Social groups definition society. Main types of social groups in society

One of the general forms of social interaction is a social group in which the behavior and social status of each member is to a tangible extent determined by the activities and existence of other members.

Merton defines a group as a collection of people who interact with each other in a certain way, are aware of their belonging to this group and are perceived by its members from the point of view of other people. The group has its own identity from the point of view of outsiders.

Primary groups consist of a small number of people between whom there are stable emotional relationships, personal relationships based on their individual characteristics. Secondary groups are formed from people between whom there are almost no emotional relationships, their interaction is determined by the desire to achieve certain goals, their social roles, business relationships and methods of communication are clearly defined. In critical and emergency situations, people give preference to the primary group and show devotion to the members of the primary group.

People join groups for a number of reasons. The group performs:

as a means of biological survival;
as a means of socialization and formation of the human psyche (one of the main functions of the group is the function of socialization);
as a way of doing certain work that cannot be done by one person (the instrumental function of a group);
as a means of satisfying a person’s need for communication, for an affectionate and friendly attitude towards oneself, for receiving social approval, respect, recognition, trust (the expressive function of the group);
as a means of reducing unpleasant feelings of fear and anxiety (supportive function of the group);
as a source of norms of behavior, social attitudes and value orientations of a person (normative function of the group);
as a source of standard with the help of which a person can evaluate himself and other people (the comparative function of the group) I as a means of information, material and other exchange.

“The set of individuals in mental interaction constitutes a social group, and this interaction comes down to the exchange of various ideas, feelings, desires, and mental experiences” (P. Sorokin).

There are several types of groups:

conditional and real;
permanent and temporary;
big and small.

Conventional groups of people are united according to a certain criterion (gender, age, profession, etc.). Real individuals included in such a group do not have direct interpersonal relationships, may not know anything about each other, and may never even meet each other.

Real groups of people that actually exist as communities in a certain space and time are characterized by the fact that its members are connected by objective relationships. Real human groups differ in size, external and internal organization, purpose and social significance. A contact group brings together people who have common goals and interests in one or another area of life and activity. A small group is a fairly stable association of people connected by mutual contacts.

Small group- a small group of people (from 3 to 15 people) who are united by a common social activity, are in direct communication, contribute to the emergence of emotional relationships, the development of group norms and the development of group processes.

When there are a large number of people, the group is usually divided into subgroups. Distinctive features of a small group: spatial and temporal co-presence of people. This co-presence of people enables contacts that include interactive, informational, perceptual aspects of communication and interaction. Perceptual aspects allow a person to perceive the individuality of all other people in the group, and only then can one speak of a small group.

Interaction- everyone’s activity is both a stimulus and a reaction to everyone else.

Joint activity implies the presence of a constant goal. The implementation of a common goal as a certain anticipated result of any activity contributes in a sense to the realization of the needs of everyone and at the same time corresponds to common needs. The goal as a prototype of the result and the initial moment of joint activity determines the dynamics of the functioning of a small group. Three types of goals can be distinguished:

short-term prospects, goals that are quickly realized over time and express the needs of this group;
secondary goals are longer in time and lead the group to the interests of the secondary team (the interests of the enterprise or the school as a whole);
long-term perspectives unite the primary group with the problems of functioning of the social whole.

The socially valuable content of joint activities should become personally significant for each group member. What is important is not so much the objective goal of the group as its image, that is, how it is perceived by group members. Goals and characteristics of joint activities “cement” the group into one whole and determine the external formal-target structure of the group.

There is an organizing principle in the group. It may or may not be personified in one of the group members (leader, manager), but this does not mean that there is no organizing principle. It’s just that in this case the leadership function is distributed among group members, and leadership is situationally specific (in a certain situation, a person who is more advanced in a given area than others takes on the functions of a leader).

Separation and differentiation of personal roles (division and cooperation of labor, division of power, i.e. the activity of group members is not homogeneous, they make different contributions to joint activities, play different roles).

The presence of emotional relationships between group members, which influence group activity, can lead to the division of the group into subgroups, and form the internal structure of interpersonal relationships in the group.

Development of a specific group culture - norms, rules, standards of life, behavior that determine the expectations of group members in relation to each other and determine group dynamics. These norms are the most important sign of group integrity. We can speak of an established norm if it determines the behavior of the majority of group members, despite all the differences among group members. Deviation from group standards and norms, as a rule, is allowed only to the leader.

