What characterizes the classification of social groups. The concept of a social group. Group classification. The concept, formation and types of 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- this 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 relationships 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 a family, a friendly team, a student group, a 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, according to Ch. 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 goal, statutory hierarchical structure and act in accordance with the administratively established procedure (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 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 this individual does not belong and therefore evaluates it as "alien", 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. 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 assessments 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. Dyad consists 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- the solution of the problem for which it is created;
• socio-educational- a 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:

The audience 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.

- 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 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 (infectiousness)- 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, so his actions are "saturated" 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 pre-determined norms (spectators in a theatre, 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 actions, which can act as: gatherings- an emotionally excited crowd gravitating towards violent actions, and revolting crowd- a 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.

Since social life is organized in such a way that a person can do little alone without resorting to participation in groups, the latter are studied within the framework of a systems approach as special social systems consisting of interconnected elements.

Since the system is always something more than the sum of its components, then, by studying the characteristics of a social group, one can understand the characteristics of human behavior in it.

According to Shibutani, social group is an important form of associations of people in the process of activity and communication.

In pedagogy social group regarded as a relatively stable set of people connected by a system of relationships governed by common values ​​and norms.

That. goals, common interests, group rituals, sanctions, relationships, joint activities, etc. - these are the components of a social group that determine the measure of its stability.

Social groups have certain characteristics that are more pronounced in groups that have existed for a longer time.

Presence of integral psychological characteristics which include: public opinion, psychological climate, group norms, group interests, etc. (they are formed with the emergence and development of the group). So the relative unanimity of the members of the group on some issue is determined by public opinion, which is the result of the discussion of the idea, about which the participants in the interaction agreed.

· The existence of the main parameters of the group as a whole: composition, structure, etc.

Composition (group composition) is a set of characteristics of group members that are important from the point of view of its analysis as a whole. (number, age composition, etc.)

The structure of the group is considered from the point of view of the functions that individual members of the group perform, as well as from the point of view of interpersonal relations in it. All social relations are of two types: formal (conventional) and informal (interpersonal). These two types of relationships are combined in any social. group. That. The group has two structures - formal and informal.

· The ability of individuals to coordinate action. Consent provides the necessary commonality, unity of action aimed at achieving action. The degree of concerted action depends on the level of development of the group and other indicators.

· Awareness of belonging to a group. Regardless of how long a group exists, its subjects are aware of their belonging to it.

· The action of group pressure. It encourages a person to behave in a certain way and in accordance with the expectations of others.

Classification of social groups

For social psychology, it is significant to divide groups into conditional and real. She focuses her attention on real groups. In real groups, there are those that appear in general psychological research. laboratory groups. Unlike them, there are real natural groups. In turn, as the author of the classification notes, natural groups are divided into big and small groups. Large groups are divided into spontaneous, i.e. unorganized, spontaneously arisen and can be conditionally called groups, as well as on conditional, i.e. organized and long-lived (nations, classes).

Similarly, small groups are subdivided into becoming, i.e. already set by external social requirements, but not yet united by joint activity and developed, i.e. already established, with a higher level of development.

The classification of G.M. Andreeva is not the only one, because Currently, about 50 different bases for classifications are known, among which the following can be distinguished:

Number of people in a group (large, small, microgroups)

By social status (formal and informal)

By significance (membership and reference groups)

By level of development (associations, diffuse groups, collectives)

In relation to society (pro-social and anti-social)

By the number of people in the group

Microgroup includes 2 or 3 people. In social psychology, they are usually viewed through interpersonal relationships. The main connecting factors of these groups are: feelings of friendship, love, sympathy, common cause.

small group- a small group in composition, whose members are united by common social activities and are in direct personal communication, which is the basis for the emergence of emotional relationships, group norms and group processes. A small group (family, group of friends, class, work team) is the closest environment for the formation of personality, affecting the needs, social activity and psychological state of a person.

large group- is studied from the point of view of mass phenomena of the psyche arising in a crowd, mass, audience, public and is characterized by a short-term association of a large number of people, often with very different interests, but nevertheless gathered together for any reason and demonstrating some kind of joint actions.

Such a group can be organized by someone, but more often it arises spontaneously.

Large stable social groups include representatives of classes, nations, professions, and ages.

By social status(formal and informal)

AT formal the group is strictly assigned the roles of all members of the group, in the subordination system (in the power structure): class, work team, etc.

informal groups form and arise spontaneously, where neither statuses nor roles are represented, where there is no system of relationships along the vertical. An informal group can be created within a formal one.

(Groups of close friends may occur in the class)

In relation to society(prosocial and asocial)

Prosocial characterized by a positive attitude towards society.

