8

Social Groups

1. INTRODUCTION

Man lives in groups, which are universal aspects of human life. The term group means a number of units that are in close proximity to one another. Thus, we may speak of a group of houses on a street, of trees in a forest, or of buses in a bus stand. In sociology; we are not concerned with merely any group of human beings but with social groups. The simple meaning of social group is human being in reciprocal relationships. Social group is a collection of interrelated individuals who are involved in interactional processes. It is a social unit that consists of a number of individuals who stand in (more or less) definite status and role relationships to one another and which possesses a set of values or norms of its own regulating the behaviour of individual members at least in matters of consequences to the group. In sociology, wherever we use the term group, it refers to a social group. It is the pivotal concept of sociology.

Social group has been defined in a variety of ways by sociologists and social psychologists. Each of those definitions emphasizes one feature or the other of a social group according to the viewpoint of the scholar who has advanced that particular definition. An analytical description and discussion of the definitions of the social group will bring out its nature. Some of the definitions of the social group are given in Box 8.1.

Group and society are different in many aspects (Table 8.1).

Group differs from institution as well (Table 8.2).

Group and community are also two separate concepts (Table 8.3).

 

TABLE 8.1 Difference between Group and Society

Group	Society
A collection of human beings	A system of social relationships
An artificial creation	A natural growth
Membership is voluntary	Membership is compulsory
A group is always organized	Society may be unorganized
A specific purpose	General purpose
Marked by co-operation	Marked by both co-operation and conflict
A group may be temporary	Society is permanent

 

TABLE 8.2 Difference between Group and Institution

Group	Institution
A group is a collection of human beings	An institution is a set of folkways and mores
A group is an artificial creation	An institution is a natural growth
A group may be temporary	An institution is comparatively permanent

 

TABLE 8.3 Difference between Group and Community

Group	Community
A group is an artificial creation	A community is a natural growth
A group is formed to realize some specific purpose or purposes	A community includes the whole circle of social life
Membership of a group is voluntary	Membership of a community is compulsory
A group is comparatively temporary	A community is comparatively permanent
A group is a part of community	A community is a whole

2. CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL GROUPS

The following are the important characteristics of social groups.

• Reciprocal relations: The members of a group are inter-related to each other, and they do similar activities that they promise or agree to do with each other, which benefits every members of the group. They own similar interest in a group.

Figure 8.1 Characteristics of Social Groups

• Sense of unity: The members of the group are always united by the sense of unity and feeling as they have similar cultural practices and taboos. They always do things united.
• Common interest: Everyone in the group has similar interest, therefore people in a group meet each other for every occasion and share their interest with the group.
• Similar behaviour: Each member of the group behaves in similar way as the members of every group have their own way to pursue their common interest
• Group norms: Every group has its own rules or norms which the members are supposed to follow.
• Collection of individuals: A social group consists of people. Without individuals, there can be no group, just as we cannot have a college or a group or a university without students and teachers.
• Interaction among members: Social interaction is the very basis of group life. Hence, a mere collection of individuals does not make a group. The members must have interaction. The limits of social groups are marked by the limits of social interaction.
• Influence on personality: Social groups directly or indirectly shape the personality of their members. They also provide opportunities for the expression of individuality
• Stability: Groups are stable or unstable, permanent or temporary in character. Some groups, such as crowd, mob, audience, spectator’s group, and so on, are temporary and unstable.
• Size of the group: Every group involves an idea of size. Social groups vary in size. Size has its own impact on the character of the group.
• Group dynamics: Social groups are not static but dynamic. They are subject to changes, whether slow or rapid. Old members die and new members are born. Whether due to internal and external pressures or forces, groups undergo changes.

3. CLASSIFICATIONS OR TYPES OF SOCIAL GROUPS

Social groups have been divided into different types on various bases (Table 8.4). They have also been divided into different types by various sociologists (Table 8.5).

 

TABLE 8.4 Classification of Social Groups on Various Bases

Type	Description
On the basis of number of members	Small groups: family or friendship group. Large groups: nation and religion
On the basis of interest	Formal group: There is lack of intimacy in this group, for example, political party, college.
	Informal group: There is an intense we feeling among members, for example, ward staff. neighbourhood
On the basis of permanency	In-group: our family, our nation, and so on. Out-group: those groups which are not ours; for example, another nation
On the basis of function	Voluntary group: club, music group. Involuntary group: trade union
On the basis of performance	Reference group is formed on this basis. Robert K Merton has described that group as a reference group in which a person is not a member but aspires to be a member. This aspiration influences his attitude, values and behaviour
On the basis of relationship	Primary groups
	Secondary groups

 

TABLE 8.5 Types of Social Groups according to Various Sociologists

Type	Description
C.H. Cooley	Primary and secondary groups
F.H. Giddings	Genetic and congregate groups
George Hansen	Unsocial, pseudo-social, anti-social or pro-social groups
Leopold von Wiese	Crowds, groups and abstracts
R.E. Park and E.W. Burgess	Territorial and non-territorial groups
J.L. Gillin and J.P.	Gillin Blood relationship, bodily characteristics, physical proximity, and culturally derived interests
William Sumner	In-group and out-group
Charles A. Ellwood	Sanctioned and unsanctioned groups
Lester F. Ward	Voluntary and involuntary groups

4. GROUP CYCLE, GROUP MORALE, AND GROUP BEHAVIOUR

4.1. Group Cycle

Group cycle or group dynamics helps to understand the nature of groups, their development, and their inter-relations with individuals and other groups. Group dynamics aims at studying the mental and social forces associated with groups. It makes us understand the principles of group life and group activities. When the head of the family dies, the family changes. When a new political party comes into power, changes take place. So the fundamental problems are studied in group dynamics

4.1.1. Essential Features of Group Cycle

Throughout one’s life, a person remains a member of social groups. The characteristics and objectives of these groups may be different. At the time of birth, a person is the member of his family, but after marriage he establishes his own family. Even after establishing his new group, his membership in the old group continues. Like this, a person can be a member of several primary groups at the same time. On being dissociated from one group, he gets associated with other group. Hence, a person keeps on forming or dissolving the groups on the basis of his age, objectives, culture, professional interests, and family interests. This cycle continues all his life. Because of man’s social nature, the utility and the absolute necessity of group cycle for man are undisputed.

