10 examples of social groups. Social groups

A person participates in public life not as an isolated individual, but as a member of social communities - a family, a friendly company, a labor collective, a nation, a class, etc. His activities are largely determined by the activities of those groups in which he is included, as well as the interaction within groups and between groups. Accordingly, in sociology, society acts not only as an abstraction, but also as a set of specific social groups that are in a certain dependence on each other.

The structure of the entire social system, the totality of interrelated and interacting social groups and social communities, as well as social institutions and relations between them, is the social structure of society.

In sociology, the problem of dividing society into groups (including nations, classes), their interaction is one of the cardinal and is characteristic of all levels of theory.

The concept of a social group

Group is one of the main elements of the social structure of society and is a collection of people united by any significant feature - a common activity, common economic, demographic, ethnographic, psychological characteristics. This concept is used in jurisprudence, economics, history, ethnography, demography, psychology. In sociology, the concept of "social group" is usually used.

Not every community of people is called a social group. If people are just in a certain place (on a bus, in a stadium), then such a temporary community can be called "aggregation". A social community that unites people on only one or a few similar grounds is also not called a group; the term "category" is used here. For example, a sociologist might categorize students aged 14 to 18 as youth; elderly people to whom the state pays allowances, provides benefits for paying utility bills - to the category of pensioners, etc.

Social group - it is an objectively existing stable community, a set of individuals interacting in a certain way on the basis of several signs, in particular, the shared expectations of each member of the group regarding others.

The concept of a group as an independent one, along with the concepts of personality (individual) and society, is already found in Aristotle. In modern times, T. Hobbes was the first to define a group as "a certain number of people united by a common interest or common cause."

Under social group it is necessary to understand any objectively existing stable set of people connected by a system of relations regulated by formal or informal social institutions. Society in sociology is considered not as a monolithic entity, but as a set of many social groups that interact and are in a certain dependence on each other. Each person during his life belongs to many such groups, among which are the family, the friendly team, the student group, the nation, and so on. The creation of groups is facilitated by similar interests and goals of people, as well as the realization of the fact that when combining actions, you can achieve a significantly greater result than with individual action. At the same time, the social activity of each person is largely determined by the activities of the groups in which he is included, as well as the interaction within groups and between groups. It can be stated with full confidence that only in a group a person becomes a person and is able to find full self-expression.

The concept, formation and types of social groups

The most important elements of the social structure of society are social groups and . Being forms of social interaction, they are such associations of people whose joint, solidarity actions are aimed at meeting their needs.

There are many definitions of the concept of "social group". Thus, according to some Russian sociologists, a social group is a collection of people who have common social characteristics and perform a socially necessary function in the structure of the social division of labor and activity. The American sociologist R. Merton defines a social group as a set of individuals interacting with each other in a certain way, aware of their belonging to this group and recognized as members of this group from the point of view of others. He distinguishes three main features in a social group: interaction, membership and unity.

Unlike mass communities, social groups are characterized by:

sustainable interaction, contributing to the strength and stability of their existence;
a relatively high degree of unity and cohesion;
clearly expressed homogeneity of the composition, suggesting the presence of signs inherent in all members of the group;
the possibility of entering into broader social communities as structural units.

Since each person in the course of his life is a member of a wide variety of social groups that differ in size, nature of interaction, degree of organization and many other features, it becomes necessary to classify them according to certain criteria.

There are the following types of social groups:

1. Depending on the nature of the interaction - primary and secondary (Appendix, scheme 9).

primary group, by definition, C. Cooley, is a group in which the interaction between members is direct, interpersonal in nature and has a high level of emotionality (family, school class, peer group, etc.). Carrying out the socialization of the individual, the primary group acts as a link between the individual and society.

secondary group- This is a larger group in which interaction is subordinated to the achievement of a specific goal and is formal, impersonal. In these groups, the focus is not on the personal, unique qualities of the members of the group, but on their ability to perform certain functions. Organizations (industrial, political, religious, etc.) can serve as examples of such groups.

2. Depending on the method of organization and regulation of interaction - formal and informal.

formal group- This is a group with a legal status, interaction in which is regulated by a system of formalized norms, rules, laws. These groups have a consciously set purpose, normatively fixed hierarchical structure and act in accordance with the administratively established procedure (organizations, enterprises, etc.).

informal grouparises spontaneously, on the basis of common views, interests and interpersonal interactions. It is deprived of official regulation and legal status. These groups are usually led by informal leaders. Examples are friendly companies, informal associations among young people, rock music lovers, etc.