Asocial characterized by a negative attitude towards society. In such groups, there is authoritarian control and the opposition of their narrow interests to the public (a group of criminals).

By importance(reference and membership groups)

Reference a group is sometimes understood as a group opposed to a membership group, and sometimes as a group arising within a membership group. (In the second case, it is called a “significant social circle.” In this case, a situation may arise when the norms adopted by the group become personally acceptable to the individual only when they are accepted by the “significant social circle”) An example is a school class of 20 people, and for Petrov in this group Ivanov, Sidorov and Nikolaev are the desired social circle - they are the reference group for him.

Membership group - example: a team, a school class.

In social psychology, there is a problem of "upper" and "lower" boundaries of a small group. In most studies, the number of group members ranges from 2 to 7. However, a number of scientists consider the lower boundary of the triad, explaining this by the fact that the conflict cannot be resolved in the dyad. The presence of a third person creates a new position - an observer who adds an active principle to resolve the conflict. In studies, you can find an upper limit of 10, 15, 20 people. (Moreno has 40).

G.M. Andreeva offers the following solution to this problem: If the small group under study really exists and is considered as a subject of activity, then it is logical not to set an upper limit, but to accept a real one, dictated by the need for joint group activity. Those. Families consisting of 3 people and 12 are studied equally. When analyzing work teams, a team of 5 or even 40 people can be taken as a small group, if it is the unit of the activity prescribed for it.



The problem of classifying social groups has been ambiguously solved throughout the history of the development of social psychology. For example, Eubank, an American researcher, singled out seven different principles for constructing classifications: the level of cultural development, the type of structure, tasks and functions, the predominant type of contacts in the group, and also added the time the group existed, the principles of its formation, the principles of accessibility of membership in it. The common feature of the classifications was the form group life.

In the domestic traditions of social psychology, the basis should be the sociological classification of groups according to their place in the system of social relations.

According to G. M. Andreeva, in social psychology, groups are divided primarily into conditional and real (Fig. 12.1).

The real groups are the main ones here. Among the real ones, there are those that are formed for general psychological research - real laboratory groups. In contrast to them, there are real natural groups. Socio-psychological analysis is possible with respect to both varieties of real groups, but the most important are real natural groups, highlighted in sociological analysis.

In turn, natural groups are subdivided into big and small groups. In social psychology, a solid tradition of research has mainly large, unorganized, spontaneous groups, others organized, long-term, stable groups (classes, nations) much less represented in social psychology as an object of study. In its turn small The groups are divided into two types: becoming groups already set by external social requirements, but not yet united by joint activity, and groups of a higher level of development, already established(teams), developed.

In the Western tradition, within interactionism, there is an approach that tries to combine the socio-psychological approach with the sociological one. So, T. Shibutani argued that groups can differ in size,"... from two lovers, passionately embracing each other, to millions of men and women mobilized for war" . However, in this approach, writes G. M. Andreeva, it is difficult to give a single list of characteristics, or signs (parameters), of the group. It is much more productive to do this in relation to specific types of groups, to the analysis of groups of various types.

GG Diligensky, highlighting the types of large social groups, pointed mainly to two types. The basis of this division is the nature intergroup and intragroup social connections. In the first case, people are united in groups by a commonality of objective connections that exist independently of the consciousness and will of people ( objective macro-groups). In the second case, these are groups that arise as a result of a conscious association of people ( subjective psychological) . To clarify the relationship between these types, he introduces the concept of psychological community. To understand the essence of psychological community, BF Porshnev's concept of dividing people into "we" and "they" in the process of the historical development of mankind is of great importance.

In the first case, the processes, phenomena, and states that arise in a community (the psychology of a class) reflect objective connections and relationships and are secondary to these objective processes. In the second case, the psychological phenomena in the group constitute its basis, the primary phenomenon. In this case, the psychological community is the primary basis.

The basis for a detailed classification of large social groups is taken as dividing various signs:

