. There are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious ...
*
Corporate group
A corporate group or group of companies is a collection of parent and subsidiary corporations that function as a single economic entity through a common source of control. These types of groups are often managed by an account manager. The concep ...
*
Crowd
Generally speaking, a crowd is defined as a group of people that have gathered for a common purpose or intent such as at a demonstration, a sports event, or during looting (this is known as an acting crowd), or may simply be made up of many ...
*
Crowd psychology
*
Globalization
Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...
*
Group conflict
*
Group dynamics
Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group (''intra''group dynamics), or between social groups ( ''inter''group dynamics). The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision- ...
*
Group emotion Group emotion refers to the moods, emotions and dispositional affects of a group of people. It can be seen as either an emotional entity influencing individual members' emotional states (top down) or the sum of the individuals' emotional states (bo ...
*
Group narcissism
In social psychology, collective narcissism (or group narcissism) is the tendency to exaggerate the positive image and importance of a group to which one belongs. The group may be defined by ideology, race, political beliefs/stance, religion, sexu ...
*
Institution
*
Intergroup relations
*
Loneliness
Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism which motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perceived lack ...
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Mob rule
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Public opinion
Public opinion is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to a society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them.
Etymology
The term "public opinion" was derived from the French ', which was first use ...
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Secret society
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Social class
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Social isolation
Social isolation is a state of complete or near-complete lack of contact between an individual and society. It differs from loneliness, which reflects temporary and involuntary lack of contact with other humans in the world. Social isolation ...
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Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for ...
*
Social organization
In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and social groups.
Characteristics of social organization can include qualities such as sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, s ...
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Social representation
Social representations are a system of values, ideas, metaphors, beliefs, and practices that serve to establish social order, orient participants and enable communication among the members of groups and communities. Social representation theory i ...
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Sociology of sport
Sociology of sport, alternately referred to as sports sociology, is a sub-discipline of sociology which focuses on sports as social phenomena. It is an area of study concerned with the relationship between sociology and sports, and also various s ...
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Status group
The German sociologist Max Weber formulated a three-component theory of stratification that defines a status group (also status class and status estate) as a group of people within a society who can be differentiated by non-economic qualities suc ...
*
Types of social groups
In the social sciences, social groups can be categorized based on the various group dynamics that define social organization.Boundless team.Types of Social Groups" ''Social Groups and Organization'' Open_educational_resources">OER_course.html" ...
References
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External links
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Muar Talent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Social Group
Social psychology
Sociological terminology