Social Belonging and Groups

individuals are part of many different groups which individuals interact with—family, friends, teams etc.
the feeling of belonging to a group is an essential element of living in society
social belonging is based onsolidarity—the ties that unite members of a group, and these ties allow individuals to experience social belonging
adyadis a group consisting of 2 members (ex: married couple, best friends), and it’s the most intimate type of group
aninformal groupis a less intimate gathering of people in which member interaction isn’t governed by explicit rules (ex: neighbours)
aprimary groupinvolve members who have a personal and emotional relationship with one another (ex: family)
typically primary groups are the most influential group to which one can belong
group is deeply invested in and concerned for its members
the members know one another’s personalities and share in one another triumphs/failures
ties within the group are very strong
primary group has power to persuade its members and expects a certain degree of conformity to its rules and beliefs (ex: parents restrict certain behaviours of their children)
primary group exerts a great deal of influence over the individual, and helps shape and define an individual’s attitudes
asecondary groupis a large, impersonal gathering of people in which members’ roles are measured by their contributions to a common goal/purpose (ex: sports team—it’s large and impersonal, where intimate details aren’t shared among members)
exerts less influence than a primary group
instead of intimate talk, secondary groups involver small talk and occasional discussions
avirtual communityis a group of individuals who communicate online (ex: people who interact over Facebook)
main function is to communicate
typically the members want to communicate globally with like minded individuals for a variety of reasons (social support, companionship, exchange of information)
face-to-face communication is rare, and members have creative/innovative ways of expressing themselves (ex: new forms of language like “lol”)
virtual community creates dependency among its members—at any given time of the day, members can have access to each other
the ability to chat at 3 A.M. in Toronto with someone in Mumbai is a form of communication that has far reaching implications for how we see ourselves now and in the future
can also be part of a person’s primary and secondary group
social networks are individuals who are linked together by one or more social relationships (doesn’t have to be virtual like Facebook)
on average, a human can only have meaningful social relationships with about 150 people at one time (Dunbar Number theory)
Robin Dunbar believes that if groups have larger than 150 people, the individuals become strangers to each other
when using Dunbar’s theory on Facebook, the average person has 120 friends, but people usually interact with a smaller group between 4-26 people
therefore, despite our technological advances, there is a limit to the number of interactions with which our brains can keep up

The Power and Influence of Groups

every group has behaviours on how its members should and shouldn’t behave and the group exerts a great deal of influence over the individual behaviour of their members
groups exert a great deal of influence over the individual behaviour of their members—most groups rely on roles, norms and sanctions
however, not all groups have the same roles, norms andsanctions(informal or formal penalty/reward to ensure conformity within a group)
a group sets out guidelines for the social roles being enacted among its members (ex: in a workplace, the rules that govern these roles may be very explicit or even written down)
the role an individual has in a group is typically attached to a specific function (most of us readily accept the roles expected by a group, because we have had practice with roles due to our socialization)
groups also establish guidelines for appropriate behaviour among their members, and these behaviours and called norms
society as a whole relies on norms to keep order
groups develop norms that reflect those of society to help govern their members as well
norms vary from group to group, but they all have the same purpose of keeping order and ensuring a certain level of behaviour
the group is responsible for imposing sanctions for proper and improper behaviour, and is used to encourage certain kinds of behaviours, and discourage other kinds (ensure conformity)
informal sanctions: word of caution (for unwanted behaviour), pat on the back (for correct behaviour)
formal sanctions (very rare): expulsion, imprisonment
a gang is a group of people associating for antisocial/criminal purposes; it has many characteristics of a typical group
members hold specific roles, and are expected to behave according to certain rules
a gang can also hold a great deal of influence over its members by pressuring them to commit acts in order to stay in the gang
sanctions occur for those who don’t conform to expected behaviour
gangs provide identity, sense of power/purpose, and protection
loyalty and respect for its rules are very important
gangs appeal to youth who have unpleasant memories of their home life—most members have been isolated from their families, culture, school, community and religion
gang membership can occur due to lack of employment opportunities, particularly for those around 16 years of age (when most youth get their first job)

Collective Behaviour

collective behaviour is social behaviour by a large group that doesn’t reflect existing rules, institutions, and structures of society
groups engage in this kind of behaviour to accomplish a specific goal/outcome
unlike the primary group, the collective isn’t interested in establishing personal/intimate relationships with its members
collective behaviour is spontaneous, usually in response to a social crisis or natural disaster
collective behaviour of the group doesn’t conform to established norms, but the behaviour isn’t out of the ordinary either (it occurs in situations where established norms are unclear)
ex. of collective behaviour:panic—a highly emotional and irrational response on the part of an individual or a group to a dangerous or harmful social event
people panic in life-or-death situations, such as fires and disasters; however, studies show that people caught in disasters indicate that most people behave rationally and don’t panic