3. Depending on the belonging of individuals to them - ingroups and outgroups.

Ingroup- this is a group to which the individual feels a direct belonging and identifies it as "mine", "our" (for example, "my family", "my class", "my company", etc.).

Outgroup - this is a group to which the given individual does not belong and therefore evaluates it as “alien”, not his own (other families, another religious group, another ethnic group, etc.). Each ingroup individual has his own outgroup rating scale: from indifferent to aggressive-hostile. Therefore, sociologists propose to measure the degree of acceptance or closeness in relation to other groups according to the so-called Bogardus' "social distance scale".

Reference group - this is a real or imaginary social group, the system of values, norms and evaluations of which serves as a standard for the individual. The term was first proposed by the American social psychologist Hyman. The reference group in the system of relations "personality - society" performs two important functions: normative, being for the individual a source of norms of behavior, social attitudes and value orientations; comparative acting as a standard for the individual, allows him to determine his place in the social structure of society, evaluate himself and others.

4. Depending on the quantitative composition and form of the implementation of connections - small and large.

- this is a directly contacting small group of people united to carry out joint activities.

A small group can take many forms, but the initial ones are the “dyad” and “triad”, they are called the simplest molecules small group. Dyadconsists of two people and is considered an extremely fragile association, in triad actively interact three persons, it is more stable.

The characteristic features of a small group are:

small and stable composition (as a rule, from 2 to 30 people);
spatial proximity of group members;
sustainability and longevity:
a high degree of coincidence of group values, norms and patterns of behavior;
intensity of interpersonal relationships;
a developed sense of belonging to a group;
informal control and information saturation in the group.

large group- this is a large group in its composition, which is created for a specific purpose and the interaction in which is mainly indirect in nature (labor collectives, enterprises, etc.). This also includes numerous groups of people who have common interests and occupy the same position in the social structure of society. For example, social-class, professional, political and other organizations.

A collective (lat. collectivus) is a social group in which all vital connections between people are mediated through socially important goals.

Characteristic features of the team:

combination of interests of the individual and society;
commonality of goals and principles that act for the members of the team as value orientations and norms of activity. The team performs the following functions:
subject - solution of the task for which it is created;
social and educational - combination of the interests of the individual and society.

5. Depending on the socially significant signs - real and nominal.

Real groups are groups identified according to socially significant criteria:

floor - men and women;
age - children, youth, adults, the elderly;
income - rich, poor, prosperous;
nationality - Russians, French, Americans;
marital status - married, single, divorced;
profession (occupation) - doctors, economists, managers;
place of residence - city dwellers, rural dwellers.

Nominal (conditional) groups, sometimes called social categories, are singled out for the purpose of conducting a sociological study or statistical accounting of the population (for example, to find out the number of passengers-benefits, single mothers, students receiving nominal scholarships, etc.).

Along with social groups in sociology, the concept of "quasi-group" is singled out.

A quasi-group is an informal, spontaneous, unstable social community that does not have a definite structure and system of values, in which the interaction of people is, as a rule, of a third-party and short-term nature.

The main types of quasigroups are:

Lecture hallis a social community united by interaction with a communicator and receiving information from him. The heterogeneity of this social formation, due to the difference in personal qualities, as well as cultural values and norms of the people included in it, determines the different degree of perception and evaluation of the information received.

- a temporary, relatively unorganized, unstructured accumulation of people united in a closed physical space by a common interest, but at the same time devoid of a clearly perceived goal and interconnected by the similarity of their emotional state. Allocate the general characteristics of the crowd:

suggestibility - people in the crowd are usually more suggestible than those outside it;
anonymity - the individual, being in the crowd, as if merges with it, becomes unrecognizable, believing that it is difficult to “calculate” him;
spontaneity (contagiousness) - people in the crowd are subject to rapid transmission and change of emotional state;
unconsciousness - the individual feels invulnerable in the crowd, out of social control, therefore his actions are "impregnated" with collective unconscious instincts and become unpredictable.