The group has the following psychological characteristics: group interests, group needs, etc. (Fig. 9).

The group has the following general patterns:

the group will inevitably become structured;
the group is developing (progress or regression, but dynamic processes occur in the group);
fluctuation - a change in a person’s place in a group can occur repeatedly.

According to psychological characteristics there are:

membership groups;
reference groups (standard), the norms and rules of which serve as a model for the individual.

Reference groups may be real or imagined, positive or negative, may or may not coincide with membership, but they do:

the function of social comparison, since the reference group is a source of positive and negative samples;
normative function, since the reference group is the source of norms and rules to which a person strives to join.

Based on the nature and forms of organization of activities, the following levels of development of contact groups are distinguished (Table 5).

Unorganized (nominal groups, conglomerates) or randomly organized groups (movie audiences, random members of excursion groups, etc.) are characterized by a voluntary temporary association of people based on similar interests or common space.

Association- a group in which relationships are mediated only by personally significant goals (a group of friends, acquaintances).

Cooperation- a group characterized by a really functioning organizational structure; interpersonal relationships are of a business nature, subordinated to achieving the required result in performing a specific task in a certain type of activity.

Corporation- this is a group united only by internal goals that do not go beyond its scope, striving to achieve its corporate goals at any cost, including at the expense of other groups. Sometimes corporate spirit can take place in work or educational groups, when the group acquires features of group egoism.

Team- a time-stable organizational group of interacting people with specific governing bodies, united by the goals of joint socially beneficial activities and the complex dynamics of formal (business) and informal relationships between group members.

Thus, real human groups differ in size, external and internal organization, purpose and social significance. As the size of the group increases, the role of the leader increases.

The interdependence of the parties and group members in the interaction process may be equal, or one of the parties may have a stronger influence on the other. Therefore, one-way and two-way interaction can be distinguished. Interaction can cover both all spheres of human life - total interaction, and only one specific form or sector of activity. In independent sectors, people may not have any influence on each other.

The direction of the relationship can be solidary, antagonistic or mixed. In solidary interaction, the aspirations and efforts of the parties coincide. If the desires and efforts of the parties are in conflict, then this is an antagonistic form of interaction; if they coincide only partially, this is a mixed type of direction of interaction.

Organized and unorganized interactions can be distinguished. Interaction is organized if the relations of the parties and their actions have developed into a certain structure of rights, duties, functions and are based on a certain system of values.

Disorganized Interactions- when relationships and values are in an amorphous state, therefore rights, responsibilities, functions, social positions are not defined.

Sorokin, combining various interactions, identifies the following types of social interaction:

an organized antagonistic system of interaction based on coercion;
an organized and solidary system of interaction based on voluntary membership;
an organized-mixed, solidary-antagonistic system, which is partly controlled by coercion, and partly by voluntary support of an established system of relationships and values.

“Most organized social-interactive systems, from family to church and state,” Sorokin notes, “belong to the organized-mixed type. And they can also be disorganized and antagonistic; unorganized-solidarity; unorganized-mixed type of interactions.”

In long-existing organized groups, Sorokin identified 3 types of relationships:

family type (interactions are total, extensive, intense, consistent in direction and long-lasting, internal unity of group members);
treaty type (limited time of action of the parties interacting within the framework of the contractual sector, the solidarity of the relationship is selfish and aimed at obtaining mutual benefit, pleasure, or even getting “as much as possible for less”, while the other party is considered not as an ally, but as a kind of “tool” ”, which can provide a service, bring profit, etc.);
forced type (antagonism of relationships, various forms of coercion: psychological coercion, economic, physical, ideological, military).

The transition from one type to another can occur smoothly or unpredictably. Mixed types of social interactions are often observed: partly contractual, familial, forced.

Sorokin emphasizes that social interactions act as sociocultural:

3 processes occur simultaneously - the interaction of norms, values, standards contained in the consciousness of an individual and a group;
interaction of specific people and groups;
interaction of materialized values of social life.

Depending on the unifying values, we can distinguish:

one-sided groups built on one set of basic values (biosocial groups: racial, gender, age; sociocultural groups: gender, language group, religious group, trade union, political or scientific union);
multilateral groups built around a combination of several sets of values: family, community, nation, social class.