Convergence Theory

theory assumes that when a collectively/large group of like-minded individuals come together, collective action is the most common outcome
individuals in a collectivity are behaving according to their own beliefs but do so with the protection of others behaving in the same manner
when applied to frustration-aggression theory, collective behaviour can explain whyriotsand racial violence occur
riots are civil disorders stemming from a social grievance, caused by a disorganized crowd exhibiting aggression, who may turn to acts of violence, vandalism, and destruction of property
example: when members of a collectivity may be part of the same social class, ethnicity, gender or age group, they’ll find it easy to act out because their frustrations are the same
when the collectivity gains momentum and popularity, sometimes its origins become unclear or distorted
sometimes the collectivity may degenerate into extreme violence (ex: Nazi Party’s hold over Germany, and the consequences of that collective behaviour led to the Holocaust)

The Rational Decision Theory

theory assumes that people make rational decisions whether or not to participate in collective behaviour
the motivating factor is always based on self-interest
according to the theory, individuals have a specific number/percentage of other people who must already be engaged in the group before they will join
this number is the individual’sthreshold—a level/point at which something would/wouldn’t happen (tipping point)
individual thresholds widely differ
individuals prefer to favour larger groups over smaller ones, and more organized groups over less organized ones
individuals are likely to participate in collective behaviour if the threshold and size/organization of the group is met
when individuals participate in a collective group, they don’t fell responsible since everyone else is taking part in the activity, causing many people to follow a group mentality
people enter collective behaviour carefully, and they consider all the possible consequences ahead of time
collective behaviour needs a person with a low-threshold to get it started, and collective behaviour will stop if the group lacks an individual with the necessary threshold to move the group to the next stage if needed
most collective groups need a leader, and the leader will carry the group forward so long as the threshold remains within his/her comfort zone (when group becomes too large, leader may choose to cut ties with the group)
ex: in a riot, the decision to participate is dependeny on what everyone else is doniing—if a leader/instigator begins rioting, others will follow, which will encourage other people to follow (but if the riot begins to become too violent, people will withdraw)

Prosocial Behaviour

theory is used to explain positive collective behaviour
prosocial behaviour can be used to explain acts of kindness, generosity, andaltruism(the principle of unselfish regard for the needs and interests of others)
prosocial behaviouris a form of altruism, in which individuals/groups demonstrate empathy toward and care for the welfare of others without regard for their own personal gain
prosocial behaviour can be carried out by an individual despite the individual putting themselves in danger
prosocial behaviour is found in all societies around the globe, and it contributes to social cohesion
prosocial behaviour show not all social interactions are based on selfish personal goals (ex: when natural disaster strikes, people around the world become empathetic and donate money, such as when Haiti earthquake occurred)
collective solidarity was a term Durkheim described for a community’s response to crime
ex: a community’s ability to overcome negative consequences of crime
ex: mass public grief, which is collective behaviour of grieving publicly for someone whom most of the mourners haven’t met (celebrities, public figures)
being in close proximity to others who feel the same affinity toward the public figure has been known to have a healing effect
mass public grief can be a response to impact of war on a country (ex: November 11 and Remembrance Day, when people acknowledge those who fought and died in wars past and present; Highway of Heroes)

Crowds

crowds are large numbers of people, in close proximity, and are gathered for a specific reason
sociologists study crowds to better understand the nature of collective and group behaviour, and what happens when large groups living in a society come together in a variety of instances and for a number of reasons
types of crowds:
conventional crowd—large group of people gathered for a clear purpose who behave according to expectations (a town meeting—behaviour is only appropriate, and not inappropriate)
casual crowd—a group of people in the same palce at the same time but who do not have a common goal (shoppers on Boxing Day at a mall)
expressive crowd—a large number of people at an event who display emotion and excitement (people at a baseball game, concert)
acting crowd—a group of people fuelled by a single purpose/goal (peaceful protestors)
mob—a disorderly crowd of people (when an acting crowd is incited to become a riot)

Mobs

sometimes collective behaviour can be threatening—the law enforcement perspective is that any group has the potential to become a dangerous and angry group
large groups can escalate their activities to include violence, and damage to public property, and they can easily lead to a riot
a riot is a civil disorder stemming from a social grievance and caused by a disorganized crowd who usually exhibits aggression (that may lead to violence, vandalism, destruction of property
in the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto, a peaceful demonstration became a riot—even in the most peaceful of societies, collective behaviour can cause disorder and violence under the correct circumstances
police officers were beating protestors, and rounded up many protestors, but in the end, very few were charged

