We explain what a social group is, what its characteristics and examples are. In addition, we tell you what its functions are.
What is a social group?
A social group is a set of human beings in social interrelation, that is, a group of three or more individuals that fulfills an established role within society. Such groups are easily identified because they have a shared identity, an evident purpose, and a defined form and structure, in addition to act in accordance with certain values, norms and codes of their own.
Social groups can encompass a few individuals or an entire nation, as long as they meet the fundamental requirements of a common culture and a given structure and purpose. It is, therefore, a concept that is difficult to define in exact terms, coming from the social sciences and applied to different realities. In fact, the concept can have different treatments depending on the author consulted.
The central thing about social groups is the cohesion between their members that is, the tendency to come together in defense or promotion of certain values considered “own” by its members. For example, they may be groups of people of the same ethnic origin, the same sexual preference or the same ideology, who act in a coordinated manner to defend their shared vision of society.
Finally, it is important not to confuse social groups with social classes. In the same social group, people from different strata can be considered, but with the same social purpose.
See also: Social relations
Characteristics of a social group
In general, a social group is characterized by the following:
- It is made up of a group of individuals, generally three or more, organized around a common purpose or certain interests common.
- Group members share a sense of cultural or social identity that is, an idea of one's own and of a “we”. This identity also encompasses a set of values and a vision of society.
- It has a defined structure which assigns specific social roles to each member, and establishes the group's own norms and laws.
- Tends to durability that is, to permanence in time.
- It can be of different types and the most popular of its classifications distinguishes between primary groups (made up of close and intimate relationships) and secondary groups (made up of rational and impersonal relationships).
Functions of a social group
Social groups can pursue different functions and purposes, depending on the norms, values and material needs of each society. can pursue changes, request demands or encourage debates among other things, always facing the fundamental notion of the group's identity, that is, always taking into account the defense of the social interests of the group.
For example, a social group made up of Afro-descendant citizens in a country of Caucasian elites can fight to make institutional racism visible, to disseminate African heritage traditions and/or organize Afro citizens so that they can fight more effectively for their rights.
Examples of social groups
Examples of social groups are:
- The families and family groups who share a blood bond and a common intimate history.
- sports clubs in which practitioners and fans of certain specific sports are organized, in order to share their hobby.
- Workers' unions in which workers and professionals in a certain area are organized, to be able to negotiate more effectively with their employers and with the State.
- Urban gangs and tribes in which young people share a notion of identity, material and cultural consumption, and a shared vision of their generation.
- Feminist groups in which women of different ages organize to demand that the State adopt gender policies that defend their rights and prevent gender discrimination.
- Neighborhood groups in which residents of the same neighborhood or the same urbanization meet to discuss matters of collective interest that affect the neighborhood.
Primary and secondary social groups
According to the classification established by the American sociologist Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929), social groups are classified as:
- Primary groups. Those in which their members have intimate and personal relationships, face to face, such as with families, friends and close relationship partners.
- Secondary groups. Those in which its members are not linked in an intimate and personal way, but rather in a rational, professional, legal or contractual way, of a more abstract type and typical of civil associations.
Later elaborations on the subject, such as those of the American sociologist Talcott Parsons (1902-1979), distinguish five features that differentiate primary groups from secondary ones and that have to do with the relationships between their members:
| Relationships in primary groups | Relationships in secondary groups |
|---|---|
| Less specific and more diffuse. | More specific and delimited. |
| Private and individual. | Universal and general. |
| Based on identity (who or what you are). | They tend to be based on activity (what is done or was done). |
| Oriented towards the group or towards the community. | Oriented towards the individual himself. |
| Affective or with a great emotional bond. | They tend toward the rational or emotionally neutral. |
Social processes
Social processes are the set of dynamic actions and events that take place within society and that directly affect the way it is structured or organized. These are processes of sociological interest, that is, the study of which allows us to understand the patterns of behavior of the social groups that exist in a community.
There can be many types of social processes, in which dynamics of
- Cooperation (collaboration between social groups).
- Competence (rivalry between social groups).
- Accommodation (rearrangement of the forces of social groups)
- Assimilation (fusion of social groups).
social classes
The social classes are the different socioeconomic strata in which it is possible to classify or distinguish individuals in a society. The elements from which each social class is defined may be different depending on the socioeconomic model of society, but in general they have to do with the quality of life and the margins of resource availability.
Thus, for example, in the modern world of industrial capitalism, social classes are distinguished based on wealth and economic satisfaction of basic needs: the lower class, unable to fully cover their basic needs or barely able to do so; the middle class, capable of covering their basic needs but unable to amass capital and property; and the upper class, capable of consuming luxury goods and services and amassing capital and property.
In other times and societies, throughout history, social classes have been different and have been formed differently.
References
- “Social group” in Wikipedia.
- “Social class” on Wikipedia.
- “Social group” in the Asylum Dictionary of the Refugee Assistance Commission in Euskadi (Spain).
- “Social group” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.
