What do sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard in evaluating themselves and their own behavior?

Examples of group in the following topics:

• Secondary Groups

  • Secondary groups are large groups whose relationships are impersonal and goal oriented; their relationships are temporary.
  • Unlike first groups, secondary groups are large groups whose relationships are impersonal and goal oriented.
  • In contrast to primary groups, secondary groups don't have the goal of maintaining and developing the relationships themselves.
  • He labeled groups as "primary" because people often experience such groups early in their life and such groups play an important role in the development of personal identity.
  • Primary groups can form within secondary groups as relationships become more personal and close.

• Primary and Secondary Groups

  • A Primary group is typically a small social group whose members share close, personal, enduring relationships.
  • Families and close friends are examples of primary groups
  • Secondary groups are large groups whose relationships are impersonal and goal-oriented.
  • People in a secondary group interact on a less personal level than in a primary group.
  • He labeled groups as "primary" because people often experience such groups early in their life and such groups play an important role in the development of personal identity.

• Primary Groups

  • A primary group is typically a small social group whose members share close, personal, enduring relationships.
  • A primary group is a group in which one exchanges implicit items, such as love, caring, concern, support, etc.
  • Examples of these would be family groups, love relationships, crisis support groups, and church groups.
  • A primary group is typically a small social group whose members share close, personal, enduring relationships.
  • Examples of these would be family groups, love relationships, crisis support groups, and church groups.

• Defining Boundaries

  • Social groups are defined by boundaries.
  • Cultural sociologists define symbolic boundaries as "conceptual distinctions made by social actors…that separate people into groups and generate feelings of similarity and group membership. " In-groups, or social groups to which an individual feels he or she belongs as a member, and out-groups, or groups with which an individual does not identify, would be impossible without symbolic boundaries.
  • Where group boundaries are considered permeable (e.g., a group member may pass from a low status group into a high status group), individuals are more likely to engage in individual mobility strategies.
  • Here, without changing necessarily the objective resources of in the in-group or the out-group, low status in-group members are still able to increase their positive distinctiveness.
  • This may be achieved by comparing the in-group to the out-group on some new dimension, changing the values assigned to the attributes of the group, and choosing an alternative out-group by which to compare the in-group.

• Effects of Group Size on Attitude and Behavior

  • This makes sense if the size of the group has consequences for the way group members relate with each other.
  • Individual behavior deviates substantially in a group setting; therefore, it is difficult to determine group behavior by looking solely at the individuals that comprise the group.
  • Group attitudes and behavior depend upon several variables: size, structure, the purpose that the group serves, group development and various influences upon a group.
  • Group dynamics refers to a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group or between social groups.
  • Sociologists study interactions within groups, and between both groups and individuals.

• In-Groups and Out-Groups

  • In-groups are social groups to which an individual feels he or she belongs, while an individual doesn't identify with the out-group.
  • In-group favoritism refers to a preference and affinity for one's in-group over the out-group or anyone viewed as outside the in-group.
  • The out-group homogeneity effect is one's perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members, e.g.
  • "they are alike; we are diverse. " The out-group homogeneity effect has been found using a wide variety of different social groups, from political and racial groups to age and gender groups.
  • Recall two of the key features of in-group biases toward out-groups

• Reference Groups

  • Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior a reference group.
  • A reference group refers to a group to which an individual or another group is compared.
  • Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior a reference group.
  • A reference group can either be from a membership group or non-membership group.
  • An example of a reference group is a group of people who have a certain level of affluence.

• Peer Groups

  • A peer group, whose members have interests, social positions, and age in common, have an influence on the socialization of group members.
  • A peer group is a social group whose members have interests, social positions, and age in common.
  • The influence of the peer group typically peaks during adolescence.
  • Peer groups have a significant influence on psychological and social adjustments for group individuals.
  • Peer groups cohesion is determined and maintained by such factors as group communication, group consensus, and group conformity concerning attitude and behavior.

• Social Identity Theory

  • The prestige of a group is also often created through comparisons that positively reflect on the group.
  • In other words, people in groups choose to compare their groups with other groups in ways that reflect positively on themselves.
  • Inversely, people in a group may minimize differences between their group and another, slightly more prestigious group so one's own group tends to be seen more favorably (i.e., negative distinctiveness).Groups choose dimensions for comparison in order to maximize the positivity of their own group.
  • Members of a group or team will actually work harder when they are competing against a lower ranked group than when they are competing against a higher-ranked group.
  • Thus, members of higher status groups work harder when competing against lower status groups.

• Summary

  • One of the most interesting thing about social structures is their sub-structure in terms of groupings or cliques.
  • Will conflicts most likely involve multiple groups, or two factions.
  • To what extent do the sub-groups and social structures over-lap one another?
  • The location of individuals in nets can also be thought of in terms of cliques or sub-groups.
  • Certain individuals may act as "bridges" among groups, others may be isolates; some actors may be cosmopolitans, and others locals in terms of their group affiliations.

What is a group according to sociologists?

What do we call groups that are used as standards?

What do sociologists call the idea that all individuals?

What types of groups do sociologists recognize?