It is possible to classify groups in terms of the specifics of information dissemination and the organization of interaction between group members.

So the pyramid group is:

closed type system;
built hierarchically, i.e. the higher the place, the higher the rights and influence;
information flows mainly vertically, from bottom to top (reports) and top to bottom (orders);
every man knows his hard spot;
traditions are valued in the group;
the leader of this group must take care of his subordinates, in return they obey unquestioningly;
Such groups are found in the army, in established production, and also in extreme situations.

A random group where everyone makes their own decisions, people are relatively independent, they move in different directions, but something unites them. Such groups are found in creative teams, as well as in situations of market uncertainty, typical of new commercial structures.

An open group where everyone has the right to initiative, everyone openly discusses issues together. The main thing for them is a common cause. Roles change freely, emotional openness is inherent, and informal communication between people increases.

A group of synchronous type, when all people are in different places, but everyone moves in the same direction, since everyone knows what needs to be done, everyone has one image, one model, and although everyone moves on their own, everyone moves synchronously in the same direction, even without discussion or agreement. If any obstacle is encountered, each group strengthens its distinctive feature:

pyramidal - enhances order, discipline, control;
random - its success depends on the abilities and potential of each group member;
open - its success depends on the ability to reach agreement, negotiate, and its leader must have high communication skills, be able to listen, understand, and agree;
synchronous - its success depends on the talent, the authority of the “prophet”, who convinced, led people, and people infinitely believe and obey him.

It is generally accepted that the most optimal group size should consist of 7+2 (i.e. 5, 7, 9 people). It is also known that a group functions well when there is an odd number of people in it, since in an even number two warring halves can form. A team functions better if its members differ from each other in age and gender. On the other hand, some psychologists practicing in the field of management argue that groups with 12 people work most effectively. The fact is that large groups are poorly managed, and teams of 7-8 people are the most conflict-prone, as they usually break up into two warring informal subgroups; with a larger number of people, conflicts tend to smooth out.

Conflict in a small group (if it is not formed by like-minded people) is not least explained by the fact that in any work collective there are 8 social roles, and if there are not enough employees, then someone has to play not only for themselves, but also for “ that guy", which creates a conflict situation. The team leader (manager) needs to know these well roles. This:

a coordinator who is respected and knows how to work with people;
a generator of ideas seeking to get to the bottom of the truth. He is most often unable to put his ideas into practice;
an enthusiast who takes on a new business and inspires others;
controller-analyst, capable of soberly assessing the proposed idea. He is efficient, but more often he avoids people;
a profit seeker interested in the external side of the matter. He is efficient and can be a good mediator between people, since he is usually the most popular member of the team;
a performer who knows how to bring an idea to life is capable of painstaking work, but often “drowns” in trifles;
a hard worker who does not seek to take anyone’s place;
grinder - it is necessary so as not to cross the last line.

Thus, in order for a team to successfully cope with its work, it must not only consist of good specialists. The members of this team as individuals must collectively correspond to the required set of roles. And when distributing official positions, one must proceed from the suitability of individuals to perform a particular role, and not from the personal likes or dislikes of the manager.

Story

The word “group” entered the Russian language at the beginning of the 19th century. from Italian (It. groppo, or gruppo- knot) as a technical term for painters, used to designate several figures that make up a composition. . This is exactly how the dictionary of foreign words of the early 19th century explains it, which, among other overseas “curiosities,” contains the word “group” as an ensemble, a composition of “figures, whole components, and so adjusted that the eye looks at them at once.”

First written appearance of a French word groupe, from which its English and German equivalents later originated, dates back to 1668. Thanks to Moliere, a year later, this word penetrates literary speech, still retaining its technical connotation. The wide penetration of the term “group” into a variety of fields of knowledge, its truly commonly used nature, creates the appearance of its “ transparency", that is, understandability and accessibility. It is most often used in relation to certain human communities as collections of people united according to a number of characteristics by a certain spiritual substance (interest, purpose, awareness of their community, etc.). Meanwhile, the sociological category “social group” is one of the most difficult for understanding due to significant discrepancies with ordinary ideas. A social group is not just a collection of people united along formal or informal grounds, but a group social position that people occupy. “We cannot identify the agents who objectify a position with the position itself, even if the totality of these agents is a practical group mobilized for united action for the sake of a common interest.”

