Social Groups Lecture PDF

SOCIAL GROUPS Types of Groups In- & Out-grouping Statuses & Roles, Role Conflict & Strain What is a social GROUP? Any sort of collection of 2 or more people who have some ongoing shared identity.  AGGREGATE A one-time crowd People wh...

SOCIAL GROUPS Types of Groups In- & Out-grouping Statuses & Roles, Role Conflict & Strain What is a social GROUP? Any sort of collection of 2 or more people who have some ongoing shared identity.  AGGREGATE A one-time crowd People who aren’t interacting with each other Line at Starbucks Ed Sheeran concert Protest at the Supreme Court  What’re some aggregates you’ve recently been a part of? CATEGORY Shared characteristics, but don’t know each other Think demographic labels Gen Z generation Asian-Americans People living with HIV  What’re some categories you’d say you’re a part of?  Aggregates and categories can sometimes turn into social groups PRIMARY GROUPS Usually small, face-to-face, long-term Serves emotional needs, thus have an expressive function Close family, friend group  SECONDARY GROUPS Usually larger, more time-limited Serves goal/task meeting needs, thus have an instrumental function Classmates, coworkers, teammates  Sometimes secondary groups can turn into primary groups 15% of people met their current romantic partner at work 2018 survey by ReportLinker  What’s a secondary group that you belong to? What makes it not a primary group? What’s a primary group you’ve formed out of a secondary group? What makes it now primary? What’s the difference between STATUS & ROLE? Status is the position you have within society or a group Roles are what society expects you to play in that status  STATUS The position you hold and its place within the hierarchy In society, institutions, large organizations, or groups Unpaid intern vs. CEO Parent vs. child  What’re the various statuses within a typical school hierarchy? ASCRIBED STATUS Given or assigned to us often from birth Race, sex, age, cultural group  ACHIEVED STATUS Earned or chosen for oneself Can change throughout life Occupation, family, groups Which of your current statuses are ascribed? Which are achieved? ROLE All the behaviors expressed with a certain status Think of as the acting out of status, which differs across societies and groups  What’re the behaviors associated with the status of teenager in America? 42% of teens from under $30,000 household report pressure to help family financially 28% do from households making +$75,000 2019 survey by Pew Research 35% of female teens report a lot of pressure to look good 23% of male teens report the same 2019 survey by Pew Research  What different role behaviors might a teenager have depending on their other statuses?  RIGHTS Behaviors you expect from other people’s statuses What do you expect from your parents, teachers, coaches, and mentors? RESPONSIBILITIES Behaviors expected from your statuses What do your parents, teachers, coaches, and mentors expect from you?  What different responsibilities have you noticed your friends have to their families?  EXPLORE MORE Now it’s time to dive deeper into these concepts with some activities What 4 truths exist about GROUPS? Groups give us our sense of self Groups we don’t belong to also influence our identity Groups can sometimes become unhealthy Groups teach us how to behave 1 Groups give us our sense of self. Cheerleading is an entirely group-oriented activity that abruptly ends after college.  Which of your social groups is a big part of your identity and sense of self? Groups we don’t belong to also influence our identity.  IN-GROUP A group one is a part of Integral part of one’s identity “Tight-knit”, strong group culture On the varsity team In the military  What’s a group you strongly in-group with or feel pressure to in-group with? OUT-GROUP NOT a member of Distance any association with Feelings of disdain or competition with Rival sports team, school, political party, or gang Part of childhood development is in- and out-grouping to understand gender. What’s one way you’ve experienced out- grouping? Groups teach us how to behave in society. REFERENCE GROUP Standard to measure against Immediate peer group Aspirational group Classmates or teammates Celebrities or “next stage”  What’s an aspirational reference group you look to for influence? The Greek system very much officializes social groups and intensifies group behaviors.  Groups can sometimes become unhealthy. IN- & OUT-GROUPING WITHIN GROUPS Cliques at school or work Favoritism & “politics” can form Being invited to play golf with the senior executives Inside jokes forming within the team starters  US VS. THEM In- & out-grouping can lead to division Political parties, cultural groups, races, generations, social classes Be cautious of in-/out-groupers What 3 truths exist about STATUS & ROLES? Statuses are what we make them to be Statuses can be inconsistent Much of our daily stress comes from fulfilling our roles 1 Statuses are what we make them to be. Teachers in China hold very high status (score of 100/100) In neighboring Japan it’s much lower (37/100)  A working poor single parent usually has low status though is doing incredible things. What’s a status you’ve seen given different prestige by different people?  2 Statuses can be inconsistent  Murray Perahia, one of the world’s best pianists, has a net worth of a few million Justin Bieber’s is a few hundred millions  What’re other skills or talents that don’t really translate to high status in our society? 3 Much of our daily stress comes from fulfilling our roles. Role conflict: when expectations from different statuses clash Working parents of small children know this well. Serena Williams famously retired from tennis in 2022, expressly to have another child. “I need to be two feet into tennis or two feet out.”  What’re ways in which you experience or see role conflict in your life?  Role strain: when expectations from one status become too much A high schooler taking several AP classes knows this well. The stress of being president during a war (and pandemic) is evident on Volodymyr Zelensky’s face.  What’re ways in which you experience or see role strain in your life?  EXPLORE MORE Now is time to dive deeper into these concepts with some activities