4.2. Group Morale

The group consists of members of different hues but the social group is regulated by norms. Norms are controls found in all human societies from the beginning. They include the dos and don’ts. These are the moral codes prescribed to lead a good life, free from sin and evil. Thus, group norms are shared acceptance of a rule. They give some regularity to social events and social relationships. As an individual, each person has his own norms. When individuals are put in a group, they share the group morale.

4.2.1. Essential Features of Group Morale

With the formation of a group, group leadership also starts developing. In every group, the burden of leadership falls on some member. For group solidarity; unity, and proper behaviour, this leadership is responsible. This element is responsible for group morale. The group structure includes definite programmes and purposes. There is similarity in thoughts, experiences, and actions of group members. Thus, many of the problems of the group are solved automatically. These achievements raise the morale of the group. Group morale is also influenced by the initiative of group leadership and the ideals they establish. The programmes and procedures of the group also influence the morale of the group. The satisfaction that participating members of a group feel and their happiness over its achievements also increases group morale.

4.2.2. Functions of Group Morale

Group morale is advantageous to the group as a whole. Group norms provide stability and orderliness to the group. In the absence of group morale, the members may behave in their own way, and there will not be uniform behaviour patterns. Without group norms, life will be chaotic and unpredictable. Another function of group norms is that they facilitate interaction between the members.

4.3. Group Behaviour

Group behaviour or collective behaviour is unorganized, unpredictable, and planless in its course of development. It develops on inter-stimulation among the participants. It includes situations, such as riots, protest movements, strikes of students or labourers, public revolts, and so on.

4.3.1. Essential Features of Group Behaviour

Group behaviour, like group morale, is a subject matter of the study of social psychology. In group behaviour, we study about the behaviour of people in groups, mobs (crowd), audience, and other social situations. Man is associated with society from birth to death. Hence, many social situations determine group behaviour. Through social interactions, individuals develop attitudes regarding different subjects, persons, thoughts, and so on. These acquired attitudes naturally influence group behaviour. At the root of a person’s attitude regarding child marriage, family planning, abortion, divorce, and so on, are social interactions, which in turn help in exhibiting group behaviour. The participants in such groups may behave in a noble or heroic way or in the most savage and destructive manner. Group behaviour may be expressed in two distinguished crowds, such as mob and audience.

Factors affecting individual behaviour are as follows:

• The group into which a person is born
• Art and literature
• Tradition and culture
• Science and technology
• Rules, regulations, and ideals
• Social institutions

4.3.2. Role of Social Interactions

• Interrelations of persons: An individual acquires a large number of thoughts and acts from his parents, teachers, and friends. This interaction between individuals influences group behaviour.
• Intra-group relations: An individual is the member of some group or the other and he follows the tradition of that group. In India, inter-caste marriage is not popular because of intra-group pressure.
• Reference group behaviour: In reference group behaviour, a person is striving to act as a member of a group superior to him, though he is not a member of that group.

Figure 8.2 Role of Social Interactions

5. PRIMARY, SECONDARY, AND QUASI GROUPS

One of the most important classifications of social groups is the American sociologists’ distinction between primary and secondary groups. The concept of primary group was introduced by C.H. Cooley in his book Social Organization in 1909. Secondary groups are many in the modern industrial society. R.M. MacIver and C.H. Page have called them ‘the great associations’. Secondary groups are also known as special interest groups. They are inevitable in the modern society.

5.1. Primary Groups

Primary groups are small and intimate. They are very important in the society. They are the foundation and nucleus of social structure. The development of the personality of an individual depends upon primary groups. They play a vital role in the socialization process. They help a person increase his or her efficiency.

5.1.1. Characteristics of Primary Group

• The members of a primary group have close physical contact. Physical closeness provides face-to-face interaction and intimacy.
• Primary groups are small in size. In a small group, members can know each other personally and participate directly in all group activities.
• The relationship is durable because the groups remain together for a longer period.
• In a primary group, the relationships are personal, spontaneous, sentimental, and inclusive.
• The members are stimulated to pursue their interests.
• The members are governed by norms.
• The members directly cooperate with each other and one can see functional unity.

5.1.2. The Importance of Primary Groups

Primary groups are very important in society, and they are the foundation and nucleus of social structure. The development of the personality of an individual develops upon the primary groups. They play a vital role in the socialization process. Primary groups satisfy many psychological and physical needs of the individuals. A person gets benefits of companionship, love, and sympathy. These groups provide a sense of contentment and security. They insist upon individuals to behave in accordance with group norms and act as a means of social control. Primary groups teach individuals high ideals, such as freedom, loyalty, love, sacrifice, patriotism, and justice. All important functions of the society, such as reproduction, sex satisfaction, emotional security, and social control, are fulfilled in primary groups. Primary groups are responsible for maintaining social order. In fact, social organization depends upon the members of the primary groups. Primary groups have certain specific features as presented in Table 8.6.

 

TABLE 8.6 Characteristics of Primary Groups

Primary Group	Characteristics
Family	Smaller number
Play group	Personal
Traditional	Face-to-face relationship
Neighbourhood	Intimacy, informal, spontaneous general goals, permanency and stability; we-feeling. Members interact with one another as total personalities, not as segmental personalities

5.2. Secondary Groups

Secondary groups are important to the modern society. A secondary group is one which is large in size, for example, city, nation, party, corporation, international cartel, or labour union. Secondary groups are also known as special interest groups. They are inevitable in modern society. They are contrary to the primary groups in all respect.

