Groups &
Organizations
Part 1: Social
Structure
Social Structure: Status
• DEFINITION: socially
defined position within
a group or society
• Status Set:
• Refers to EVERY status
that an individual holds at any given point
in time
Ascribed v. Achieved Status
• Ascribed Status:
• A status assigned according to standards
that are beyond a person’s control
• Achieved Status:
• A status acquired by an individual on the
basis of some special skill, knowledge or
ability
Ascribed v. Achieved Status?
Master Status
• DEFINITION: a
social position
that holds
exceptional importance for identity, often
shaping a person’s entire life
• What is your master status right now?
Social Structure: Role
• DEFINITION: the behavior expected of
someone occupying a particular status
• The dynamic expression of status
• Role Conflict:
• The incompatibility among roles
corresponding to two or more statuses
Part 2: Social
Groups
Types of Social Gatherings
• Social Group
• Social Category
• Social Aggregate
Types of Social Gatherings
• Social Group: collection of people who
interact, share similar characteristics and
have a sense of unity
• Social Category: collection of people who do
not interact, but who share similar
characteristics
• Social Aggregate: at any given time, a
collection of people who are together but
who interact very little
Primary & Secondary Groups
• Primary Group:
• Small social group whose members share
personal & enduring relationships
• Secondary Group:
• Large & impersonal social group whose
members pursue a specific interest or
activity
In-Groups v. Out-Groups
• Characteristics of
In-Groups:
• Titles, external symbols & dress
• Competition with members of the out-group;
strengthens unity within each group
• Apply positive stereotypes to the in-group;
negative stereotypes to the out-group
Six Degrees of Separation?
• Experiment by Stanley Milgram in 1967
• Study has been questioned, but theory is
interesting…randomly select 2 people in
different parts of country and see how many
connections would it take to link them
• 2011 Facebook study – average number of
links 4.74 (less in US – 4.37)
Part 3: Group
Dynamics
Conformity within Groups
• Age:
• Usually begins in
the later teen years
• Highest among college students (over 70%)
• Gender:
• Women conform more frequently than men
Conformity within Groups
• Pressure to Conform:
• Strength of social pressure
• Immediacy of social pressure
• Number of people involved in the source of
social pressure
• Asch Experiment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYIh4
MkcfJA
Group Dynamics
• Factors impacting
group dynamics:
• Group Size
• Social Diversity
(i.e. race, ethnicity, gender)
Group Leadership
• Expressive Leaders:
• Affiliation motivated
• Cooperative style of management
• Instrumental Leaders:
• Achievement motivated
• Directive style of management
Part 4:
Performance in
Groups
Group Decision-Making
• Majority-Win-Rule:
• Works best when the decision involves
judgment and/or opinion
• Truth-Win-Rule:
• Works best when the decision requires an
objectively correct answer
Group Behavior
• Group-Think:
• When members of a
cohesive group endorse
a single explanation or
answer, usually at the expense of ignoring
reality
• No toleration of dissenting opinions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
qYpbStMyz_I
Heterogeneous Groups
• Less effective in communication
• Formation of subgroups
• Increase in conflict and/or performance
Loafing & Compensation
• Social Loafing:
• The tendency to
work less when
responsibility for
an outcome is spread
throughout several
members of a group
Loafing & Compensation
• Social Compensation:
• The tendency to work harder when one is
part of a group, rather than when he or she
is alone
Pro-social Behavior
• DEFINITION: acting to benefit others
• More likely to help if:
• Have a high need for approval
• Personal and social responsibility
• Sense of empathy
Pro-social Behavior
• More likely to be helped by others if:
• Perceived as a potential leader
• Not responsible for predicament
• Member of helper’s group
• Bystander Effect:
• The more people present, the less likely each
individual is to help someone in distress
Part 5: Formal
Organizations
Formal Organizations
• Utilitarian
Organizations:
• An organization that
provides material
benefits in exchange
for labor
Formal Organizations
• Normative
Organizations:
• An organization that
pursues what they
believe to be a morally worthwhile goal
Formal Organizations
• Coercive
Organizations:
• An organization
that serves as a
form of punishment & treatment
McDonaldization of Society
• Four major principles:
• Efficiency
• Calculability
• Predictability
• Control