Signs

Types of groups

There are large, medium and small groups.

Large groups include aggregates of people that exist on the scale of society as a whole: these are social strata, professional groups, ethnic communities (nations, nationalities), age groups (youth, pensioners), etc. Awareness of belonging to a social group and, accordingly, its interests as one’s own occurs gradually, as organizations are formed that protect the interests of the group (for example, the struggle of workers for their rights and interests through workers’ organizations).

The middle groups include production associations of enterprise workers, territorial communities (residents of the same village, city, district, etc.).

Diverse small groups include groups such as family, friendly groups, and neighborhood communities. They are distinguished by the presence of interpersonal relationships and personal contacts with each other.

One of the earliest and most famous classifications of small groups into primary and secondary was given by the American sociologist C.H. Cooley, where he made a distinction between the two. "Primary (core) group" refers to those personal relationships that are direct, face-to-face, relatively permanent, and deep, such as relationships within a family, a group of close friends, and the like. "Secondary groups" (a phrase that Cooley did not actually use, but which came later) refers to all other face-to-face relationships, but especially to groups or associations such as industrial ones, in which a person relates to others through formal , often legal or contractual relationships.

Structure of social groups

Structure is a structure, arrangement, organization. The structure of a group is a way of interconnection, mutual arrangement of its constituent parts, group elements (carried out through group interests, group norms and values), forming a stable social structure, or configuration of social relations.

The current large group has its own internal structure: "core"(and in some cases - kernels) and "periphery" with a gradual weakening as we move away from the core, the essential properties by which individuals identify themselves and a given group is nominated, that is, by which it is separated from other groups distinguished according to a certain criterion.

In other words, the core of a group is a set of typical individuals who most consistently combine the inherent nature of activity, structure of needs, norms, attitudes and motivations identified by people with a given social group. That is, the agents occupying a position must emerge as a social organization, a social community, or a social corps, possessing an identity (recognized self-image) and mobilized around a common interest.

Therefore, the core is a concentrated exponent of all the social properties of a group that determine its qualitative difference from all others. There is no such core - there is no group itself. At the same time, the composition of the individuals included in the “tail” of the group is constantly changing due to the fact that each individual occupies many social positions and can move from one position to another situationally, due to demographic movements (age, death, illness, etc.). etc.) or as a result of social mobility.

A real group has not only its own structure or construction, but also its own composition (as well as decomposition).

Composition(Latin compositio – composition) – organization of social space and its perception (social perception). The composition of a group is a combination of its elements that form a harmonious unity, which ensures the integrity of the image of its perception (social gestalt) as a social group. Group composition is usually determined through indicators of social status.

Decomposition- the opposite operation or process of dividing a composition into elements, parts, indicators. The decomposition of a social group is carried out through projection onto various social fields and positions. Often the composition (decomposition) of a group is identified with a set of demographic and professional parameters, which is not entirely true. What is important here is not the parameters themselves, but to the extent that they characterize the status-role position of the group and act as social filters that allow it to carry out social distancing so as not to merge, be “blurred” or absorbed by other positions.

As for membership in the group of a particular individual as an element of the composition, he actually encounters the surrounding world, which surrounds him and positions him as a member of the group, i.e. his individuality in this situation becomes “insignificant”; he, as an individual, as a member of a group, is seen primarily as a whole group.

Functions of social groups

There are different approaches to classifying the functions of social groups. American sociologist N. Smelser identifies the following functions of groups:

Social groups nowadays

A feature of social groups in countries with developed economies currently is their mobility, the openness of transition from one social group to another. The convergence of the level of culture and education of various socio-professional groups leads to the formation of common socio-cultural needs and thereby creates conditions for the gradual integration of social groups, their value systems, their behavior and motivation. As a result, we can state the renewal and expansion of what is most characteristic in the modern world - the middle layer (middle class).