Depending on the way the crowd is formed and the behavior of people in it, the following varieties are distinguished:

random crowd - an indefinite set of individuals formed spontaneously without any purpose (to watch a celebrity suddenly appear or a traffic accident);
conventional crowd - a relatively structured gathering of people influenced by planned predetermined norms (spectators in a theater, fans in a stadium, etc.);
expressive crowd - a social quasi-group formed for the personal pleasure of its members, which in itself is already a goal and result (discotheques, rock festivals, etc.);
acting (active) crowd - a group that performs some kind of action, which can act as: gatherings - an emotionally excited crowd gravitating towards violent actions, and revolting crowd - group characterized by particular aggressiveness and destructive actions.

In the history of the development of sociological science, various theories have developed that explain the mechanisms of crowd formation (G. Lebon, R. Turner, and others). But for all the dissimilarity of points of view, one thing is clear: to control the command of the crowd, it is important: 1) to identify the sources of the emergence of norms; 2) identify their carriers by structuring the crowd; 3) purposefully influence their creators, offering the crowd meaningful goals and algorithms for further actions.

Among quasi-groups, social circles are closest to social groups.

Social circles are social communities that are created for the purpose of exchanging information between their members.

The Polish sociologist J. Szczepanski identifies the following types of social circles: contact - communities that constantly meet on the basis of certain conditions (interest in sports competitions, sports, etc.); professional - gathering for the exchange of information solely on a professional basis; status - formed about the exchange of information between people with the same social status (aristocratic circles, women's or men's circles, etc.); friendly - based on the joint conduct of any events (companies, groups of friends).

In conclusion, we note that quasi-groups are some transitional formations, which, with the acquisition of such features as organization, stability and structure, turn into a social group.

Society is a collection of very different groups: large and small, real and nominal, primary and secondary. The group is the foundation of human society, since it itself is one of the groups, but only the largest. The number of groups on Earth exceeds the number of individuals.

There is no unity in science in understanding which concept is broader: "social community" or "social group". Apparently, in one case, communities act as a kind of social groups, in another case, groups are a subtype of social communities.

Typology of social groups

Social groups- these are relatively stable aggregates of people who have common interests, values and norms of behavior that develop within the framework of a historically defined society. The whole variety of social groups can be classified according to a number of grounds, such as:

- group size;
– socially significant criteria;
– type of identification with the group;
- rigidity of intra-group norms;
- the nature and content of the activity, etc.

So, depending on the size, social groups are distinguished large and small. The former include social classes, social strata, professional groups, ethnic communities (nation, nationality, tribe), age groups (youth, pensioners). A specific feature of small social groups is the direct contacts of their members.

Such groups include family, school class, production team, neighborhood community, friendly company. According to the degree of regulation of relations and the life of individuals, groups are divided into formal and informal.

large social group called the totality of all carriers of the same social status in the social structure of society. In other words, these are all pensioners, believers, engineers, etc. The classification of large social groups includes the two largest subspecies:
- 1) real groups. They are formed on the basis of features that are set objective criteria. These characteristics include all social statuses: demographic, economic, professional, political, religious, territorial.

real a sign is considered to exist independently of the consciousness of a member of this group or of the consciousness of a scientist who singles out these groups. For example, young people are a real group that stands out according to the objective criterion of age. Consequently, there are as many large social groups as there are statuses;

2) nominal groups, which are allocated only for statistical accounting of the population and therefore they have a second name - social categories.

This is for example:

– commuter train passengers;
– registered in a mental dispensary;
– buyers of washing powder "Ariel";
- single-parent, large or small families;
- having a temporary or permanent residence permit;
– living in separate or communal apartments, etc.

Social categories- these are artificially constructed population groups for the purposes of statistical analysis, which is why they are called nominal, or conditional. They are essential in business practice. For example, in order to properly organize suburban train traffic, you need to know the total or seasonal number of passengers.

Social categories are collections of people identified by similar features in the nature of behavior, lifestyle, position in society or the outside world. Similar features or criteria for the selection of groups can be a variety of properties of people. One of the most powerful and fruitful is hobbies or addictions. On the basis of this feature, a number of categories of people can be distinguished. Each group of hobbies, in turn, is divided into subgroups (according to the subject of hobbies) and gradations (according to the intensity of hobbies).

