Society and Groups

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Society and Groups

• In a group, list all of the groups that you might
  be a member of.

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Society Defined

• For sociologists a society is defined in terms of
  its functions.  There are five
• reproduction
• sustenance
• shelter
• management of its membership
• defense.

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Organizations Within

• There are three other types of organizations
• Normative Organizations are organizations that
  people join because they perceive their goals as
  being socially or morally worthwhile (IE
  Greenpeace)
• Coercive Organizations are organizations that
  people typically are forced into against their
  will (prison)
• Utilitarian Organizations are organizations that
  people typically join because of some tangible
  benefit which they expect to receive (Girl
  Scouts, PTA, or a political party).

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Technology and Society

• Technology availability greatly influenced the
  size and durability of these societies. 
• Rocks, sticks, spears, axes, bows and arrows,
  darts, plows, hand tools, dowels and nails, steam
  engines, electricity, factories, watches,
  computer chips, and other technological advances
  have greatly changed the nature of societies over
  time. 

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Types of Societies

• Hunting and Gathering Societies
• Horticultural and Pastoral Societies
• Agricultural Societies
• Industrial Societies
• Postindustrial Societies
• Bioeconomic Societies

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Why Do Societies Change or Remain Stable?

• Auguste Comte
• Social Statics, or the study of social structure
  and how it influences social stability
• Social Dynamics, or the study of social structure
  and how it influences social change. 
• A modern example of social statics might be the
  official governmental intervention of US economic
  recovery efforts  while social dynamics might be
  the new government bailout manipulation of the
  economy to establish economic security in
  volatile markets.
• The Big Three Family, Politics, and Education

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Emile Durkheims Thoughts

• Emile Durkheims concept of Anomie social
  instability resulting from a breakdown of
  standards and values
• Mechanical Solidarity is a shared conscious among
  society's members who each has a similar form of
  livelihood. 
• Organic Solidarity, which is a sense of
  interdependence on the specializations of
  occupations in modern society. 

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Karl Marx

• Karl Marx argued the concept of Alienation, which
  is the resulting influence of industrialization
  on societys members where they feel disconnected
  and powerless in the final direction of their
  destinies. 
• To Marx, the social systems people created in
  turn controlled the pattern of their social life.

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Ferdinand Tönnies

• Gemeinschaft (Guh-mine-shoft) means "intimate
  community" and Gesellschaft (Guh-zell-shoft)
  means" impersonal associations." 
• Gemeinschaft comes with a feeling of community
  togetherness  
• Whereas, Gesellschaft comes with a feeling of
  individuality

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What Are Societys Component Parts?

• Social Cohesion - the degree to which members of
  a group or a society feel united by shared values
  and other social bonds.
• Social Structure refers to the recurring patterns
  of behavior in society which people create
  through their interactions and relationships.

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What Are Societys Component Parts?

• Group, which is a set of two or more people who
  share common identity, interact regularly, and
  have shared expectations (roles), and function in
  their mutually agreed upon roles. 
• Aggregates, or the number of people in the same
  place at the same time. 
• A Category is a number of people who share common
  characteristics. 

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Types of Groups

• primary group
• secondary group
• reference group

• in-group
• out-group
• social network
• an electronic community

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Primary Groups

• Characterized by intimate face-to-face
  association and those are fundamental in the
  development and continued adjustment of their
  members.
• Three basic primary groups
• the family,
• the child's play group, and
• the neighborhoods or community among adults.

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Secondary Groups

• Characterized by anonymous, impersonal, and
  instrumental relationships, have become much more
  numerous.
• For example a college class, the Democratic
  Party
• Secondary groups tend to break down into several
  primary groups

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Reference Groups

• reference group is a concept referring to a group
  to which an individual or another group is
  compared.
• Sociologists call any group that individuals use
  as a standard for evaluating themselves and their
  own behavior a reference group.
• Reference groups provide the benchmarks

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In-group / Out-group

• Loyal to In-group
• Antagonistic to Out-group

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Social Network

• Cliques
• Would include family, friends, acquaintances, and
  friends of friends
• Who could help you get your foot in the door?

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The Electronic Community

• Newsgroups
• Blogs
• Facebook
• Chat rooms
• Game sites
• Virtual Worlds (IMVU, RUNESCAPE)