5.2.1. Characteristics of Secondary Groups

• The relations of the members are limited in scope and are arrived at by much trial and error and in terms of self-interest calculations of the members.
• The members exert only indirect influences over one another. Each member knows personally only a very few of the other members and functions as one among almost countless members.
• The relations of the members in a secondary group are of a formal and impersonal type. It does not exercise primary influence over its members.
• The secondary groups are large in size; they might be spread all over the world, for example, Red Cross Society.
• The membership of a secondary group is not compulsory. For example, it is not essential to become a member of Rotary International or Red Cross Society.
• A large group has less intimacy. Due to the absence of intimate relations, some members of the secondary groups become inactive while some become quite active.
• Members of a secondary group hardly meet face to face, and are scattered throughout the country and throughout the world. They communicate with one another by indirect means.
• The status of the individual depends on his or her role in the secondary group.

5.2.2. Importance of Secondary Groups

• A secondary group is marked by clear-cut division of labour. There are set rules to regulate it. A formal authority is set up with the responsibility of managing the organization effectively.
• A secondary group broadens the outlook of its members. The members of a secondary group are widespread. It is wide in outlook and crosses the boundaries, of localism, provincialism, regionalism, casteism, and communalism.
• The secondary groups are playing a very important role in the modern civilized and industrialized societies. For a long time, the primary groups could meet the essential requirements of people. Due to the growth of cities and population, the complexity of social structure and the differentiation of interests, secondary groups have become a necessity. The processes of industrialization and urbanization have added to the unprecedented expansion and growth of societies.

Characteristics of secondary groups have been enumerated in Table 8.7. There are differences between primary groups and secondary groups (Table 8.8).

 

TABLE 8.7 Characteristics of Secondary Groups

Secondary Group	Characteristics
School	Impersonal
Factory	Formal
Army	Utilitarian
Clubs	Focus on skills and interests, not personality; communication is rational and purposeful; role expectations precisely defined; members are together for a purpose and not because they like each other

 

TABLE 8.8 Difference between Primary Groups and Secondary Groups

	Primary Groups	Secondary Groups
Physical characteristics	Physical proximity and small size	Absence of physical proximity and large size
Mental characteristics	Similarity of objectives	Variety of objectives
	Personal relations	Formal or special relations
	Develops spontaneously	Artificially made
	More controlling power	Competition
	Emotional attachment	No emotional attachment
	Intimacy	Absence of intimacy
	Face-to-face relation, we feeling	Absence of face-to-face relationship
	Mental security	Infirmity
Examples	Family, neighbourhood, play group, ward staff, small community, friendship group, and so on	Military, political party, trade union, college, hospital, religion, nation, and so on

5.3. Quasi Groups

These groups stand in between the primary and secondary groups. In such groups some characteristics of both these groups are found. Quasi groups are collections of human beings having no structure but are found on the basis of similar interests and behaviour patterns. They also lack continuity of relationships. In these groups, contacts are direct but the frequency is lesser than in the primary groups. Emotions are superficial and for the time being. Generally, they have no definite or specific organization but at times they turn into organized groups. Social classes, status groups, social groups, sex groups, racial groups, crowds, public, and audiences are some of the examples of quasi groups.

6. GEMEINSCHAFT AND GESELLSCHAFT

These are German terms and used to represent community and society or association, respectively. These concepts were developed by German Sociologists Ferdinand Tonnies to differentiate between urban and rural life or community living and living in the mass society. The concept gemeinschaft is closer to the concept of community. According to Tonnies, it refers to social relationships whatever functions characterized by relative smallness, cohesion, long duration and emotional intensity. It is characterized by a sense of solidarity and a common identity. There is a strong emphasis on shared values and sentiments of we feeling. It derives from likeness and shared life experience. People frequently interact with one another and tend to establish deep and long-term relationships. Social control is expressed in gemeinschaft through informal ways, such as moral persuasion, where a person acts to do something that is true, gossips, where it is an informal conversation about people’s private affairs, and through the gesture where movement is made with part of the body with hands especially to express the emotions or give information.

6.1. Difference between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschatt

Gemeinschaft	Gesellschaft
Relationship in Gemeinschaft	Relationship in Gesellschaft
Personal	Impersonal
Informal	Formal and Contractual
Intimate and familiar	Task-specific
Traditional	Utilitarian
Sentimental	Realistic
Emphasis on ascribed statuses	Emphasis on achieved statuses
Less tolerance to deviance	Greater tolerance to deviance
Holistic relationships	Segmental (partial) relationship
Long duration	Transient and Fragmented
Relatively limited social change	Very evident social change
Predominance of informal social control	Greater formal social control
We feeling	They feeling
A types of rural life	A types of urban life

7. REFERENCE GROUPS

The term reference means out of consisting someone or evaluating somebody or something in order to get information or advance. The term reference group was framed by Herbert Hyman in Archives of Psychology. He referred a particular group that evaluates an individual’s situation or conduct. Herbert Hyman differentiated between membership group and reference group, both of which are usually compared and evaluated. Usually a reference group may be or may not be involved with the membership group.

Mustafa Sherif (1953) defined reference groups as ‘Those groups to which the individual relates himself as a part of which he aspires to relate himself psychologically’. These are the groups whose values, standards, and beliefs guide the person in carrying out his actions and in evaluating himself.

7.1. Types of Reference Groups

Sociologists have identified two types of reference groups as described in the following:

1. Positive reference groups: These are the ones we want to be accepted by. Thus, if we want to be a film actor, we might carefully observe and imitate the behaviour of film actors.
2. Negative reference group: These groups we do not want to be identified with also serve as sources of self-evaluation. A person might, for example, try to avoid resembling members of a particular religious group or a circus group. A group rejected by or in opposition to ego’s own group. It is the enemy or the negative group.