So, collectors are divided into philatelists, collectors of paintings, labels, badges, etc. Amateur collectors differ from professional collectors not only in the intensity of their addiction, but also in the degree of organization: philatelists' clubs, philatelists' markets, where stamps turn into a means of enrichment. Theatergoers - amateurs become professional over time, the subject of passion becomes the area of occupation. They regularly go to the theater, some of them become theater critics.

Nominal groups(social categories) are distinguished by artificial features, which depend on consciousness, but not a member of this group, but a scientist who classifies the group. For example, all living in two-room apartments or all living with a full range of utilities. Such a sign, and there are many of them, is not recognized by the members of the group as a sufficient basis for identifying their belonging to the specified group. In other words, those who live in two-room apartments and have a full range of utilities are not necessarily aware of the fact that they are singled out by some of the scientists into an independent group, and do not behave in accordance with this sign. On the contrary, the real criterion, realized by people or representatives of the group, most often makes them behave in accordance with this criterion.

For example, a group unemployed belongs to the category of real, as it stands out according to an objective criterion. The status of the unemployed applies only to those who applied to the employment service and registered as unemployed, i.e. joined a community or a set of people endowed with the corresponding rights and duties. But for one reason or another, out of the total number of unemployed, only an insignificant part (from 25 to 40%) applies to the employment service and receives the formal status of unemployed. And where to include those people who are not really engaged in social production, but have not applied to the employment service? How are these groups different? We are talking about potential and real unemployment, unregistered and registered. The real group here are formally registered unemployed. There is also the so-called part-time employment, characterizing a group of people. It does not intersect with either the first or the second group. It is often said that real employment figures are hidden in Russia, since the authorities are interested in lowering the unemployment rate: in reality, it is not 2%, but 8-10 times higher.

Partially employed are classified as nominal unemployed, since this group was identified by sociological researchers interested in building any model, and this group exists only in the minds of these scientists. Therefore, this group is nominal.

Real group is a large group of people, which is allocated on the basis of real signs:

floor- men and women;
income - rich, poor and prosperous;
nationality- Russians, Americans, Evenks, Turks;
age - children, adolescents, youth, adults, the elderly;
kinship and marriage- single, married, parents, widowed;
profession(occupation) - drivers, teachers, military personnel;
place of residence - townspeople, rural residents, countrymen, etc.

These and some other signs are among the socially significant. There are much fewer such signs than statistical ones, their set is countable. Since these are real signs, they not only exist objectively(biological sex and age or economic income and profession), but are also recognized subjectively. Young people feel their group affiliation and solidarity in the same way that pensioners feel theirs. Representatives of the same real group have similar stereotypes of behavior, lifestyle, value orientations.

Into independent subclass of real groups sometimes the following three types are distinguished:

stratification- slavery, castes, estates, classes;
ethnic- races, nations, peoples, nationalities, tribes, clans;
territorial- people from the same locality (countrymen), townspeople, villagers.

These groups are called the main however, with no less reason, any other real group can be included among the main ones. Indeed, we are talking about interethnic conflicts that have swept the world in the past and present centuries. We speak of a generation gap, implying that the conflict between two age groups is a serious social problem that humanity has been unable to resolve for many millennia. Finally, we are talking about gender inequality in wages, the distribution of family functions, and social status. Thus, real groups are real problems for society. Nominal groups do not provide a spectrum of social problems comparable in scope and nature.

Indeed, it is difficult to imagine that society was shaken by contradictions, say, between passengers on long-distance and short-range trains. But the problem of refugees or "brain drain" associated with real groups identified on a territorial basis worries not only armchair scientists, but also practitioners: politicians, the government, social protection agencies, and ministries.

Behind the real groups are social aggregates- populations of people identified on the basis of behavioral characteristics. These include the audience (radio, television), the public (cinema, theater, stadium), some types of crowds (a crowd of onlookers, passers-by), etc. They combine the features of real and nominal groups, therefore they are located on the border between them. The term "aggregate" (from Latin aggrego - I attach) means a random gathering of people. Aggregates are not studied by statistics and do not belong to statistical groups.

Moving further along the typology of social groups, we meet social organization. This is an artificially constructed community of people created by someone for the sake of fulfilling some legitimate goal, such as the production of goods or the provision of paid services, with the help of institutionalized mechanisms of subordination (hierarchy of positions, power and subordination, reward and punishment). An industrial enterprise, a collective farm, a restaurant, a bank, a hospital, a school are all types of social organization. In terms of size, social organizations are very large (hundreds of thousands of people), large (tens of thousands), medium (from several thousand to several hundred), small or small (from one hundred to several people).