• by time of existence long-term existing large groups (classes, nations) and short-lived ones (meetings, audiences, crowds) are singled out;
• by the nature of organization-disorganization - organized groups (parties, unions, crowds). A number of large groups arise spontaneously (crowd), others are organized consciously (parties, associations);
• on the basis of contact interaction one can speak of conditional and real groups. So, gender and age and professional groups are conditional. Real large groups with short but close contacts include rallies, meetings;
• openness and closeness of large groups. Membership in the latter is determined by the internal regulations of the groups;
• by the presence of a certain number of common features and the mechanism of connections with the community of large social groups. So, GG Diligensky distinguishes two types of social groups. The first type is an association of people who have a common objectively existing and socially significant sign, for example, demographic - then the type will be men, women, generation, youth, middle age, elderly people, etc. The characteristic of these groups as social is determined by their significance in the life of society, their role in the system of social relations (in the system of production, in the family). These groups are homogeneous in their composition, homogeneous, but precisely on the basis of their isolation. The second type of groups is characterized by the fact that the people who make them consciously seek to unite. Examples of these groups are religious groups, parties, unions, social movements. In terms of their social composition, these groups are heterogeneous and heterogeneous. According to their socio-psychological characteristics, they are more homogeneous than the groups of the first type. If in the first case the priority is given to the objective side of the community, then in the second case it is the subjective side. We are talking about psychological community. The subjective community does not coincide with the objective community.

A. L. Zhuravlev, when classifying small groups, also distinguishes between groups artificial(or laboratory), specially created for solving scientific problems, and natural groups that exist independently of the will of the researcher (Fig. 12.2). The psychologist must have a clear idea on what objects, under what conditions (natural or artificial) certain facts and patterns are obtained, and also to what extent the knowledge obtained in artificial conditions is applicable (relevant) to explaining, predicting and managing psychological phenomena and behavior in natural social groups.

Among natural small groups, the most important is the selection of groups formal and informal proposed by E. Mayo. Formal groups- groups, membership and relationships in which are predominantly formal, i.e. determined by formal prescriptions and agreements. Formal small groups are, first of all, the primary collectives of subdivisions of social organizations and institutions.

Rice. 12.2.

Organizational and institutional small groups are elements of the social structure of society and are created to meet social needs. The leading sphere of activity and the main psychological mechanism for uniting individuals within the framework of organizational and institutional small groups is Team work.

informal groups- associations of people that arise on the basis of internal, inherent in individuals needs for communication, belonging, understanding, sympathy and love. Examples of informal small groups are friendly and friendly companies, couples of people who love each other, informal associations of people connected by common interests and hobbies.

Formal and informal groups differ primarily in the mechanisms of their formation and in the nature of interpersonal relationships. However, like any classification, the division of groups into formal and informal is rather arbitrary. Informal groups can arise and function within the framework of formal organizations, and groups that have emerged as informal groups may at a certain stage acquire the characteristics of formal groups.

Groups are distinguished by time of existence. temporary, within which the association of individuals is limited in time (for example, participants in a group discussion or neighbors in a compartment on a train), and stable, the relative permanence of the existence of which is determined by their purpose and long-term goals of functioning (family, labor and educational groups). Depending on the degree of arbitrariness of an individual's decision to enter a particular group, participate in its life and leave it, groups are divided into open and closed.

In the subjective, psychological plan, groups (both formal and informal) are formed in the process of implementation by individuals communication needs, however, within the framework of informal groups, communication and the psychological relationships that arise on its basis are the leading area of ​​activity, here the central phenomenon of the psychology of small groups is psychological community.

The main criteria for the phenomenon of the psychological community of a group are the phenomena of similarity, community of individuals included in a small group (community of motives, goals, value orientations and social attitudes). Awareness by members of the group of the presence of similarities, commonality of the individuals included in it and differences (including psychological) of their group from others is the basis identification individuals with their group (sense of "we"). One manifestation of positive group identification is intragroup commitment- a tendency towards a more positive emotional attitude of individuals towards their group and a more positive assessment of its members. The psychological commonality of the group is also manifested in the presence of socio-psychological characteristics inherent in the group as a whole (and not characterizing individual individuals), such as compatibility, harmony, cohesion, socio-psychological climate and etc.

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Classification of social groups

Completed by: Kosenkova Maria Igorevna

1. social group

A social group is an association of people who have common significant specific features based on their participation in some activity associated with a system of relations that are regulated by formal or informal social institutions.

2. Classifications of social groups

The first classification is based on such a criterion (feature) as the number, i.e. the number of people who are members of the group. Accordingly, there are three types of groups:

1) small group - a small community of people who are in direct personal contact and interaction with each other

2) the middle group - a relatively large community of ideas that are in a mediated functional interaction.

3) a large group - a large community of people who are in social and structural dependence on each other.

The second classification is associated with such a criterion as the time of existence of the group. Here stand out:

1) short-term

2) long-term

The third classification is based on such a criterion as the structural integrity of the group. On this basis, distinguish:

1) primary

2) secondary groups.

The secondary group is a set of primary small groups.