7.2. Importance and Functions of Reference Group

• They serve a normative function by setting and enforcing standards of conduct and belief. The significant thing about a reference group is in fact that its norms provide frames of reference which actually influence the attitude and behaviour of a person.
• They also perform a comparison function by serving as a standard against which people can measure themselves and others.
• They serve not only as sources of current evaluation but also as sources of aspiration and goal attainment (as a means of anticipatory socialization). A person who chooses to become a professor or a lawyer, begins to identify with that group and socializes to fulfil certain goals and expectations.

8. IN-GROUP AND OUT-GROUP

In-group and out-group relationships are very simple and direct. W.G. Sumner and A.G. Keller first introduced the concept of in-group and out-group in their work, The Science of Society. There is a sense of solidarity a feeling of brotherhood, loyalty; sacrifice, and so on, in an in-group. However, its attitudes towards the outsiders are those of hostility, contempt, and hatred. In-groups and out-groups are found in all societies though the interests which they develop vary from society to society. As there are thousands of tribes, castes, sub-castes, religions, and races within India itself, there may be conflict among individuals and also between different groups.

According to Horton and Hunt, there are some groups to which I belong—my family, my church, my clique, my profession, my race, my sex, my nation—any group which is preceded with the pronoun ‘my’. These are in-groups, because I feel I belong to them. There are other groups which I do not belong to—other families, cliques, occupations, races, nationalities, religions, the other sex. These are out-groups, for I am outside them. The members of an in-group feel that their personal welfare is in some way or the other bound up with that of the other members of the group.

Ethnocentrism is a feature of the in-group. According to William Sumner, this means one’s own group is the centre of everything and others are scaled and rated with reference to it. A conviction of values, the ways of life, the whole culture of one’s group is superior to that of others. Ethnocentrism involves a double moral standard, one inside and the other outside. Every group thinks that the other group is not with them. We are Indians; they are Americans. We are south Indians; they are north Indians. We are Christians; they are Hindus.

The in-group and out-group attitudes are very striking. One has to make adjustments and develop a sense of tolerance and co-existence; otherwise there will be conflicts, tension, and disturbances. In-groups and out-groups are important because they affect behaviour. From fellow members of an in-group we expect recognition, loyalty, and helpfulness. Between them there is always a considerable degree of sympathy. In their relationships towards each other, they display co-operation, goodwill, mutual help, and respect for one another’s rights.

9. CLAN/SIB

A clan is a group of families, who believe them to be the descendants of a common ancestor, real or mythical. It is that exogamous combination of unilateral families whose members are related by some common ties. It also helps in maintaining peace and order within the clan. The disputes among the members of a clan are settled by the head of the clan.

According to Mazumdar and Madan, a sib or clan is often the combination of a few lineages and descendants who may be ultimately traced to a mythical ancestor, who may be human, human-like, animal, plant, or even inanimate. A committee has defined the clan thus, ‘Clan is an exogamous division of a tribe, the members of which are held to be related to one another by some commonality. It may be a belief in descent from a common ancestor, possession of a common totem, or habitation of a common territory.’

The terms sib and clan are often used in sociological and anthropological literature to mean more or less the same thing. A sib refers to a group of two or more lineages claiming common ancestry, whether the founder can be traced or not, European usage favours the term clan instead of sib, while Americans use clan in a special way. The term sib was proposed by George P. Murdock in place of the less precise clan to signify a consanguine unilateral kin group whose ancestry is too old for all the members of the group to trace all the links.

9.1. Types of Clan

• Matrilineal: As is evident from its name, this clan is based on the mother’s line. That is, it traces its origin from a woman. In this clan, all the offspring of one woman are held to be members of one clan. By way of extension, the sisters and brothers of the woman are also members of this clan. In this way, a matrilineal clan includes the woman, her offspring, her sisters, and their children. However, the children of the brothers are excluded from this clan.
• Patrilineal: This clan is based on the father’s line and traces its origin from a man. In this clan are included the man, his children, his brothers and sisters, and the children of his brothers, but not those of his sisters.

9.2. Characteristics of Clan

• Unilateral: The nature of a clan is unilateral. That is, a clan is a collection of all families either on the mother’s side or on the father’s side.
• Own names: Clans may have their own names. For example, Shandilya, Kaundia, Bharadwaj, Kunjam, Afaagsori, Jaunpuriya, and Mahanadiya are some examples of Indian clans.
• Common ancestor: All the members of a clan believe themselves to have descended from a common ancestor. The ancestor can be real or mythical.

Figure 8.3 Characteristics of Clan

• Exogamous: Descending from a common ancestor virtually makes the members of a clan brothers and sisters. So, they do not marry any member of their own clan. Instead, marriage is supposed to be a contract to be executed out of one’s own clan. In other words, the clan is an exogamous group.
• Totem worship: Usually, members of a clan worship a totemic object. They have immense faith in this totemic object and bestow divine status on it.

9.3. Functions of Clan

• Cooperation: Since the members of a clan believe themselves to have descended from a common ancestor, they share a fraternal feeling for one another. They are prepared not only to help one another but even to sacrifice their lives for one another.
• Exogamy: Since the clan is exogamous, it arranges marriages from outside the group. This serves the twin objectives of averting conflicts within the clan between a man and a woman and increasing cordiality and friendship with the members of the other clans.
• Control: The clan controls the conduct of its members through laws of its own. If individuals are found to be indulging in anti-social acts, they are extradited from the clan. This extradition is so humiliating for the culprit that it is considered to be more deadly than even death sentence.
• Law and order: Every clan performs legal function. It punishes the miscreants and thereby maintains law and order.
• Property: The rural economy is based on agriculture. In the villages, it is the clan that performs the important function of arranging for agricultural land. The head of the clan distributes the land. Members can only rent the land. Besides, there are punitive measures. When a person is deprived of the membership of the clan, he is also deprived of the land.

