This PSEB 11th Class Sociology Notes Chapter 4 Social Groups will help you in revision during exams.
PSEB 11th Class Sociology Notes Chapter 4 Social Groups
→ Man is a social animal. He cannot live alone. To fulfill his needs, he needs to depend upon others. So, most of his activities are centered around groups.
→ A social group is an aggregate of two or more persons who interact with each other.
→ But to become a group, this interaction must continue for a longer period of time. This interaction motivates him to relate with the group.
→ A social group has many features such as it is a collection of individuals, interactions that take place among members of a group, members are conscious about their membership, they have we-feeling among them, each group has certain rules, etc.
→ There exist many social groups in society, and many Sociologists have classified them on many bases. But the classification given by C.H. Cooley is accepted by most Sociologists.
→ According to Cooley, on the basis of physical closeness and distance, there are two types of groups-Primary groups and Secondary groups.
→ Primary groups are the groups in which members have physical proximity with each other.
→ We meet these members on a daily basis, share everything with them, and love to live with them. For example, family, playgroup, neighbourhood, etc.
→ Secondary groups are exactly opposite to primary groups. In such groups, we can take membership with our will and can leave them at any time.
→ There are no close relations among their members; for example, political parties, trade unions, etc.
→ Secondary groups have many features such as physical proximity, temporary in nature, formal relations, optional membership, etc.
→ Primary groups are of great importance as we cannot live without them. They help in the process of socialization and keep control of individual behaviour.
→ Sumner also classified groups and this are-In-group and the Out-group.
→ In-groups are the groups about which an individual is completely conscious. Out-groups are the groups with which an individual does not have we-feeling.
→ Robert Merton gave a new type of group called Reference Group. Sometimes an individual tries to control and direct his behaviour according to a specific group. That group for the individual is a reference group.
→ We-Feeling: The feeling with which we identify ourselves with the group that we are its members.
→ Primary Group: The group with which we are quite close and without which we can’t live.
→ Secondary Group: The group whose membership is taken when the need arises and can be left at any time.
→ In-Group: The group with which a person has we-feeling,
→ Out-Group: The group with which a person does not have any feeling in him.