3. The main ways of forming social groups are the following

employees come to understand that the achievement of certain goals is possible only on the basis of connection, combining the efforts of a certain number of members of the organization;

In the course of work, individuals require understanding and support from colleagues at work, for which he chooses individual members of the organization with whom not only business, but also trusting relationships are possible;

· in the process of identification, a certain part of the members of the organization has a feeling of in-group, which in turn leads to the formation of a system of closer ties, the separation of this in-group from the rest of the members of the organization, and the drawing of group boundaries;

Some employees need to protect their interests and needs, which is possible only by combining efforts in the conditions of the organization, the inclusion of the individual in social institutions that also carry out their functions through the activities of organizations;

individuals need control over the basic norms of behavior, since they have a need for social order and the preservation of stable social relations;

All individuals have a need to communicate and spend free time with colleagues, which can only be realized within a social group.

4. Types of groups

There are large, medium and small groups.

AT large groups includes aggregates of people that exist on the scale of the whole society as a whole: these are social strata, professional groups, ethnic communities (nations, nationalities), age groups (youth, pensioners), etc. Awareness of belonging to a social group and, accordingly, its interests as one’s own occurs gradually, as organizations are formed that protect the interests of the group (for example, the struggle of workers for their rights and interests through workers' organizations).

To middle groups include production associations of employees of enterprises, territorial communities (residents of the same village, city, district, etc.).

To the manifold small groups include such groups (up to 15 people), as a family, friendly companies, neighborhood communities. They are distinguished by the presence of interpersonal relationships and personal contacts with each other.

One of the earliest and most famous classifications of small groups into primary and secondary was given by the American sociologist C. H. Cooley, where he distinguished between them. "Primary (basic) group" refers to those personal relationships that are direct, face-to-face, relatively permanent, and deep, such as family relationships, a group of close friends, and the like. "Secondary groups" (a phrase that Cooley did not actually use, but which appeared later) refers to all other face-to-face relationships, but especially to such groups or associations as industrial, in which a person relates to others through formal , often a legal or contractual relationship ] . Social groups are friendly communications. There are many groups that unite people, each has a common cause and a common goal.

5. The main provisions of the theory of social exchange

The main theoretical formulations, based on the assumption that behavior is a function of consequences, appropriate rewards and punishments, were developed by Homans in 1961 and refined in 1974. They include five main provisions:

1. "Provision on success." The more frequently an activity is rewarded, the more likely it is to be carried out. Behavior that generates positive consequences for the individual is very likely to be repeated.

2. "Regulations on the incentive." Similar circumstances or similar situations will encourage behavior that has been rewarded on similar occasions in the past. This allows generalization of behavioral responses to "new" situations.

3. "Provision on value." The more valuable the results of an action are to an actor, the more likely it is that the action will be taken.

4. “Provision on deprivation - satiety (satiation)” introduces the general idea of ​​reducing marginal utility (utility). The more often a person has received a particular reward for an action, the less valuable is the additional element of such a reward. Thus, some rewards become less effective, leading to the curtailment of some specific activities. True, this is less true of generalized generalizations, such as money and affections, or anything else where saturation is less likely to occur, except in extreme cases.

5. "Regulations on emotionality." We are talking about the conditions in which people react emotionally to various rewarding situations.

6. urSocial Group Development Levels

The level of development of a social group is such a qualitative stage that characterizes its socio-psychological maturity. The group develops along a continuum - starting from the lowest level, going through several stages and reaching the highest level.

In domestic psychology, there are several classifications of the levels of group development. So, E. S. Kuzmin distinguishes three levels:

1. Nominal group.

2. Cooperation.

3. Team.

N. N. Obozov divides the development of the group into four stages:

1. Diffuse group.

2. Association.

3.Corporation.

4. Team.

L.I. Umansky approaches this classification in an even more differentiated way and singles out six levels;

1.Conglomerate

2.Nominal group

3.Association

4.Cooperative

5. Autonomy

6. Team

Taking as a basis the classification of L. I. Umansky as the most developed and tested in practice, we will describe the levels of the developed group, based on three main criteria:

Common goals of joint activities;

Clarity of group structure;

Dynamics of group processes.

Based on these criteria, it is possible to characterize the socio-psychological maturity of the group.

A conglomerate (lat. conglomerates - collected, accumulated) is a group of previously unfamiliar people who found themselves at the same time in the same territory. Each member of such a group pursues its own individual goal. There is no joint activity. There is also no group structure or it is extremely primitive. Examples of such a group are a small crowd, a queue of passengers in a train car, bus, aircraft cabin, etc. Communication here is short-term, superficial and situational. People usually don't get to know each other. Such a group breaks up easily when each member has solved their individual problems.