Figure 8.4 Functions of Clan

• Administrative: The clan is a government in its own right. It performs the administrative functions for its members. The heads of the various clans meet and form a committee for the tribe. Whenever there is a conflict between the members of the clan, this committee serves to mediate between them. It is also vested with the power to take political decisions during both war and peace.
• Religious: The clan, especially its leadership, has the responsibility of protecting the sanctity of the totemic object that the clan worships. The head of the clan is also its chief priest. In him is vested the responsibility of consummating the religious rites of all the members.

9.4. Difference between Clan and Tribe

Clan and tribe differ from each other on the following counts:

• A clan cannot be said to have a definite language but a tribe has a common language.
• A clan is an exogamous group but a tribe is usually endogamous. That is, the members of a clan do not marry another member of their own clan. On the other hand, members of a tribe usually marry among themselves. However, with the advent of modernity; the means of transportation have improved and contact among neighbouring tribes has increased. This has led the tribes to shed some of their endogamous character. So, one should not be surprised to see a member of one tribe marrying someone from another.
• A clan may be spread beyond a definite geographical area but members of a tribe generally live in a definite geographical area.

9.5. Difference between Clan and Caste

• Clans are based on equality whereas castes have hierarchy. That is, in clans, individuals possess the same social status. In castes, individuals possess higher and lower status.
• Clan is a well-organized group based on a mythical ancestor. Caste is a real, actual, organized group.
• Clan is an exogamous group whereas caste is endogamous. That is, members of a clan marry outside it while those of a caste cannot marry outside the caste.

10. TRIBE

Tribe is a community occupying a common geographical area and having a similar language and culture.

10.1. Characteristics of Tribe

• Definite common topography: The tribe inhabits and remains within a definite and common topography. In the absence of a common topography, the tribe would also lose its other characteristic features, such as community sentiments, common language, and so on. For this reason, a common habitat is essential for a tribe.
• Sense of unity: Any group of people living in a particular geographical area cannot be called a tribe. A mutual sense of unity among its members is an invariable and essential characteristic of the tribe.
• Common language: The members of a tribe speak a common language. This also helps to generate and evolve a sense of communal unity among them.
• Endogamous group: The members of a tribe generally marry into their own tribe. However, this scenario is now changing, thanks to an increased contact with other tribes as a consequence of an increase in the means of transportation.
• Ties of blood relationships: The sense of communal unity in a tribe is primarily because of the tie of blood relationships between its members. The members believe in their having descended from a common ancestor, real or mythical, and hence in blood relationships with the other members.
• Experience of the need for protection: The members of a tribe always experience the need for protection. It is with this need in mind that the political organization of the tribe is established and all authority for administration is vested in one person. This person becomes the leader and employs his mental power and skill in protecting the entire tribe.

Figure 8.5 Characteristics of Tribe

• Political organization: Each tribe has its own political organization, which maintains harmony and avoids discord among its members. Thus, it acts as an umbrella of protection for its members.
• Importance of religion: Religion has great importance in a tribe. The political and social organization of a tribe is based on its religion. Social and political laws become inviolable once they are granted religious sanctity and recognition.
• Common name: A tribe has a common name.
• Common culture: A tribe has a common culture. This evolves from a sense of unity; common language, common religion, common political organization, and so on.
• Organization of clans: A tribe constitutes several clans. There exists the law of mutual reciprocity among its members.

10.2. Distinction between Tribe and Horde

A nomadic horde is a group of a small number of people. When the members of a nomadic horde increase to a very sizable figure, it is characterized as a tribe. A very strong community feeling exists in both horde and tribe, which differ from each other mainly in respect of size. In both, economic activities like collection of fruits, animal hunting, animal husbandry, fishing, and so on, are carried on. In both, there is a conglomeration of families. The chief is well respected and obeyed in both. In spite of such a great similarity, the horde and the tribe differ from each other in the following respects:

• According to E.S. Bogardus, in the tribal group, which is an advance over the horde, the need of protection stands out prominently.
• The tribe is bigger in size than the nomadic horde.
• Being of a larger and more cumbersome size, the tribe possesses a weaker sense of unity than the horde.
• In the tribe, religion is more developed and evolved than in the horde because in the latter a greater solidarity and strength of political and social laws is to be expected.
• The tribe is divided into many smaller groups but the horde has no such divisions.
• Agricultural occupation is an accepted mode of life in the tribe whereas in the horde agriculture is not included to any large extent.
• The tribe inhabits a definite place. The horde, instead of staying at a definite place, wanders over a definite geographical area.

10.3. Distinction between Tribe and Caste

Marriage outside the group is forbidden both in tribe as well as in caste. However, modern development in the means of transport and communication has induced increased contact between members of various tribes and castes and has weakened the laws of endogamy in both. The two are similar in many respects, yet they also differ in the following:

• According to Herbert Risley, the convention of endogamy is not rigidly enforced in a tribe, whereas such is the case in a caste.
• Max Weber writes in Social Structure that when an Indian tribe loses its territorial significance, it assumes the form of an Indian caste. Thus, the tribe is a local group whereas the caste is a social one.
• The origin of caste in ancient Hindu society was due to division of labour on the basis of professions and occupations. The tribe originated because of the evolution of community feeling in a group inhabiting a definite geographical area.
• According to D.N. Majumdar, the tribe looks upon Hindu ritualism as foreign and extra-religious even though indulging in it and in the worship of gods and goddesses. in the caste, these are necessary parts of religion. The tribes of central India, which are called Hindu and Kshatriya tribes, are better acquainted with their own ‘Bonga’ than with the Hindu gods.
• According to Max Weber, all the members have similar status in a caste, but there is much difference of status and rank in the tribe. This view, however, does not apply to all castes. Differences of rank and status can be found in many castes also.
• There is a greater consciousness of difference in status and rank in the caste than in the tribe.
• The caste is not a political association like the tribe.

