‘Man
is a social animal’. This self-evident truth has provided a basis of enquiry
and analysis for sociologists and everyone else interested in the way we
operate. Wherever we look we see individuals coalescing into groups and groups
interacting with one another.
What
makes a group?
Firstly,
a group has an identity which its members recognise. This identity may be
formally acknowledged, as in a committee or it may be totally informal such as
a children’s gang. The establishment of a group identity leads anyone to being
an ‘insider’ or an ‘outsider’ as far as the group is concerned.
The
next aspect affecting the creation and composition of groups is that all human
beings share the need to belong to one group or another. Very few people
survive long periods of isolation.
Belonging
to a group involves an individual in accepting and being accepted. The whole
purpose of some groups seems to lie in maintaining a jealously guarded
exclusivity and in setting often very extensive formal or informal entry
‘exams’. What the individual has to demonstrate is that he or she accepts and is
willing to comply with the ‘norms’ of the group – that is to say the
established outlooks, attitudes and behaviour patterns which the group
displays. It is only by clearly demonstrating similar ideas and behaviour that
an individual becomes accepted by a group.
In
society groups exist in many forms. The basic, indeed fundamental group is, of
course the family. Extensions to this group are formed through relatives and
close family friends.
As
well as possessing a discernible identity and norms of behaviour, groups also
exist to achieve aims and objectives. Such groups will evolve, either formally
or informally, procedures for choosing leaders and will also establish ‘pecking
orders’ which derive not only from official status, but also from length of
membership, degree of assertiveness or demonstrated expertise.
The Attributes of a Group
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Identity
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It
is identifiable by its members and (usually) by those outside it
|
|
Norms
of behaviour
|
It
requires its members to conform to established norms or patterns of outlook,
attitude and behaviour
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|
Purpose
|
It
has aims and objectives either clearly defined or intuitively understood
which directs its activities
|
|
Hierarchy
|
It
evolves either formally or informally a leadership and ‘pecking order’ or
hierarchy which its members accept
|
|
Exclusivity
|
It
has the power to grant or deny admission and also to expel anyone from
membership
|
|
Solidarity
|
It
demands loyalty of its members and is capable of experiencing internal
conflict while displaying an external front
|
|
Capacity
for change
|
Its
life may be either long or short. It may form, disintegrate and re-form
depending upon external circumstances and stimuli
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(People and Communication - Desmond Evans 1984)
Categories
of Groups
HARTLEY
identified three types of group : Friendship
Family
Work
If
we consider these three types of groups we may conclude that there are certain
general differences. Work groups tend to be rather more formal than the other
types. Some groups are ‘ascribed’ (like our families) and others are ‘achieved’
(like the membership of a team).
Those
groups that you spend the most time with are referred to as primary groups,
with secondary groups as those you with which you have intermittent contact.
PRIMARY groups are small and intimate; they have regular contact often face to
face
SECONDARY
groups are much larger and more impersonal. (Organisations can be part of this
group)
COOLEY
defined a small group:
2
(a dyad) – 20
regularly
associate and cooperate
share some common
purpose
norms and mores are
produced
feelings of solidarity
are enjoyed
We categorise and stereotype people according to
group membership.
Groups are also identified by their degrees of
formality. A committee for example is far more formal than a friendship group.
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INFORMAL GROUPS
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FORMAL GROUPS
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Have relaxed contact
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Have stated aims
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Communicate freely
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Some we are required to join
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Share with others
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Have a defined function
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Seek out others who we believe are similar to
ourselves
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Allow the process of socialization ie we learn
the norms of behaviour and values of society
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May have no set rules, or rules which evolve and
change
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Conform to set rules, written or unwritten, and
may have a formal constitution
|
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May have no fixed roles, or division of labour,
or these may evolve and change
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Have fixed roles played by individuals, a
division of labour
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May have no formal hierarchies, or hierarchies
which evolve and change
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Have formal hierarchies
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Have relationships which are equal
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What is a group?