7. Real and nominal groups

A nominal group (lat. nominalis - nominal, existing only by name) is a group of people who have come together and received a common name, name. For example, applicants who have entered a university gather on the first day of classes and receive the name of a group of first-year students. In production, the foreman can gather newly arrived workers and explain to them that they are a team of repairmen. Such a name for the group is necessary not only in order for it to receive an official status, but also in order to determine the goals and types of its activities, mode of operation, and relationships with other groups. Thus, the activity of a team of repairmen is a service, serving the activities of other groups of workers who perform the main work in the production of products.

A nominal group can remain a conglomerate group if the people who have gathered together do not accept the conditions of activity proposed to them, the official goals of the organization, and do not enter into interpersonal communication. In this case, the nominal group breaks up. But if the goals and conditions are clear and people agree with them, then the nominal group proceeds to the beginning of activity and rises to the next level of development. Therefore, the nominal group is always a short-term stage of group formation. Characteristic for it is that in order for a group to become nominal, an organizer is needed - one person or an entire organization who would bring people together and offer them the goals of joint activity. The main thing that members of the nominal group do is communication, i.e. acquaintance with each other and with the goals, methods and conditions of the forthcoming joint activity. As long as the activity itself has not begun, but the process of negotiation and agreement is underway, the group will be nominal. As soon as people start working together, the group moves to another level of development.

A real group (in social psychology) is a community of people unlimited in size, existing in a common space and time and united by various kinds of real relationships (for example, a school class, a work brigade, a military unit, a family, etc.). The largest G. p. is humanity as a historical and social community, united, despite all the differences between countries and peoples, economic, political, spiritual and other ties. The smallest G. r. is a dyad, i.e. two interacting individuals.

8. Small and large social groups

Large groups include aggregates of people that exist on the scale of the whole society as a whole: these are social strata, professional groups, ethnic communities (nations, nationalities), age groups (youth, pensioners), etc. Awareness of belonging to a social group and, accordingly, its interests as their own occurs gradually, as organizations are formed that protect the interests of the group (for example, the struggle of workers for their rights and interests through workers' organizations).

Diverse small groups include such groups (up to 15 people) as a family, friendly companies, neighborhood communities. They are distinguished by the presence of interpersonal relationships and personal contacts with each other.

§ small where a small number of members provides the possibility of constant, direct personal mutual influence and therefore there is no need for mandatory formal fixing of institutionalized rules of conduct;

§ big(large), where there is no possibility of constant direct personal mutual influence, therefore, when describing them, one cannot do without some kind of abstraction.

9. Decorated andinformal social groups

In organizationally unformed parties, there is no membership, and, consequently, there is no formal connection between the party bodies and its supporters. Those are the voters who vote for the party in the elections. Naturally, they do not have documents on party affiliation, do not pay party dues, and are not required to submit to party discipline. The party apparatus, consisting of professionals and activists, operates mainly during the election campaign. These parties are essentially electoral movements.

Organized political parties are usually small in number of members, but have a clear organization and discipline. They are also called cadre parties. The basis of these parties is a professional centralized apparatus. The central leadership, headed by the party leader, has the final say in all party affairs. A group of senior party leaders who gather for a preliminary discussion of political and organizational issues and actually predetermine the decisions of the relevant party forums is called a caucus in English-speaking countries. In such parties, there is an organizational connection between the bodies of the party and its members who have party cards, are required to obey the statutory requirements and pay monthly or annual party dues (rarely more than 1% of income). Membership in such parties is possible both individual and collective.

10. Groupsmemberships and reference groups

Reference (reference) - troupes, determined by the degree of consciousness of the attitude of individuals towards them. This is a real or conditional social community with which the individual relates himself as a standard and to whose norms, opinions, values ​​and assessments he is guided in his behavior and self-esteem.

The reference group performs two important functions.

The normative function is manifested in motivational processes. The reference group acts in this case as a source of norms of behavior, social attitudes and value orientations of the individual.

The comparative function is manifested in the processes of social perception (social perception). The reference group acts here as a standard by which the individual evaluates himself and others.

Reference groups can be both "positive" and "negative" in the representation of the individual.

"Positive" refers to those with which the individual identifies himself and of which he would like to become a member.

"Negative" reference groups are those that cause rejection in the individual.

Each individual may have a different number of reference groups depending on the types of relationships and activities. There may be situations when the reference groups for an individual have oppositely directed values, which can lead to the formation of serious intrapersonal conflicts that require psychological or psychotherapeutic counseling.

It was experimentally established that some members of small groups share the norms of behavior not of their own groups, but of others to which they are guided, although they are not represented by their membership in them. For the first time, the division of groups into referential and membership groups was introduced by G. Hymen.