11. CROWD

Crowds is a temporary group which represents collective behaviour of the people. It has no definite long-term aim. In the words of Maclver, ‘crowd is physically compact organization of human beings brought into direct, temporary and unorganized contact with one another’. Similarly, Cantril says, ‘crowd is a congregate group of individuals who have temporarily identified themselves with common values and who are expressing similar emotions’. Thus, it will be seen that crowds are unorganized groups only.

11.1. Theories of Crowd Behaviour

There are different theories which have been put forth about crowd behaviour. One of them is Group Mind Behaviour Theory. By this theory it is believed that in a crowd individual gives up his identity and sense of suggestibility. His individuality then gets merged in the group and thus instead of having individual mind, he gets group mind. Then comes Freudian Theory in which it is believed that in a crowd individual becomes indisciplined. He violates social conduct and tries to give expression to those tendencies which are otherwise considered anti-social. Multifactor Theory is another theory which believes that crowd behaviour is not influenced by one factor alone but by many factors combined together.

11.1.1. Classifications of Crowd

Blumer has a classification of crowd into the following:

• Casual crowd: It is a short-lived loosely organized collectivity that may be motivated by the attraction of the moments. For example, a group of people may collect together where there is an accident or when somebody is behaving in a peculiar way.
• Conventionalized crowd: The activities of which are directed by conventional rules or expectations like, for example, these collection of people in a religious festival or the spectators at a football match or a cricket match.
• Action crowd: It is an aggressive crowd and act towards a definite goal.
• Expressive crowd: It has no clear defined goal. It is a group of people that collect together to celebrate an event.

11.1.2. Characteristics of Crowd

• Crowd is a gathering: Individuals are physically present in a definite place and are responding to a particular object of attention.
• Temporary group: A crowd is a short-lived social group. It is transitory and quickly dissolved.
• Unorganized group: A crowd is an unorganized group. It has no definite goals, no aims, no social norms, no leaders, and no social contacts.

Figure 8.6 Characteristics of Crowd

• Anonymity: A crowd is an anonymous group. The members of a crowd do not know each other. Among the members of a crowd, there is a lack of personal contacts and individual identity.
• Narrow attention: A crowd directs its attention only to a particular thing or object.
• Highly irrational: The members of a crowd are highly emotional. They do not see any reason in the arguments of others.
• Crowd behaviour is a part of culture: Crowd behaviour may appear to be spontaneous and unpredicted, but actually it is not entirely so.

12. PUBLIC

The public represents another kind of unorganized group. The term public is used in several senses. In popular use, the public is synonymous with the people or with practically everybody. Public is a form of an unorganized group. For Ginsberg, ‘public’ refers to an unorganized aggregation of persons who are bound together by common opinion, desires, but are too numerous for each to maintain personal relations with others.

12.1. Characteristics of the Public

• A dispersed group: The public is a dispersed group. It never meets together. The interaction of the public takes place through the media of mass communications.
• A deliberate group: The public is a deliberate collectivity. It is not marked by emotional intensity. There is an interchange of ideas and decisions between the members of the public.
• A definite issue: The public centres on a specific issue. The issue may be economic, political, religious, local, national, or international. The public comes into existence only when an issue arises.
• Lack of organization: The public does not have a definite status and role. It does not have any form or organization.
• Disagreement: The public is marked by discussion and disagreement.
• Self-awareness: The members of the public are aware of themselves and their own interest. They take interest in an issue and discuss it.

Figure 8.7 Characteristics of the Public

13. AUDIENCE

The audience is a group, almost in the nature of a crowd. In an audience, the members are less stimulated for any action than is found in a mob or a crowd. The members who constitute an audience are aware of the presence of others with whom there is no interaction. An audience is ritualistic and characterized by certain material devices, such as chairs, platforms or dais, stadium, lecture hail, public park, and so on. The intensity of interaction among the members of an audience is usually low because they are usually conscious that others are viewing them and hence they modify their behaviour to a small or large extent.

 

TABLE 8.9 Difference between Public and Crowd

Public	Crowd
The public is not based on physical proximity	The crowd is based on physical proximity
One can be a member of several publics simultaneously	One can belong to only one crowd at a time
Ideas cannot be communicated quickly	Ideas can be communicated very quickly
There is less suggestibility and more rationality. There is scope for debate, discussion and disagreement	The crowd is highly suggestible, emotional, rational and impulsive. There is no scope for discussion
The public is bound by norms. It forms various organizations. Hence, the behaviour of the people is more regular and predictable	The crowd is bound by no norms. It behaves impulsively. Hence, the people’s behaviour is irregular and unpredictable. It may even become violent

According to Kimball Young and Raymond W. Mack, an audience is a number of persons in physical contiguity (i.e. at the same place at the same time), all of whom are subject to the same stimulus).

Public is different from crowd as shown in Table 8.9.

13.1. Characteristics of audience

The stage or screen provides an audience a platform to listen to or witness the performance of the actors in music, dance, drama, and other cultural activities. There are stadium for athletic performance and games for the assemblages of audience. There are audiences in public venues and platforms to listen to speeches by leaders, scholars, and persons of eminence. The audience expects some standard in performance. Emotional response in terms of appreciation or dislike is noticed by the audience. In an audience, a ritualized behaviour is found which takes the form of institutionalized behaviour in a cultural pattern.

13.2. Types of audience

Audience is classified according to their purpose of gathering. They are as follows:

• Information-seeking audience: People gather to get some information. Their basic aim is to impart some knowledge. For example, classroom, workshops.

Figure 8.8 Types of Audience

• Conversational audiences: Such audience actively participates in the discussion about a particular topic.
• Recreational audience: Such audience they gather together for some recreational purpose. For example, cinema theatre, sports stadium.
• Religious audience: This group gathers for religious purpose or worship. For example, churches, temples, and mosques.
• Political audience: Political leaders address this audience usually.

The difference between an audience and a crowd is shown in Table 8.10.