In
order for a group to exist, the following must apply:
- Individuals must exist in some sort of
relationship
‘If there is
no interaction between the individuals, then a group cannot be formed’
Judy Gahagan (1975)
‘A group
should be conceived of as a system whose parts interrelate’
- Share common goals, purposes or interests and
recognise these
‘a
collection of individuals who interact in some way and share some common goals
or interests’
- Accept common values or norms of behaviour
O’Sullivan et al (1994)
‘Those sets
of social rules, standards and expectations that both generate and regulate
social interaction and communication’
- Develop set roles of behaviour
O’Sullivan et al (1994)
‘socially
defined positions and patterns of behaviour which are characterised by specific
sets of rules, norms and expectation’
- Group members have an identity
Turner (1991)
‘A group
exists when two or more people define themselves as members of it and when its
existence is recognised by at least one other’
Why
do people join groups?
Dimbleby
(1998) identified two main reasons:
§
To achieve a shared goal or oppose a common
threat (i.e. task-orientated)
§
To have a sense of belonging (i.e. socio-emotional)
Maslow
(1954) suggested
that companionship was a basic human necessity in his hierarchy of needs.
§
They choose to do it
§
It is part of doing something else (e.g. a
job)
§
They are compelled to do so
§
They are compelled to do so by specific
changes in circumstances (e.g. an accident)
§
They drift into it over a period of time
§
They are invited to do so
§
They are proud to do so (this is the
‘achieved’ idea, e.g. gaining entry to a prestigious sports team)
Gration,
Reilly and Titford (1992) suggested that groups form because
people have communal needs:
§
The need to communicate with others
§
The need to make social contact with others
§
The need for mutual support
§
The need for solidarity with others
§
The need for group identification
§
The need for social status
§
The need to be with people who share a
common purpose or interest
Nicholson
(1977) set out to establish the factors that had a bearing on
the formation of friendships. He suggests that relationships and the joining of
groups are primarily about finding something to do and less to do with those
factors that influence other personal relationships like love.
§
The need for stimulation
§
The need for reassurance
§
The attraction of similarity ( mixing with
People Like Us)
§
The recognition that friendships are expendable
(we are prompted into relationships by the knowledge that some, and potentially
all, will fail)
§
The fact of proximity (we join with people
we constantly see)
§
Physical attractiveness
How Groups Form
Tuckman
(1965) and others have suggested that there are four stages in the life and
work of groups. Argyle described them as ‘formation’, ‘rebellion’, ‘norming’,
and ‘co-operation’. Tuckman described them as:
FORMING the initial stage of basic
interaction in which a number of people come together and communicate regularly
STORMING the crucial stage of
disorder and sometimes conflict through which relationships are forged; the
testing stage, which determines whether a group will develop
NORMING the explicit result of
storming, the establishment of group ‘rules’, ways of working, thinking,
communicating and self-presentation
PERFORMING the stage at which a
functioning group emerges as a significant communicator, complete with its own
‘personality’ and patterns of behaviour
In
practice groups do not always display these exact definitions/ successive
phases and are more fluid and dynamic.
How Groups Function
Once
groups have formed it is important to consider the way the members communicate,
part of this includes the roles we adopt.
Roles
can be described as:
Assigned
– generally determined by others and not
always within our control – e.g.
belonging to a gender group or a family
Assumed
- roles which we have determined for
ourselves – e.g. occupational roles,
friendship roles
The
way we behave in response to the role we have been allocated, or have chosen to
adopt, is within our control and can be influenced by a number of factors.
These factors include learned behaviour, perception, circumstances, and
expectations to name but a few.
Shaw (1981) thought it was important
to distinguish between three versions of any role:
§
Perceived
role
§
Enacted
role
§
Expected
role
Task
roles include such things as:
§
Initiating
activity
§
Seeking
information
§
Co-ordinating
Group
building and maintenance roles include such behaviours as:
§
Encouraging
§
Gatekeeping
§
Standard
setting
Kurt Albrecht is much more rigid in his
descriptions of the specific roles within a group:
§
Energisers: those who provide group
motivation
§
Ideas people: those who think what to
do
§
Action people: those who get things done
§
Organisers: those who make sure things
are done efficiently
§
Uncommitted: those who make no real
contribution
You
might also consider these role designations in comparison to Belbin’s roles.
One
obvious role which needs to be discussed is leadership and this is often
described as a style of leadership. The key theorist we should be familiar with
is Kurt Lewin who designated four
main styles:
Autocratic
Bureaucratic
Democratic
Laissez-faire