Fear and Collective Behaviour

in some cases, fear is motivated by real/perceived events of a frightening/harmful nature
mass hysteriais the widespread irrational reaction to a perceived danger
panic(emotional/irrational response on the part of an individual/group to a social event that is believed to be dangerous/harmful) is similar to mass hysteria (irrational response to a perceived danger; it’s widespreaed)
mass hysteria tends to accompany acute medical/health issues, such as pandemics (a rapid spread of an infectious disease)
during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, news stations began reporting on the deaths, causing mass hysteria—people began to demand access to a vaccine

Smart Mobs

smart mobis a large group of strangers who use electronic media to organize an d stage surprise public gatherings
use of technology to have a group come together
once the group is organized using technology, the gathering occurs, and a specific behaviour is enacted for a specific period of time, after which the group disbands
ex: flash mobs, which demonstrates the ability for groups of people to organize collective action in the face-to-face world in ways they were unable to do before the combination of internet and cell phones made it possible

Conformity

an individual can belong to many different groups, and these groups are organize according to certain norms and expectations of how members of the group should behave
individuals often feel the need to conform to the norms/expectations of society
conformity is the process by which an individual will alter or change their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours to meet the expectations of a group/authority figure
conformity can occur as the result of both direct and indirect social behaviour; individuals feel the urge to conform in order to fit in/avoid rejection and criticism from members of their group
conformity can be both positive and negative
ex: there is an expectation that people will recycle items (positive)
if an individual is coerced into a specific form of behaviour that is detrimental to them self/others (negative)
ex: a person commits a crime to maintain membership in a gang
conformity in some ways is a necessary element to keep society functioning safely
fear of being left out/behind is a powerful motivator for an individual to change their behaviour
all humans will conform to a group’s expectations at some point

Conformity in Individualistic Cultures

Canada is an individualistic society, and therefore conformity suggests something negative
yet Canadians often pride themselves on being agreeable and getting along with others
there is a difference between conformity andcompliance(social behaviour by an individual that may be contrary to his/her beliefs but is exhibited nonetheless in order to achieve rewards and avoid punishment)
on the outside, compliance resembles conformity (ex: students follow attendance rules even when they would rather skip class)
in all forms, conformity is a social process that allows people to organize and function effectively in society
conformity allows groups to establish boundaries—members of social groups such as families, peers and even countries are able to distinguish themselves
conformity to certain beliefs of a group clarifies acceptable and unacceptable behaviours for their members (ex: students are expected to conform to the school’s rules)

Conformity in Collectivistic Cultures

conformity has various different meanings in collectivistic cultures—conformity takes precedence over individuality
actions, language, and dress are all determined by society; not meeting the group’s expectations have more serious consequences than in individualistic cultures
in Japan, conformity is vitally important—Japan is surrounded by oceans on all sides, which limits living space, forcing Japanese people to live in close proximity to one another
Japanese have had to relinquish some claims for personal space and rely on predictable behaviour (due to conformity) to maintain social harmony and order
Japan is changing, allowing for more individuals to express their identity

Breaking Social Norms: The Breaching Experiments

Harold Garfinkel was interested in understanding what would happen if people purposely broke the rules/norms of a group; he would then analyze people’s reactions to the breach
the focus of the experiment was having people break the unwritten rules of society (ex: walking backwards up a flight of stairs, standing up while eating in a restaurant)
Garfinkel’s experiments showed society resists breaches in social order and quickly attempts to reconstruct order when a social norm has been broken
ex: in society, you typically stand on right side of escalator and allow for people in a rush to be on the left side—if someone stood on the left side, this would be a breach in the unwritten rules of society
these experiments who how people take for granted the unwritten social norms and come to expect that certain things will always function in a specific way

Stanley Milgram’s Subway Experiments: Breaching Social Norms

subways are ideal places to observe social interaction, as people of all classes, ethnicities, and religions are together without speaking
Milgarm created a breaching experiment—typically, when you’re on a subway, you give up your seat to someone weak, pregnant, disabled, elderly
Milgram’s study involved using his students as participants, and having them give up their seats to someone who was able to stand
Milgram had his students enter in pairs—one would observe, while the other asked if they could have a person’s seat
results showed a majority of people gave up their seats to Milgram’s able students
when Milgram did the experiment himself, he was so overwhelmed to behave in a way that would justify his request for a seat, that he sank his head in his knees (pretending to be sick)
in another case when a researcher asked if they could have his seat because he couldn’t read standing up, only 38% of people gave up their seats
after the experiment, many of the researchers said they felt wrong in doing what they did; it was unethical
Milgram’s study showed how the unwritten rules of society are taken advantage of, as they help maintain order (until violated)

Groupthink