TABLE 8.10 Difference between audience and Crowd

Audience	Crowd
An audience is temporary, but gathers at a definite place and time. Soon after the realization of the purpose, it is dispersed	A crowd is temporary. It is quickly formed and quickly dispersed and has no definite place
An audience is invited	A crowd is formed on its own
No stimulation and no emotion	Based on stimulation and emotion
Controlled and organized	Uncontrolled and unorganized
Preference for rationality	No rationality

14. MOB

A mob is an aggregate of persons who are motivated by anger or exhilaration in certain situation. It may be designated as an active crowd stimulated under certain conditions of success or failure in social pursuits. Generally, a mob is mistaken to be aggressive, destructive, and harmful. But a mob may be motivated by friendly emotions resorting to amicable action to exhibit or celebrate the glory of victory. When a team wins in football, cricket, or wrestling, the mob is motivated by friendly emotions to carry the victorious persons in streets. The mob is a crowd but not all crowds are mobs.

The mob differs from crowd in several respects. First, mob has a leader to focus the attention of the public for certain objectives. The leader builds up emotional tensions and recommends a line of action. In political platform, the leader rouses the emotions of the mob for action which he justifies. Secondly, a mob is more emotional than an ordinary crowd.

The members of a mob are restless with emotional tensions. A crowd on the other hand may be motivated by simple emotions of gestures, curiosity, amusement, and sympathy. The mob is instigated by the leader for high emotional excitement. Thirdly, a mob makes use of symbols, such as signs, flags, and boards to focus the attention of members and for a dramatic display of their emotions. The symbols are identified with emotional reactions.

The mob in many respects is not different from a crowd. It is stable. It has no internal organization. When the object is achieved, it dissolves. It is a temporary group. The mob unlike many crowds is destructive. Therefore, officers of law and order are vigilant to control and subdue their actions. Riots are brought under control by clubbing and shooting by the police. The collective attention of the mob is sometimes diverted to avoid dangerous consequences.

The mob processions though ideologically peaceful incidentally lead to brick-batting, hand grenade, and looting public and private property. The police struggle to break the mob with the final resort of shooting. The mob when organized for planned action becomes more dangerous than several unorganized crowds.

14.1. Types of Mob

Mobs can be classified on the basis of nature of action. The following are the types of mobs:

• Aggressive mobs: The aggressive mobs attacks people and destroy property. In rioting, two mobs are involved in aggressive action against each other. There is violence on both the sides. The mob may be threatened or the police who feel threatened may retaliate by shooting the unarmed people.

Figure 8.9 Types of Mob

• Escape mobs: Panic is a coordinated and irrational response to fear. People run away from the place of danger in different directions. Panic is highly emotional and also highly irrational. People congregate in one place for recreation or for some other purpose. The crowd instantly perceives a crisis of an unanticipated danger situation. It is under these conditions that the panic behaviour starts. The sense of panic leads to a state of terror. This terror increases with the realization of the hopelessness of the situation.
• Acquisitive mobs: The acquisitive mob is one whose members have gathered together in order to acquire something. A mob at cinema hall is an example. Likewise, the acquisitive mob is composed of individuals whose object is to gain something.
• Expressive mobs: Generally, it may be stated that the behaviour of the expressive mob is consummatory. The holiday crowds and the celebration crowds are all illustrations of the expressive mobs. It is a behaviour that provides a release from the routine of ordinary life.

15. ECONOMIC GROUPS

The most fundamental human activities are centred round economic pursuits which are related both organic and social survival of mankind. Economic is the science of wealth in terms of productions, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economic group is a specific social structure with certain arrangements for the satisfaction of basic human needs. Human needs are multifarious, and the economic structure is a complicated mechanism involving various devices in the satisfaction of human wants. It is basically utilitarian. McIver has defined economic association as an organization of persons engaged mainly in economic procedures of competing and bargaining in the production, distribution, and exchange of goods and services.

Economic activities have a series of trends from the primitive food-gathering economy to the market mechanism, of modern society. In preliterate society, economic functions were undifferentiated by being infused with the major social groups like family or kinship groups. It was more or less a self-sufficient economy based on cultural norms of the family. There has been a gradual process of development from the primitive self-sufficient economy to the industrial society in which there are distinct elaborate economic organizations to cover a wide range of human wants.

They are specific associations with a variety of functions, even though they are related to other social groups, such as food gathering, horticultural, agricultural and industrial. The nomadic stage was the food-hunting by wanderers from place to place. The major elements of economic system are division of labour, specialization of takes, property, types of economy, industrial enterprises, and industrial relations. In modern society, there are elaborate economic units which are seemingly detached by other groups in terms of division of labour and specialization of tasks. It is often said that in preliterate societies, economic functions were undifferentiated from other social pursuits. However, people are differentiated from the other social pursuits. People are differentiated in their skills; co-ordination by division of labour and specialization of tasks is an age-old experience in all economic systems.

16. POLITICAL GROUPS

Our concern is to study the relation of the organized power, the stage, with the people. Society has social aims and political system mobilizes the total resources for the fulfilment of these aims. This involved the social use of power. Political system exists for an aim. The realization of ‘good’ according to Plato was the best that a political system should aim certainly of law, and the existence of power through reorganized channels and established processes is essential for stability and order within the society.

In the most important cases, the use of force for economic purposes is political rather than integrative. Hence we call it economic action itself, which is peaceful. The term political group in this context requires comment. The polity has been defined as the functional subsystem of society that is concerned with the attainment of societal goals.

There are some political conditions which are common to most, if not all, developing countries; in particular, the problems of establishing a new political system, and of making government and administration effective in bringing about rapid economic growth, and a general improvement in levels of living, which is a major aspiration of the mass of the people. Many developing countries have one-party rule, arising out of the prominence of a national liberation or revolutionary movement at the time when the new nation was formed.

In many countries military officers have taken power, either because of the failure of other political forces, or because the military have already acquired a political role and see themselves more ‘modern’ and efficient than other groups.