In essence, social organization is an intermediate type of people's association between large and small social groups. They end the classification of large groups and begin the classification of small ones. Here lies the boundary between secondary and primary groups in sociology: only small groups are classified as primary, all other groups are secondary.

Small groups- these are small aggregates of people united by common goals, interests, values, norms and rules of behavior, as well as constant interaction. Small groups exist in reality: they are accessible to direct perception, observable in terms of their size and time of existence. Their study can be carried out through specific methods of working with all members of the group (observation of interaction in the group, surveys, tests for the characteristics of group dynamics, experiment).

If we build social group continuum, then the two poles on it will be occupied by completely opposite phenomena: large and small groups. The main socio-psychological feature of small groups is cohesion, large groups - solidarity(Fig. 6.1).

Cohesion we show in real action, knowing each member of the group, for example, when we go to the head of a department to defend our colleague, whom he intends to fire. The unity of the small group is heeled by everyday communication and interaction. As soon as friends go to different cities, stop communicating, after a while they forget each other, cease to be a close-knit group. Solidarity It manifests itself not between familiar people who know each other well, but between representatives of the same social group as social masks. So, a Moscow policeman defends a Tambov one only because they both belong to the same professional group and are not necessarily family friends.

Rice. 6.1.

Russian sociologists already in the XIX - early XX centuries. Great attention was paid to the development of the idea of concord through cooperation, solidarity, integration, cooperation, and mutual assistance (N. K. Mikhailovsky, P. L. Lavrov, L. I. Mechnikov, M. M. Kovalevsky, and others). In particular, M. M. Kovalevsky the doctrine of solidarity is at the center of sociological theory. By solidarity, he understood reconciliation, reconciliation, harmony as opposed to struggle. He believed that in the normal course of social life, a clash of class and other social interests is prevented by an agreement, a compromise, in which the idea of solidarity of all members of society is always the guiding principle.

Both cohesion and solidarity are based on the same foundation, which is identification person with his group. Identification can be positive(solidarity, group cohesion), and negative(it is understood in sociology as alienation, rejection, distancing). The problem of identity and identification is quite fully reflected in the works of V. A. Yadov.

The classification of small groups in general includes laboratory and natural, organized and spontaneous, open and closed, formal and informal, primary and secondary groups, membership groups and reference groups, etc. In sociology, groups are divided into primary and secondary, informal and formal.

Primary group is a small association of people connected by bonds of an emotional nature (for example, a family, a group of friends). The term "primary group", introduced into sociology by Charles Cooley, characterizes communities in which there are trusting, "face to face", contacts and cooperation. They are primary in several ways, but mainly because they play a fundamental role in shaping the social nature and ideas of man.

The main features of the primary relationship - uniqueness and integrity. Uniqueness means that a response addressed to one individual cannot be forwarded to another. A child cannot replace his mother, and vice versa; they are irreplaceable and unique. The relationship between husband and wife is the same: they are fully responsible to each other, love and family absorb them entirely, and not partially or temporarily. To describe group integrity, the pronoun "we" is used, which characterizes a certain sympathy and mutual identification of people.

secondary group represents a number of regularly meeting people whose relationships are mostly impersonal. They are distinguished by the criterion of immediacy - the mediation of contacts between people.

For example, the relationship between a seller and a buyer. They can be redirected: the seller can make contact with another or other buyers, and vice versa. They are not unique and are interchangeable. The seller and the buyer enter into a temporary contract and bear limited liability to each other. Such is the relationship between workers and employers.

Primary relationships are deeper and more intense than secondary ones, they are more complete in terms of manifestations. Face-to-face interaction involves symbols, words, gestures, feelings, reason, needs. So, family relationships are deeper, fuller and more intense than business or industrial ones. The first are called informal the second - formal. In formal relationships, one person serves as a means or end to achieve something that is not present in informal, primary relationships. Where people live or work together, on the basis of primary relationships, primary groups arise: small work groups, family, friendly companies, play groups, neighborhood communities. Primary groups arise historically before secondary ones; they have always existed, and they still exist. As C. Cooley notes, in the reality surrounding us there are fewer primary relations than secondary ones. They are less common, although they play a more important role in people's lives.

