Social Groups: Role, status and impact on personality

May 29, 2022

Social Groups: Role, status and impact on personality

When two or more individuals come together and influence one another, they may be called a social group.

- William Ogburn

A social group is a collection of two or more people who are in constant contact with one another. Individuals exert reciprocal impact on one another through inter-stimulation and response in the state of social interaction. A social group's condition of social contact, or inter-influence, is an unavoidable characteristic. A group of males discussing the most recent movie they saw is a social group because they influence one another through their verbal interactions.

TYPES OF SOCIAL GROUPS

1. Primary Group

2. Secondary Group

3. In group

4. Out Group

5. Formal Group

6. Informal Group

7. Voluntary Group

8. Involuntary Group

9. Delegate Group

10. Un-social Group

11. Pseudo-social Group

12. Anti-social Group

13. Pro-social Group

Every member of the society belongs to atleast one of the social groups stated above. They play different role in various groups which ultimately impact the personality of the individual. In our case, the groups we belong to are stated below:

Primary Group

- This group has much importance in our society. There is frequent and face to face interaction between the members. Such category of social group involves family, friends, neighborhood, etc. Family is the first social group of our lives. it teaches us about the values, morals, respect, and various other aspects of life. We are the future of the family who are bound to be the pillars in the near future and take the responsibilities on our shoulders. The first learnings of our lives begins with our family and hence, they play a very significant role. Friends are those who support through thick and thin or ups and downs of life. Being a good friend, I have some duties to fulfil towards my close friends and be their constant support.

Secondary Group

- This group is formed by the primary group. This is less interactive and are larger in size. An example of this group can be a teacher-student relation. As a student, we need to follow some strict rules and discipline in our university, represent our university at various competitions and tournaments and increase the prestige of the same.

Formal Group

- This type of group has a well defined terms including rules and regulations for being a part of the group. Any breach of rule can expel the person from the group. For an example, the educational institute where I do internship/job has some code of conduct to follow and any violation of the same can lead me to serious consequences.

Informal Group

- This group has no defined rules to follow and an individual can join and leave the group as per his wish. A group of students in the playground can be cited as an example of this group.

Involuntary Group

- An individual cannot join or leave this group by his will or choice. Family and sex groups are examples of involuntary groups as we do not have any control over choosing family and gender.