The clergy, nobility, and commoners functioned like three political groups. In government, clergy used to join with noblemen. In Rome, England, and France they lived for a long time and vanished through revolution or civil war.

17. RELIGIOUS GROUPS

Religion is an important cultural phenomenon universally present in all human societies. There are many definitions of religion. Frazer, an eminent anthropologist defined religion as a belief in powers superior to man, which are believed to direct and control the course of nature and of human life. Dawson observed, ‘Whenever man has a sense of dependence on external powers which are conceived as mysterious as and higher than man’s own, there is religion.’ Karl Marx declared that religion is an opiate to the people. It is like a tranquilizer that dulls people’s mind and induces people to accept things passively in capitalist society.

Many new religions have developed in the name of divine thinkers in different institutional forms. Some of the established religions are:

• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Sikhism
• Jainism
• Christianity
• Islam
• Zoroastrianism and
• Bahai

Many religious thinkers have established specific institutions in the form of ashramas and philosophical societies, and consequently many religious faiths have developed. The theme of religion depends on people’s interest and the period in which they live.

The social functions of religion are various and very complex. In a broad sense, religion has aided people for social survival and cultural stability. First, unlike the political and economic institutions which are utilitarian, religion is individual’s. The freedom of religion from the control of economic and political organizations is a significant mark of social evolution. Religion serves cultural ends as distinct from the utilitarian purpose of other organizations.

17.1. Important Functions of Religious Group

• Each group has its own rituals and the members are expected to follow.
• It defines the nature of relationship of human beings to one another and to God.
• It is service-oriented; emphasize the service of poor, the needy, and the sick.
• Religious group serves humanity through spreading of education.
• Medical services are provided by many religious groups.
• Giving something in charity is an important function of religious group.
• It emphasizes sacrifice and forbearance.
• All religious groups preach about non-violence, encourage the sense of brotherhood, and remove selfishness and material tendencies.

• A social group is a collection of individuals, two or more, interacting on each other, who have some common objects of attention and who participate in similar activities. It is determined by the habit system of persons and of society.
• Every person is born and lives till death in an inherited need or urge, which is characterized as instinct. The overall experience of every individual is characterized by his or her association with his or her fellow beings.
• A social group is deliberate and purposive.
• Social relations may be friendly or unfriendly, intimate or non-intimate, inclusive or non-inclusive, specialized or non-specialized in character.

I. LONG ESSAY

• Define social group. Explain the characteristics of social groups.
• Define tribe. Discuss the characteristics of tribe. Explain the distinction between tribe and caste.

II. SHORT ESSAY

• Explain the types of social groups.
• Discuss the characteristics of primary and secondary groups.
• Discuss gemeinschaft and gesellschaft.
• Describe in detail about reference group.
• Discuss in detail about in and out groups.
• Discuss characteristics of clan.
• Explain theories of crowd.
• Discuss types of audience.

III. SHORT ANSWERS

• Explain group cycle.
• Explain group morale.
• Explain group behaviour.
• Explain quasi groups.
• Explain difference between clan and caste.
• Explain types of mob.
• Explain economic group.
• Explain characteristics of public.
• Explain political group.
• Explain religious group.

IV. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Group is collection of human being who are brought into social relationship with one another, this definition of group has been given by
   1. Bogardus
   2. Gillin and Gillin
   3. MacIvar
   4. Max Weber
2. Of the following, which is a primary group?
   1. political group
   2. factory
   3. school
   4. family
3. A group in which one has a we feeling is called a/an
   1. racial group
   2. primary group
   3. nationality group
   4. inherited group
4. Which of the following is an example of the secondary group?
   1. church
   2. labour union
   3. married people
   4. family
5. The essential characteristics of a primary group is
   1. lack of identification
   2. affection and love
   3. identification of interest
   4. continuous contact
6. Primary group is important for individual because
   1. it has spontaneous living together
   2. it provides stimulus to different members
   3. its members are a part of the same process of living
   4. they need not have a unity in the performance of their function
7. An in-group is characterized by
   1. jealousy and competition
   2. intimate relationship
   3. sense of attachment
   4. element of sympathy
8. Out-group attributes are marked by
   1. sense of differences
   2. some degree of differences
   3. mutual interest
   4. both (a) and (b)
9. Identify a quasi-group of the following:
   1. crowd
   2. mob
   3. trade union
   4. state
10. Reference groups are symbols of
    1. not a clan
    2. not a family group
    3. not a class
    4. some exterior group for consultative purposes
11. Which of the following is primary group?
    1. family
    2. students
    3. sociology
    4. social workers
12. Which of the following is not a secondary group?
    1. political party
    2. a city
    3. labour union
    4. students in a class
13. Which among the following constitutes a group?
    1. vegetable sellers following one another into a lane
    2. members of a circus company engaged in performance
    3. children running out of the school after it is closed for the day
    4. partnership that has failed
14. Which among the following are reference groups?
    1. college-going students
    2. nuclear scientists
    3. marine engineers
    4. all of the above
15. What determines group life?
    1. we feeling
    2. feeling of unity
    3. common purpose
    4. all of the above
16. Which of the following statements is not true?
    1. common religion
    2. blood relationships
    3. common language
    4. exogamy
17. A tribal society differs from an individual society because
    1. tribal society is homogeneous, whereas an industrial society is heterogeneous
    2. a tribal society is complex, whereas an individual society is simple
    3. a tribal society speaks different languages, whereas an industrial society speaks one languages only
    4. a tribal society has no political organizations
18. A social group is a collection of individuals who
    1. witness a cricket match
    2. are study in the same class
    3. stand in definite status and role relationship to one another
    4. belong to different occupations
19. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a social group?
    1. reciprocal relations
    2. common interest
    3. we feeling
    4. similar ethnic background

ANSWERS

1. d 2. d 3. b 4. b 5. c 6. c 7. b 8. c 9. d 10. d 11. c 12. d 13. b 14. d 15. d 16. d 17. a 18. c 19. d

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