formal group- this is a group, the position and behavior of individual members of which are strictly regulated by the official rules of the organization and social institutions. Unlike informal groups arising within the framework of a formal social organization on the basis of interpersonal relations, common interests, mutual sympathies of their members, a formal group is a type of organization of social relations, which is characterized by a division of functions, an impersonal, contractual nature of relations, a strictly defined goal of cooperation, an extreme rationalization of group and individual functions, low dependence on traditions. The task of a formal group is to ensure high orderliness, planning, controllability of the actions of its members in achieving the goals of a social institution, organization. The totality of formal groups within the framework of one institution constitutes an ordered system in a certain way. hierarchical structure. Interpersonal relationships in a formal group develop within the established official framework: authority is determined by the position, and not by personal qualities.

Large social groups are the area where social statuses, in small groups are implemented personal statuses.

For details see: Kovalevsky M. M. modern sociologists. SPb., 1905.

The most important elements of the social structure of society are social groups and social communities. Being forms of social interaction, they are such associations of people whose joint, solidarity actions are aimed at meeting their needs.

social group- ϶ᴛᴏ a set of people who have common social characteristics, performing a socially necessary function in the structure of the social division of labor and activity. Social groups are characterized by:

- sustainable interaction, contributing to the strength and stability of their existence;

- a relatively high degree of unity and cohesion;

- clearly expressed homogeneity of the composition, suggesting the presence of signs inherent in all members of the group;

The possibility of entering into wider social communities as structural units.

Since each person in the course of his life is a member of a wide variety of social groups that differ in size, nature of interaction, degree of organization and many other features, it becomes extremely important to classify them according to certain criteria.

There are the following types of social groups:

1. Given the dependence on the nature of the interaction - primary and secondary.

primary group is a group in which the interaction between members is direct, interpersonal in nature and has a high level of emotionality (family, school class, peer group, etc.). Carrying out the socialization of the individual, the primary group acts as a link between the individual and society.

secondary group- this is a larger group in which interaction is subordinate to the achievement of a specific goal and is formal, impersonal.
Hosted on ref.rf
In these groups, the main attention is paid not to the personal, unique qualities of the members of the group, but to their ability to perform certain functions. Organizations (industrial, political, religious, etc.) can serve as examples of such groups.

2. Taking into account the dependence on the method of organization and regulation of interaction - formal and informal.

formal group- ϶ᴛᴏ a group with a legal status, interaction in which is regulated by a system of formalized norms, rules, laws. These groups have a consciously set goal, a normatively fixed hierarchical structure and act according to the administratively established order (organizations, enterprises, etc.).

informal group arises spontaneously, on the basis of common views, interests and interpersonal interactions. It is deprived of official regulation and legal status. These groups are usually led by informal leaders. Examples are friendly companies, informal youth associations, rock music lovers, etc.

3. Taking into account the dependence on the belonging of individuals to them - ingroups and outgroups.

Ingroup- ϶ᴛᴏ a group to which the individual feels a direct belonging and identifies it as ʼʼmyʼʼ, ʼʼourʼʼ (for example, ʼʼmy familyʼʼ, ʼʼmy classʼʼ, ʼʼmy companyʼʼ, etc.).

Outgroup- ϶ᴛᴏ a group to which this individual does not belong and therefore evaluates it as ʼʼalienʼʼ, not one's own (other families, another religious group, another ethnic group, etc.). Each ingroup individual has his own outgroup rating scale: from indifferent to aggressive-hostile. For this reason, sociologists propose to measure the degree of acceptance or closeness towards other groups according to the so-called Bogardus ʼʼscale of social distanceʼʼ.

Reference group- ϶ᴛᴏ real or imaginary social group, the system of values, norms and evaluations of which serves as a standard for the individual. The term was first proposed by the American social psychologist Hyman. The reference group in the system of relations "personality - society" performs two important functions: normative, being for the individual a source of norms of behavior, social attitudes and value orientations; comparative, acting as a standard for the individual, allows him to determine his place in the social structure of society, evaluate himself and others.

4. Taking into account the dependence on the quantitative composition and forms of the implementation of ties - small and large.

small group- ϶ᴛᴏ directly contacting a small group of people, united to carry out joint activities.