Notes

Links

Determination of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 564-О-О on the constitutionality of the prohibition of inciting hatred towards social groups in Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what a “Social group” is in other dictionaries:

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The concept of “social group” is one of the most important for sociology, and, from this point of view, it can be compared with such sociological concepts as social structure and social institution. At the same time, the widespread use of this concept makes it very vague. It is used in various senses, which cannot always be reduced to a common denominator. However, we can try to give the following definition: a social group is an association of people who are connected by common relations, regulated by special social institutions, and have common goals, norms, values and traditions, and are also united by common activities. In some cases, a social group is also understood as an association of people along some significant social basis.

A social group has a number of characteristics that are very important from the point of view of its integrity:

In a social group, more or less stable interaction should occur, thanks to which the connections between group members become stronger and last for a long time;
the social group must be fairly homogeneous in its composition, that is, all its members must have a certain set of characteristics that are valuable from the point of view of the group and allow its members to feel more united;
a social group in the vast majority of cases belongs to broader social groups and communities.

According to N. Smelser, groups perform the following functions:

1) they participate in socialization, that is, they contribute to the fact that a person acquires the skills necessary for social life, as well as the norms and values shared by the group and society as a whole;
2) they contribute to the organization of joint activities of people, that is, they perform an instrumental function;
3) they can also perform a supporting function if people come together in a difficult situation or to solve a problem that they cannot solve alone;
4) groups perform an emotional function, giving their members the opportunity to satisfy emotional needs (needs for warmth, respect, understanding, trust, communication, etc.).

In sociology, there are many classifications of social groups according to various criteria. Depending on the density, form of connections and interactions of their constituent members, and the functional role, primary and secondary, small and large, formal and informal, referent and other social groups are distinguished.

Primary social groups play the most important role in social life and in the life of each individual. The primary group is a social community characterized by a high level of emotional closeness and social solidarity.

The characteristic features of a primary social group are: small membership, spatial proximity of members, duration of existence, common group values, norms and patterns of behavior, voluntariness of joining the group, informal control over the behavior of members.

The term “primary groups” was introduced into sociology by Charles Cooley. A distinctive feature of these groups, according to Cooley, is the direct, interpersonal contact of their members, which is characterized by a high level of emotionality. These groups are “primary” in the sense that it is through them that individuals first experience social unity. An example of primary social groups is a family, a school class, a student group, a group of friends, etc. Through the primary group, the initial socialization of individuals is carried out, their development of patterns of behavior, social norms, values and ideals. We can say that it is she who plays the role of the primary link between the individual and society. It is through it that a person realizes his belonging to certain social communities, and through it he participates in the life of the whole society.

A secondary social group is a social community, social connections and interactions in which are impersonal, utilitarian and functional in nature. The primary group is always oriented towards the relationships between its members, while the secondary group is goal oriented. In these groups, individually unique personality traits are not particularly important, and the ability to perform certain functions is more valued. Without a doubt, a secondary group can function in conditions of close emotional ties and friendly relations, but the main principle of its existence is the performance of specific functions, it is focused on achieving a specific goal. To understand the differences between primary and secondary social groups, consider the example of football teams. An example of a primary group is the so-called “yard team”. It consists of people whose goal is to spend their leisure time, warm up, simply communicate, etc. Such teams can participate in certain championships and tournaments, but achieving high sports results, especially making money, is not their main goal. An example of a secondary social group is football players, whose activities and everything connected with it (values, norms, etc.) are focused on obtaining high athletic results.

Primary groups are a type of small social groups. A small social group is a small group whose members are united by common activities, interests, goals and are in direct, stable communication with each other. The minimum size of a small group is two people (dyad). The maximum size of a small group can reach 2–4 dozen people.

Small groups, most often, are the same primary groups: family, circle of friends, sports team, primary production team - brigade, etc. They are characterized by close, emotionally charged, informal relationships. In small groups as primary groups, group opinion is of great importance for the implementation of joint activities and relationships. Personal contacts allow all group members to participate in the development of group opinion and control the behavior of its members.