Membership groups are groups in which the individual is not opposed to the group itself, and where he relates himself to all other members of the group, and they relate themselves to him.

11.Temporary and permanentsocial groups

Permanent social groups include social classes (rich, poor).

Temporary groups can exist from a few days (a group of students on vacation) to several decades (a cartel of workers).

12. Natural and laboratory social groups

Groups that form on their own, regardless of the desire of the experimenter, are called natural. They arise and exist based on the needs of society or people included in these groups.

Unlike them, laboratory groups are created by the experimenter with the aim of conducting some kind of scientific research, testing the hypothesis put forward. They are just as effective as other groups, but they exist temporarily - only in the laboratory.

13. Normative behavior and groupI am the cohesion of social groups

Secondary groups arise for the realization of certain general social goals. For example, the association of scientists into associations or politicians into political parties. In these groups, material contacts, most often mediated, are of particular importance. They rely on an institutionalized and schematized system of relations, their activities are regulated by norms and rules.

Most sociologists associate the concept of "secondary group" with large associations of people, such as territorial communities, whose normative behavior and group cohesion are governed by social interests.

At the level of the emergence and functioning of the group, individual interests and needs are decisive, the satisfaction of which requires collective efforts, and hence interpersonal interactions. Contacts of group members and their mutual influence can be represented as a relationship structure. For example, a member of group A interacts with B and B. It is assumed that as a result of interactions a certain group structure is formed in which each member of the group takes "its place" regardless of what tasks the group should solve.

There are three possible models for such interaction.

Satisfaction with group relationships is highest in a multi-channel model, lowest in a circular pattern, and mixed in a centered pattern, where the central figure may be highly satisfied and people in surrounding positions may feel isolated.

Group interactions are mediated (usually) by normative behavior, sometimes referred to as a pattern. It is connected with the realization of the goals of the group and is recognized to some extent by all members of the group.

Very often, group interactions are identified by sociologists with the concept of group structure, since they are associated with other elements: role and status. Given the significant share of normative regulation among other manifestations of social influence in a group, there is reason to consider normative behavior as an independent factor].

The diversity of group norms and the factors that determine them makes it possible to single out general methodological principles for the effectiveness of norms in small groups.

1. Social norms of group behavior are a product of social interaction between people united by common interests.

2. As a rule, the group does not establish the entire range of norms for any particular situation, but only those that are of particular importance to all members of the group.

3. Normative behavior can either be assigned to a member of the group in the form of a role (for example, a leader), or act as a role-based standard of behavior common to members of the group.

4. Social, norms can be differentiated according to the degree of acceptance by their members of the group: approved by all, part, etc.

5. Social norms in groups may have different continuums of deviations and, accordingly, ranges of sanctions for deviant behavior.

6. The level of recognition of group norms by all members of the group largely determines the nature of group cohesion.

14. Socio-psychological hacharacteristics of the established group

The richness of the phenomenology of the group process, which is clearly revealed in the course of the foregoing presentation, makes it by no means a simple choice of the characteristics of an established small group. This chapter discusses three of them, to the greatest extent, in our opinion, giving an idea of ​​the group from the point of view of its integral manifestations: the structure of the group, the norms functioning in it, group cohesion. It is the level of development of these kind of parameters of the group process that often, as shown in 2.2, gives researchers grounds to judge the level of group formation as a whole.

15. Socio-psychological components of organizational culture

The formation of a unified system of values ​​of the organization is based on a number of principles. Values ​​as a key element of organizational culture.

Principles:

1. The principle of consistency - predetermines the consideration of the emerging culture as a system of interrelated elements, change (improvement) which is possible only by changing each element.

2. The principle of complexity - is to consider culture, taking into account the influence of psychological, social, organizational, economic, legal and other factors.

3. The principle of nationalism - provides for the formation of culture, taking into account national characteristics, mentality, customs of the region, the country in which the organization is located and operates.

4. The principle of historicity - necessitates the correspondence of the system of values ​​of the organization and the practice of interpersonal relations with the fundamental modern human values, as well as taking into account their dynamics over time.

5. The principle of scientificity - implies the need to use evidence-based methods in the formation of the culture of the organization.

6. The principle of value orientation - the principle of the basic orienting role of the value system for the entire organization as a whole.

7. The principle of scenario - provides for the presentation of all recommendations, acts that define and regulate the relations and actions of the organization's personnel in the form of a scenario that describes the content of the activities of all its employees, prescribes them a certain character and style of behavior.