The small group can take many forms, but the initial ones are ʼʼdyadʼʼ and ʼʼtriadʼʼ, they are called the simplest molecules of the small group. The dyad consists of two people and is considered an extremely fragile association, three people actively interact in the triad, it is more stable.

The characteristic features of a small group are:

- small and stable composition (as a rule, from 2 to 15 people);

- spatial proximity of group members;

- stability and duration of existence:

- a high degree of coincidence of group values, norms and patterns of behavior;

- the intensity of interpersonal relationships;

- developed sense of belonging to the group;

- Informal control and information richness in the group.

large group- ϶ᴛᴏ a group that is large in composition, which is created for a specific purpose and the interaction in which is mainly indirect (labor teams, enterprises, etc.). This also includes numerous groups of people who have common interests and occupy the same position in the social structure of society. For example, social-class, professional, political and other organizations.

Team(Latin collectivus) is a social group in which all vital connections between people are mediated through socially important goals.

Characteristic features of the team:

- a combination of the interests of the individual and society;

- a commonality of goals and principles that act for the members of the team as value orientations and norms of activity. The team performs the following functions:

- objective - the solution of the problem for which it is created;

- social and educational - a combination of the interests of the individual and society.

5. Given the dependence on socially significant features - real and nominal.

Real groups- these are groups allocated according to socially significant criteria:

- gender - men and women;

- age - children, youth, adults, the elderly;

- income - rich, poor, prosperous;

- nationality - Russians, French, Americans;

- marital status - married, single, divorced;

- profession (occupation) - doctors, economists, managers;

- place of residence - townspeople, rural residents.

Nominal (conditional) groups, sometimes called social categories, are distinguished for the purpose of conducting a sociological study or statistical accounting of the population (for example, to find out the number of passengers-benefits, single mothers, students receiving nominal scholarships, etc.).

Along with social groups in sociology, the concept of ʼʼ quasigroupʼʼ.

Quasigroup- ϶ᴛᴏ informal, spontaneous, unstable social community, which does not have a definite structure and value system, the interaction of people in which, as a rule, is of a third-party and short-term nature.

The main types of quasigroups are:

Lecture hall is a social community united by interaction with a communicator and receiving information from him. The heterogeneity of this social formation, due to the difference in personal qualities, as well as cultural values and norms of the people included in it, determines the different degree of perception and evaluation of the information received.

Crowd- a temporary, relatively unorganized, structureless accumulation of people united in a closed physical space by a common interest, but at the same time devoid of a clearly perceived goal and interconnected by a similarity of emotional state. Allocate the general characteristics of the crowd:

- suggestibility - people in the crowd are usually more suggestible than outside it;

- anonymity - an individual, being in the crowd, as if merges with it, becomes unrecognizable, believing that it is difficult to "calculate" him;

- spontaneity (contagiousness) - people in the crowd are subject to rapid transmission and change of emotional state;

- unconsciousness - the individual feels invulnerable in the crowd, out of social control, in connection with this, his actions are "impregnated" with collective unconscious instincts and become unpredictable.

Given the dependence on the method of crowd formation and the behavior of people in it, the following varieties are distinguished:

- a random crowd - an indefinite set of individuals that formed spontaneously without any goal (to watch a celebrity suddenly appear or a traffic accident);

- conventional crowd - a relatively structured collection of people under the influence of pre-planned predetermined norms (spectators in the theater, fans in the stadium, etc.);

- expressive crowd - a social quasi-group formed for the personal pleasure of its members, which in itself is already a goal and result (discotheques, rock festivals, etc.);

- an active (active) crowd - a group that produces some kind of action, which can act as: a gathering - an emotionally excited crowd gravitating towards violent actions, and an insurgent crowd - a group characterized by particular aggressiveness and destructive actions.

Social groups and their classification - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Social groups and their classification" 2017, 2018.

The study of society is based on several basic phenomena or approaches that make it possible to simplify and at the same time systematize existing connections. For example, this is the division of society into different social groups. First you need to understand what it is about. So, social groups of the population are a set of people who act as a single subject of action. Moreover, they are distinguished by the presence of a unifying principle: interests, views, needs, values, etc.

Please note that social science highlights social groups and communities. What is the difference? There are several different definitions. But they all agree that social groups are characterized by a certain stability, ideological commonality, more or less regular contacts, and the availability of organizational resources. They are usually formed consciously.