Group size has a significant impact on the quality of social interaction. As the number of people in a group increases, the possibility of constant personal contacts between all its members disappears. Due to the lack of personal contacts, the opportunity to develop a unified group opinion is reduced, and group self-identification is weakened. People cease to realize that they belong to a single community. To reflect the uniqueness of interaction depending on the quantitative composition, along with the concept of small social groups in sociology, there is the concept of a large social group. Large social groups or communities are a stable collection of a significant number of individuals acting jointly and in solidarity in socially significant situations. Large groups include tens, hundreds, or even millions of members. These are classes, social strata, professional groups, national-ethnic communities (nationality, nation, race), demographic associations (men, women, youth, pensioners), etc. Due to their large number, members of these groups can be separated in time and space and not enter into direct communication with each other. Nevertheless, due to a number of factors uniting them, they constitute a certain group community. Belonging to one or another large social group is determined on the basis of a set of socially significant characteristics. As noted earlier, a small social group can be both primary and secondary, a large social group can only be secondary.

Depending on the presence or absence of official legal status and the associated nature of relations, social groups are divided into formal and informal. In a formal group, the position and behavior of individual members are regulated by normative documents (legal norms, charters, rules, office instructions, etc.). Formal groups are created to fulfill special goals, a certain range of tasks in which a particular community is interested. Thus, a school is created for the purpose of training and socializing the younger generation, an army - for the defense of the country, an enterprise - for producing certain products and generating income, etc. A formal group is a secondary group. It can be either a large or small group in terms of the number of participants.

Informal groups are a type of small group; they most often arise spontaneously. They are characterized by friendly, trusting relationships between their members. In these groups there is no rigid consolidation of their place in the division of labor, role and social position with their inherent rights and responsibilities. Contacts between members of an informal group are of a clearly personal nature; the sympathies, habits, and interests of its members act as a rallying factor. Order is based on tradition, respect, authority. Social control is exercised through informal norms, customs and traditions, the content of which depends on the level of cohesion of the group and the degree of its closedness to members of other social groups.

A special type of social groups are reference groups. A reference group is a group that, due to its authority for an individual, is capable of exerting a strong influence on him. Otherwise, this group can be called a reference group. An individual may strive to become a member of this group, and his activities are usually aimed at becoming more like its members. This phenomenon is called anticipatory socialization. In the usual case, socialization occurs in the process of direct interaction within the primary group. In this case, the individual adopts characteristics and methods of action characteristic of groups even before he interacts with its members.

Objective and subjective social groups are distinguished according to the given position: objective groups are groups that unite people regardless of their desire and will, for example, socio-demographic communities: children, women, etc. Subjective groups are groups of people that arise on based on their conscious choice. If a person decides to go to college, then naturally he voluntarily and consciously joins a student group.

Long-lasting and transient social groups. According to the time of existence, social groups are divided into durable groups - groups that exist for a long time, and transient - groups that exist for a short period of time.

All the variety of social groups can be classified into the following types:

By type of main activity and main function - production and labor, socio-political, educational, executive and compulsory, family, military, sports, gaming;
in terms of social orientation - socially useful, socially unsafe;
according to the organization - unorganized, random groups, targeted, externally organized, internally organized;
by type of degree of ordering and normalization of relations - formal, informal;
according to the level of direct impact on the individual - primary–secondary, primary–minor, referent;
depending on openness, connections with other groups - open, closed;
according to the level of strength and stability of internal connections - united, little united, disconnected;
by duration of existence - short-term, long-term.

Thus, society in its concrete reality of life acts as a collection of many social groups. A person’s entire life from birth to death takes place in these groups. A social group is a kind of intermediary between an individual and society.

The group is very important for a person. First of all, it is the group that provides a person’s connection with society. A person acquires values due to the fact that his life is connected with other people - members of the groups to which he belongs. Even if a person opposes himself to society, this usually happens because he has adopted the values of his group.

In addition, the group also influences a person’s personal qualities, character, speech, thinking, interests, which, it would seem, are purely individual and have no relation to the social dimension of human existence. The child develops these qualities by communicating with parents, friends, and relatives.

At the same time, a specific person, of course, cannot be reduced to membership in one group, since he certainly belongs to a sufficiently large number of groups at once. And indeed, we can classify people into groups in many different ways: by religious affiliation; by income level; from the point of view of their attitude to sports, to art, etc.

Belonging to a group presupposes that a person possesses certain characteristics that, from the point of view of the group, are valuable and significant. The “core” of the group is formed by those members who possess these characteristics to the greatest extent. The remaining members of the group form its periphery.

In a group, norms, rules, customs, traditions, rituals, ceremonies are born, in other words, the foundation of social life is laid. Man needs and depends on the group, perhaps more than monkeys, rhinoceroses, wolves or shellfish. People survive only together.