8. The principle of effectiveness - implies the need for a targeted impact on the elements of the organization's culture and its attributes in order to achieve the best socio-psychological conditions for the activity of the organization's personnel and increase the efficiency of its activities. See: Sukhorukov M. Values ​​as a key element of organizational culture.

It is necessary to add to the list of important ones the principle of the formation and reproduction of values, namely in the Russian organization - the principle of personal devotion.

social psychological group organizational

16. Characteristics of a social group at a diffuse level of development

In a diffuse group, there is no cohesion, no organization, no joint activity. An important indicator of the level of development of the group is the value-oriented unity, determined by the degree of coincidence of the positions and assessments of its members in relation to the general activities and important values ​​of the group.

Groups are considered from the point of view of their attitude to society: positive - prosocial, negative - asocial.

Any collective is a well-organized pro-social group, since it is focused on the benefit of society.

A well-organized asocial group is called a corporation.

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. social group- this is a set of people identified according to socially significant criteria (sex, age, race, nationality, profession, place of residence, income, power, education, etc.). It is a kind of mediator between the individual and society.

By definition. Robert. Merton, a group is a collection of two and / or more people who interact with each other in a certain way, are aware of their belonging to this group and are considered members of this group from the point of view of the other.

Classification of social groups

One of the main criteria for the typology of groups is their size. Sociology distinguishes between small, medium and large groups. The smaller the group, the more opportunities the individual gets to get to know other x people and establish close relationships with them. The difference between small, medium and large groups lies primarily in the nature of communication processes. Close interpersonal communication in small dose groups will allow them to develop norms and values, patterns of behavior, as well as exercise social control more effectively than in medium, and especially in large groups. Moreover, large and medium groups can only demonstrate patterns of organized behavior, form stable intra-group norms and values, when they themselves include small groups as elements of their structure.

However, the size criterion is only a formal indicator of the difference between large, small and medium groups. Precisely because of its formality, it is impossible to indicate exactly where the numerical boundary between these and groups lies. The number only reflects the qualitative differences in the possibilities of direct interpersonal communication in groups of different sizes, in particular, various opportunities for feedback.

Small groups are well-known people who are united by common goals, interests and constantly interact with each other (family, student group, production team, company of friends). In small groups, each member can directly contact any other member of the same group; in particular, he can always react to the behavior of each of its members, and, in turn, observe how each member of the group reacts to his behavior. Thus, in a small group there is a permanent system of direct and feedback communication between all its members.

The possibilities of such communication are limited, on the one hand, by the effectiveness of communication channels between individuals, and, on the other hand, by the size of the group. Constant close contacts of individuals are possible only in their relatively small groups, and therefore frequent interpersonal relationships in groups of 17-20, or even 30 people seem unlikely. Research by sociologists has shown that informal youth groups more often number from 2-3 to 8 people (about 70% of groups) and from 8 to 12 people (about 30% of groups).

True, highly formalized target associations can also belong to small social groups, for example, a brigade in production or a student academic. However, even in this case, group contacts lose some of the properties of a small group in particular, the constancy of connections between group members and the mutual influence of group members on each other. Usually in groups of more than seven people there is a "division" into subgroups, i.e. individuals who have their own interests and goals that are different from those inherent in other members of the group are singled out and united. This can lead to the disintegration of groups and the disintegration of the group.

large so that its members feel free to express their emotions and even get into arguments with each other, but it is small enough that its members can ignore each other.

Small groups are divided into primary and secondary.

Primary groups are small groups formed for the following reasons: marriage and family ties, sympathy, emotional attachment, etc.

American sociologist. Edward. Shills (p. 1911) distinguishes three types of small basic groups:

"Initial groups" that have strong, long-term ties and traditions. An individual can belong to these groups regardless of his desires. An example of such a group is semyarupi є sіm "ya.

"Personal groups" - groups of friends. The basis for the formation of such groups is mutual sympathy.

"Ideological groups" that unite people with common values ​​and values.

Relationships in primary groups are emotionally colored and usually have no utilitarian value for their participants (we are friends with someone not because it will bring us some kind of benefit, but because this person is nice to us, close in spirit). Primary groups form the personality, its moral principles, tastes. It is no coincidence that they say: "Whoever you go with, that's what you'll get rid of."

Secondary groups include a number of primary groups. For example, an academic student group, a sports team, or squads of soldiers are always internally divided into smaller groups of individuals, contacts between which are more often emotional in nature. In the primary groups, relations between people are individual (we sympathize with some people more, others less, no one will force us to love a person, we are not pretty), and secondary groups unite people who are related to each other in connection with the performance of certain functions, statuses , roles, and not because of sympathy. In such groups, social contacts are not special and have a utilitarian character. For example, the relationship between the foreman and his subordinate workers is impersonal, and their functions must be performed, regardless of friendly or hostile relations between them.

