Chapter 6

Question 1

social group

Answer 1

people who share goals, norms, and have a common identity

• has a purpose and is therefore important to its members
• members know how to tell an “insider” from an “outsider”

Question 2

social aggregate

Answer 2

people who have little in common but are in the same place together

Question 3

primary groups

Answer 3

involve interaction among members who have an emotional investment in one another and in a situation, who know one another intimately, and who interact as total individuals rather than through specialized roles
-generally small, relatively long period of interaction, intimate association, emotional depth to relationships, cooperative, friendly (example: family)

Question 4

secondary group

Answer 4

charactered by much less intimacy among its members

• usually has specific goals
• formally organized and is impersonal
• usually large, often temporary, little social intimacy, relationships generally superficial, more formal and impersonal (example: co-workers)

Question 5

instrumental

Answer 5

focused on accomplishing concrete tasks

Question 6

expressive

Answer 6

concerning feelings and interpersonal relationships

Question 7

reference group

Answer 7

a group of social category that an individual uses to help define beliefs, attitudes, and values and to guide behavior

• provides a comparison point against which people measure themselves and others
• often a category we identify with, rather than a specific group we belong to

Question 8

dyad

Answer 8

a group of two people

-example: engaged couple or pilot and co-pilot

Question 9

triad

Answer 9

a group of three people

• considered more stable than dyads, but the addition of a third member creates uncertainty because it introduces the possibility of two-against-one alliances
• more stable in those situations when one member can help resolve quarrels between the other two

Question 10

subgroup

Answer 10

a splinter group, usually created informally, to enable face-to-face interaction

Question 11

associations

Answer 11

purposefully created groups with clearly defined goals and procedures

Question 12

Gemeinschaft

Answer 12

community; a group in which relations are intimate, personal, and cooperative

Question 13

Gesellschaft

Answer 13

society; a group in which relations are impersonal and independent

Question 14

collective conscience

Answer 14

Durkheim’s term for the shared fundamental beliefs and values of a group

Question 15

mechanical solidarity

Answer 15

social solidarity based on similarity among people and strong commitment to the collective conscience

Question 16

organic solidarity

Answer 16

social solidarity based on difference and the fitting together of specialized tasks

Question 17

bureaucracy

Answer 17

a formal, rationally organized social structure divided into offices with specific tasks run on principles of impartiality

Question 18

ideal type

Answer 18

a simplified model used to illustrate a concept

Question 19

oligarchy

Answer 19

rule by a small group of self-interested people

Question 20

social institutions

Answer 20

the ordered social relationships that grow out of the values, norms, statuses, and roles that organize the activities that fulfill society’s fundamental needs

Question 21

social organization

Answer 21

the relatively stable pattern of social relationships among individuals and groups in society

Question 22

functions of groups

Answer 22

to function properly, all groups (primary & secondary) must:

• define boundaries
• choose leaders
• make decisions
• set goals
• assign tasks
• control members’ behavior

Question 23

leader

Answer 23

someone who occupies a central role or position of dominance and influence in a group
-essential in a group

Question 24

instrumental leadership

Answer 24

a leader who actively proposes tasks and plans to guide the group towards achieving its goals

Question 25

expressive leadership

Answer 25

a leader who works to keep relations among group members harmonious and morale high

Question 26

groupthink

Answer 26

helps maintain solidarity, but it can also disrupt the decision making process -groups begin to feel morally superior and members who would otherwise wish to dissent may cave to peer pressure