Thus, the isolated individual is the exception rather than the rule. A person does not think of himself outside the group. He is a member of a family, a student class, a youth group, a production team, a sports team, etc.

Social groups are unique “engines” of social development; without their efforts, no changes in society can occur. The quality of functioning of all social institutions at a given historical moment also depends on the nature of social groups.

The type of society, its socio-political and governmental structure depend on which groups society consists of, which of them occupy leading positions, which are subordinate.

Social structure

Social structure- a set of interrelated elements that make up the internal structure of society. The concept of “social structure” is used both in ideas about society as a social system, in which the social structure provides the internal order of connecting elements, and the environment establishes the external boundaries of the system, and when describing society through the category of social space. In the latter case, social structure is understood as the unity of functionally interrelated social positions and social fields.

Apparently, the first to use the term “social structure” was Alexis Tocqueville, a French thinker, politician and statesman, one of the creators of liberal political theory. Later, Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer, Max Weber, Ferdinand Tönnies and Emile Durkheim contributed greatly to the creation of the structural concept in sociology.

One of the earliest and most comprehensive analyzes of social structure was carried out by K. Marx, who showed the dependence of the political, cultural, and religious aspects of life on the mode of production (the basic structure of society). Marx argued that the economic basis determines to a large extent the cultural and political superstructure of society. Subsequent Marxist theorists, such as L. Althusser, proposed a more complex relationship, believing that cultural and political institutions are relatively autonomous and dependent on economic factors only in the final analysis (“in the last resort”). But the Marxist view of the social structure of society was not the only one. Emile Durkheim introduced the idea that various social institutions and practices played an important role in ensuring the functional integration of society into a social structure that unites the various parts into a single whole. In this context, Durkheim identified two forms of structural relations: mechanical and organic solidarities.

Structure of the social system

The structure of a social system is the way of interconnection of subsystems, components and elements interacting in it that ensure its integrity. The main elements (social units) of the social structure of society are social communities, social institutions, social groups and social organizations.

The social system, according to T. Parsons, must satisfy certain requirements (AGIL), namely:

A. - must be adapted to the environment (adaptation);

G. - she must have goals (goal achievement);

I. - all its elements must be coordinated (integration);

L. - the values in it must be preserved (maintaining the sample).

T. Parsons believes that society is a special type of social system, highly specialized and self-sufficient. Its functional unity is ensured by social subsystems. T. Parsons considers the following social subsystems of society as a system: economics (adaptation), politics (goal achievement), culture (maintaining a model). The function of integrating society is performed by the system of “societal community”, which contains mainly the structures of norms.

Social group

Social group- an association of people who have a common significant social characteristic based on their participation in some activity connected by a system of relations that are regulated by formal or informal social institutions.

The word “group” entered the Russian language at the beginning of the 19th century. from Italian (Italian groppo, or gruppo - knot) as a technical term for painters, used to designate several figures that make up a composition. This is exactly how the dictionary of foreign words of the early 19th century explains it, which, among other overseas “curiosities,” contains the word “group” as an ensemble, a composition of “figures, whole components, and so adjusted that the eye looks at them at once.”

The first written appearance of the French word groupe, from which its English and German equivalents were later derived, dates back to 1668. Thanks to Moliere, a year later, this word penetrates literary speech, still retaining its technical connotation. The wide penetration of the term “group” into a variety of fields of knowledge, its truly commonly used nature, creates the appearance of its “transparency,” that is, understandability and accessibility. It is most often used in relation to certain human communities as collections of people united according to a number of characteristics by a certain spiritual substance (interest, purpose, awareness of their community, etc.). Meanwhile, the sociological category “social group” is one of the most difficult to understand due to its significant discrepancy with everyday ideas. A social group is not just a collection of people united along formal or informal grounds, but a group social position that people occupy.

Signs

Commonality of needs.

Availability of joint activities.

Formation of your own culture.

Social identification of members of a community, their self-ascription to this community.

Types of groups

There are large, medium and small groups.

IN large groups includes aggregates of people that exist on the scale of society as a whole: these are social strata, professional groups, ethnic communities (nations, nationalities), age groups (youth, pensioners), etc. Awareness of belonging to a social group and, accordingly, its interests as one’s own occurs gradually, as organizations are formed that protect the interests of the group (for example, the struggle of workers for their rights and interests through workers’ organizations).