The stronger the primary group ties, the more efficiently the secondary group functions. American sociologists found out that in time. During the Second World War, the success of the German combat units, first of all, was achieved by the fact that the command was able to establish in military units those close friendly relations that are characteristic of primary groups in civilian life. German soldiers, together they underwent military training - together they fought in the same composition. Moreover, if the Allied troops were replenished as individual fighters fell out of action, then the German units fought as long as such an opportunity remained, and even subsequently the unit was withdrawn to the rear to reorganize and form a new combat unit. Medium groups are groups in which each member can know every other person in the group y, but cannot track the reaction of each of them to a separate element of their behavior, because the group is too large for this (for example, faculty students, workshop workers and so on).

Large groups are such groups in which some of their members may not be personally acquainted with each other (residents of Lvov, Ukrainians, members of a confessional group). These are groups of thousands of people scattered over large areas and for which indirect social interactions (class, territorial, ethnic communities) are characteristic.

Large groups are divided into nominal (they are distinguished only for the needs of statistics, for example: consumers of Ariel washing powder; passengers of commuter trains; registered in the hospital, etc.) and real (the criterion for their selection is real signs - gender, income, race , nationality, place of residence, education, profession, etc.

There are three main types of real groups:

stratification groups - slavery, castes, estates, classes;

ethnic groups - races, nations, peoples, tribes, clans;

territorial groups - people from the same locality, townspeople, peasants.

Real groups are real problems for society, while nominal ones do not create a spectrum of social problems of a similar scale and nature. We can easily think of some racial or class or peasant riots, but do not look in history for examples of unrest among buyers of washing powder or passengers of commuter buses.

Large groups are carriers of the main features of culture. It is the group (ethnic, professional, urban, etc.) that selects and approves the basic customs, traditions, values, and through a small group "denounces" this selection to each individual.

From what has been said, it is clear why the number itself does not always allow one or another group to be unambiguously attributed to a large, small, or medium group. Interaction in a group of 6-20 persons can be organized in such a way that it will function as a small group - each individual who enters it will be able to know exactly how each other member of this group relates to his every act. On the other hand, just as it is not possible to establish an effective mechanism of interpersonal communication in a group of u0 persons, it may well turn out that it will behave like a group of average size, when, for example, individuals q will react more to some average opinion of the group than to the opinion of each individual member.

reference groups.

A person's behavior, his values ​​and beliefs are formed under the influence of the group with which the person identifies himself. In everyday life, a person constantly compares himself with others in order to determine his behavior (who am I?). This comparison often occurs automatically, without much thought, however, if an individual makes some important decision for him, say, concerning the choice or change of profession, school, place of residence, etc., then such a comparison is conscious.

Since all people belong to many groups, each of which has a unique subculture (for example, family, group of friends, professional, religious, ethnic group, etc.), the patterns of behavior of the same person in different groups also differ. This does not mean that people are behavioral chameleons who constantly change their behavior, their values, motivations and beliefs depending on which group they identify with at a particular moment. People necessarily identify important groups for themselves, through the prism of whose values ​​they build their behavior.

The social groups to which the individual is guided in assessing and shaping his views, feelings and actions are called reference groups.

The reference group may or may not be the group to which the individual actually belongs. Quite often, the reference group becomes only a source of psychological identification. People may be guided in their behavior by a social group to which they do not belong. This helps to explain some contradictions in the behavior of certain individuals, for example, a revolutionary comes from privileged strata.

Reference groups perform not only normative, but also comparative functions. The individual tries to live up to the standards of the group that is his reference. He cultivates in himself the corresponding life principles, tastes, political and other views, etc. dissatisfaction caused by the gap between what the person actually has and what she would like to matati.

From this dependence between the reference group and the feeling of deprivation, certain sociotechnical conclusions follow regarding how to optimally organize the impact on individuals, with the aim of educating them, stimulating them from social activity, etc. If you try to impose on individuals or groups the values ​​and norms of behavior of those groups which are located at the highest level of the social hierarchy, this will not cause in individuals and groups anything other than a feeling of deprivation. Therefore, it is always necessary to set goals in such a way that people can believe in the possibility of achieving them. For example, it is inappropriate to demand from the worst student in the class that he equals the best, because he feels too great a distance that lies between them, a lack of abilities and opportunities to overcome this distance, it is appropriate to orient the objects of influence on an individual in or groups with the same output data or with a similar situation of deprivation, who nevertheless managed to improve their social position.

 

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