What examples can be given here? These are fans of a particular football club, various professional associations that have appeared to protect members of their interests. Or entrepreneurs who are interested in bringing their products to the market at a lower cost.

At the same time, social communities, as a rule, are much larger (nation, inhabitants of a certain region, etc.). They are formed completely randomly, can be unstable, easily disintegrate. Such social formations often differ in ideological diversity. They do not have any plan of action, development. Much here is chaotic.

Nevertheless, social communities, social groups have common features. The first and second have something in common. Also, they may have the same goals, needs, etc. Let's say that passengers of the same train in the event of an accident face the same difficulties. Like social groups, social communities come in different sizes, and they can also shrink and grow. In many ways, both there and there there is an element of spontaneity. Large and small social groups

Groups are small and large. A normal sociological phenomenon was the transition from one to the other due to merger and disintegration. Sometimes a small formation can be included in a larger one, while maintaining its complete integrity. Large social groups in modern Russian society are the Orthodox, pensioners, fans of Putin's policies.

It can be seen that it is quite easy to confuse large social groups and their types (according to political, religious or age criteria) with communities. Such mistakes are often made even by professionals.

However, large groups are characterized by relative homogeneity and stability. Let's say, if we compare a nation, in which people with very different needs, income levels, interests, life experience, etc., with such a group as "pensioners", then the latter will have more unifying factors. Thus, as a phenomenon of social groups, large social groups in particular have some stability.

And even large social groups are difficult to organize and control due to their size. Therefore, they are often divided into small subgroups for better understanding.

In the general concept of social groups, small social groups are also distinguished. Scientists pay attention to the fact that the phenomenon itself is quite relative in terms of numbers. So, small social groups are 2-3 people (family), and several hundred. Different understanding gives rise to conflicting interpretations.

And one more thing: existing small groups are able to unite into larger formations in order to achieve some goals. Sometimes this creates a single structure. And periodically they retain their heterogeneity, but after the achievement of the task, they again disintegrate.

What are primary social groups?

When considering the concept of social groups, types, different classifications, one cannot ignore the division into primary and secondary. What can be said about the first? They presuppose the existence of direct contacts, mutual assistance, common tasks, a certain equality. These can be friends, classmates, etc.

Secondary ones appear with further socialization. They are more formal (a group of women who gave birth in the same year in the same city, an association of lawyers, an association of dacha owners). The same person can belong to several secondary groups at the same time.

Other types

The main classifications are listed above. However, they are far from the only ones. There is a division according to the method of organization: formal and informal. The former willingly submit to public control, they usually have a plan of action, they are officially registered, they can even act as legal entities. For example, trade unions, official fan clubs of famous sports teams, etc.

Unlike them, informal ones are largely spontaneous. Their representatives themselves classify themselves as one or another group (goths, punks, fans of Hollywood action movies, esoterics), there is no control over the number, as well as a development plan. Such education can spontaneously appear and disappear, losing popularity.

Social science also considers the division according to the principle of belonging of an individual into ingroups and outgroups. The first is closely related to the concept of "mine". My family, school, class, religion, etc. That is, everything with which identification occurs.

The second category is foreign groups, another nation, religion, profession, etc. Attitude can range from indifferent to aggressive. A benevolent interest is also possible. There is also the concept of a reference group. This is a kind of education, the system of values, views and norms of which serve for the individual as a kind of standard, an example. With them, he checks his life guidelines, draws up a plan (admission to a prestigious university, an increase in income, etc.)

Depending on the social significance, real and nominal groups are distinguished. The first category includes those groups that are formed on the basis of socially significant criteria. These are gender, age, income, profession, nationality, residence, etc.

As for the nominal ones, we are talking about a rather conditional division of the population into separate groups. For example, a plan for studying the target audience and its purchasing power suggests that you need to study everyone who purchased detergents in such and such a store. As a result, a conditional category of buyers "Asi" appears in the "Auchan" supermarket.

Nominality does not imply that the members of this group are generally aware that they were assigned to some kind of community. Since only one criterion is being studied, the people who are selected as a result of such a selection may naturally have almost nothing in common, hold different views, have different values, etc.

When studying social groups, one should also take into account such an association as a quasi-group. It may have all or most of the features of such a combination, but in fact it is formed chaotically, it does not last long, but it easily breaks up. Vivid examples are the audience on