TO middle groups include production associations of enterprise workers, territorial communities (residents of the same village, city, district, etc.).

Toward the diverse small groups include groups such as family, friendly groups, and neighborhood communities. They are distinguished by the presence of interpersonal relationships and personal contacts with each other.

Structure of social groups

Structure is a structure, arrangement, organization. The structure of a group is the way of interconnection, the relative position of its constituent parts, elements of the group that form a stable social structure, or configuration of social relations.

An existing large group has its own internal structure: a “core” and a “periphery” with a gradual weakening as it moves away from the core of the essential properties by which individuals identify themselves and this group is nominated, that is, by which it is separated from other groups distinguished according to a certain criterion .

Specific individuals may not possess all the essential features of the subjects of a given community; they constantly move in their status complex (repertoire of roles) from one position to another. The core of any group is relatively stable; it consists of carriers of these essential traits - professionals of symbolic representation. In other words, the core of a group is a set of typical individuals who most consistently combine the inherent nature of activity, structure of needs, norms, attitudes and motivations identified by people with a given social group. That is, the agents occupying a position must emerge as a social organization, a social community, or a social corps, possessing an identity (recognized self-image) and mobilized around a common interest.

A real group has not only its own structure or construction, but also its own composition (as well as decomposition). Composition– organization of social space and its perception. The composition of a group is a combination of its elements that form a harmonious unity, which ensures the integrity of the image of its perception as a social group. Group composition is usually determined through indicators of social status.

Decomposition- the opposite operation or process of dividing a composition into elements, parts, indicators. The decomposition of a social group is carried out through projection onto various social fields and positions. Often the composition (decomposition) of a group is identified with a set of demographic and professional parameters, which is not entirely true. What is important here is not the parameters themselves, but to the extent that they characterize the status-role position of the group and act as social filters that allow it to carry out social distancing so as not to merge, be “blurred” or absorbed by other positions.

Functions of social groups

There are different approaches to classifying the functions of social groups. American sociologist N. Smelser identifies the following functions of groups:

Socialization: only in a group can a person ensure his survival and the upbringing of younger generations;

Instrumental: consists of carrying out one or another activity of people;

Expressive: consists of satisfying people's needs for approval, respect and trust;

Supportive: consists in the fact that people strive to unite in difficult situations for them.

Social groups nowadays

Group dynamics

Group dynamics- processes of interaction between group members, as well as the scientific direction that studies these processes, the founder of which is considered to be Kurt Lewin. Kurt Lewin coined the term group dynamics, which describes the positive and negative processes occurring in a social group. Group dynamics, in his opinion, should consider issues related to the nature of groups, the patterns of their development and improvement, the interaction of groups with individuals, other groups and institutional formations. In 1945, Lewin founded the Group Dynamics Research Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Since group members interact and influence each other, processes arise in the group that distinguish it from a collection of individuals. Among these processes:

-formation of subgroups based on interests;

-the emergence of leaders and their retreat into the shadows;

-making group decisions;

- cohesion and conflicts in the group;

- changing the roles of group members;

-impact on behavior;

-need for affiliation;

- breakup of the group.

Group dynamics are used in business training, group therapy, and the use of flexible software development methodology.

Quasi-group (sociology)

Quasi-group is a sociological term that denotes a social group characterized by unintentionality, in which there are no stable connections and social structure between members, no common values and norms, and relationships are one-sided. Quasi-groups exist for a short time, after which they either completely disintegrate or, under the influence of circumstances, transform into stable social groups, often being their transitional type.

Signs of quasigroups

Anonymity

Suggestibility

Social contamination

Unconsciousness

Spontaneity of education

Instability of relationships

Lack of variety in interactions (either it is only the reception/transmission of information, or only an expression of one’s disagreement or delight)

Short duration of joint actions

Types of quasigroups

Audience

Fan group

Social circles

The concept of a social group. Types of social groups.

Society is a collection of very different groups. A social group is the foundation of human society, and society itself is also a social group, only the largest. The number of social groups on Earth exceeds the number of individuals, because one person is capable of being a member of several groups at once. A social group is usually understood as any collection of people who have a common social characteristic.