Sociology Chapter 6 This Examination Could The Basis For Discussion

CHAPTER 6: GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS

BRIEF CHAPTER OUTLINE

I. Types of Groups

A. Dyads and Triads: Group Size Effects

B. Primary and Secondary Groups

C. Reference Groups

D. In-Groups, Out-Groups, and Attribution Error

E. Social Networks

F. Social Networks as “Small Worlds”

II. Social Influence in Groups

A. The Asch Conformity Experiment

B. The Milgram Obedience Studies

C. The Iraqi Prisoners at Abu Ghraib: Research Predicts Reality?

1. Understand the sociological concept of groups and the different forms groups take.

2. Analyze the social processes that produce conformity in groups.

KEY TERMS (listed in text)

attribution error (131)

attribution theory (131)

bureaucracy (141)

groupthink (137)

ideal type (141)

instrumental needs (129)

secondary group (129)

social network (132)

total institution (140)

triad (128)

utilitarian organization (141)

KEY PEOPLE

Solomon Asch (135)

Georg Simmel (128)

LECTURE OUTLINE

I. Types of Groups

1. A group is a collection of individuals who interact with one another,

share goals and norms, and have a subjective awareness as “we.” Not all

gatherings—like social categories or audiences—are groups.

A. Dyads and Triads: Group Size Effects

1. Georg Simmel (1858–1918) is known as the discoverer of group size

B. Primary and Secondary Groups

1. Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929) introduced the concepts of

primary and secondary groups.

2. The primary group is defined as a group consisting of intimate, face-

to-face interaction and relatively long-lasting relationships.

a. Primary groups serve expressive needs (also called socioemotional

needs).

intimate ties.

C. Reference Groups, to which a person may or may not belong, are those that

people use as a standard for evaluating their own values, attitudes, and

behaviors. They serve as generalized versions of role models.

self-evaluation and self-esteem.

D. Reference groups don’t have to be actual people. The media can serve as a

powerful reference group and influence how people perceive themselves.

Positive representations of one’s group can promote strong self-esteem,

whereas negative representations, including negative stereotyping, can lead

to diminished self-esteem. In-Groups, Out-Groups, and Attribution Error

1. W. I. Thomas (1931) notes that the “we”-ness of in-groups is

3. We perceive people in our in-group positively and those in out-groups

negatively.

a. Attribution theory research shows that individuals commonly

E. Social Networks are sets of links between individuals or between other social

units.

1. Networks based on race, class, gender, and occupations form with

particular readiness, especially job networks. Social networks tend

F. Social Networks as “Small Worlds”

1. The small world problem has shown that networks reach around the

world, making it effectively smaller for members of that network. A

II. Social Influence in Groups

1. The groups in which we participate exert tremendous influence on us.

Despite what social psychologist Philip Zimbardo calls the Not-Me

A. The Asch Conformity Experiment

1. Asch’s experiment showed that even clear objective facts couldn’t

group size effect.

B. The Milgram Obedience Studies

1. In Milgram’s first study, 65% of the volunteer subjects administered a

shock of what they believed to be lethal voltage to a confederate when

C. The Iraqi Prisoners at Abu Ghraib: Research Predicts Reality?

1. In the spring of 2004, it was revealed that U.S. soldiers, acting as military

police guards in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, had engaged in severe torture,

D. Groupthink

1. According to I. L. Janis, groupthink is the tendency for group members to

reach a consensus opinion, even if that decision is downright stupid.

2. Janis investigated several ill-fated presidential decisions. All were

decisions made by a small group of expert advisors, and all were fiascoes.

E. Risky Shift (or polarization shift) is the tendency for groups to

weigh risk differently than individuals.

1. Most but not all group discussion leads to greater risk-taking.

III. Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies

1. A formal organization is a large secondary group, highly organized to

accomplish a complex task or tasks and to achieve goals in an efficient

manner. Organizations develop organizational cultures and routinized

A. Types of Organizations

1. Normative Organizations – People join voluntary organizations (service

and charitable organizations) to pursue goals that they consider personally

worthwhile.

2. Coercive Organizations – Coercive organizations—what Erving Goffman

described as total institutions—are organizations cut off from the rest of

society.

a. Examples are prisons and psychiatric hospitals.

3. Utilitarian Organizations – These are large organizations, either for-

profit or nonprofit, that are joined by individuals for specific purposes,

such as monetary reward.

B. Bureaucracy

1. A bureaucracy is a type of formal organization characterized by an

authority hierarchy, a clear division of labor, explicit rules, and

f. efficiency.

C. Bureaucracy’s “Other Face”

1. Actual bureaucracies rarely conform to the ideal type because of informal

structure—social interactions in bureaucratic settings that ignore, change,

D. Problems of Bureaucracies

1. Problems of bureaucracies include the already discussed risky

shift and groupthink.

2. Ritualism – This refers to a rigid adherence to rules as an end in itself,

regardless of whether the purpose for the rules is accomplished.

3. Alienation – This occurs when stresses on rules and procedures within

bureaucracies result in a decrease in the overall cohesion of the

and absenteeism.

E. The McDonaldization of Society

1. George Ritzer coined the term McDonaldization of society to refer

2. The four dimensions of McDonaldization are:

a. efficiency – moving production in a streamlined path from start to finish,

3. McDonaldization brings many benefits, but also poses the danger of

dehumanization.

F. Diversity in Organizations

1. Since organizations tend to reflect patterns within the broader society, the

hierarchical structure of positions is marked by inequality in race, gender,

and class relations. Women and ethnic minorities often take on the same

IV. Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interaction: Theoretical

Perspectives

1. The functionalist perspective focuses on the positive functions of

LECTURE/DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS

1. McDonaldization. Conduct a discussion with students about how education,

admission, and registration policies, and other aspects of your college or university

2. McDonaldization and globalization. Watch the film Inside McDonalds and then have

the class discuss the following issues: how “mom and pop” businesses have the

3. Bureaucracies and Groups. Invite a representative from your campus student

development or student services division to speak to the class about the support

services, student activities, and clubs available to students. Alternatively, refer to the

4. In-groups and Out-groups. Select an example of U.S. foreign policy involvement

with adversaries, preferably one that is currently featured in the news. Read selections

from presidential or state department statements justifying the involvement and

5. Social Influence. Show a depiction of the Milgram Obedience Studies, available in

most colleges’ social psychology collections, in class. Seeing the actual experiment

6. Groupthink. Present one of Janis’s examples of ill-fate presidential decisions

7. Diversity Training. Describe the diversity training promoted by your college or

university. Lead a discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the plan, and

encourage students to think about how the training can be sabotaged or be made more

effective.

8. Preventing groupthink. Based on understandings of the social conditions that

contribute to the pattern of groupthink, have a class discussion about how the

9. Alienation in Education. After covering the basic tenets of alienation in the

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

1. Resistance. Have students identify something in society that is highly

2. Reference Groups. Assign students to select a reference group that is meaningful to

them and analyze the role of this reference group and how it affects their identity, self–

discussion could also be conducted online.

3. Networks. Assign students to diagram their social networks, including those they

know on a personal basis and those to whom they are linked through organizational

4. Bureaucracy. Ask students to write a description of a bureaucracy they are

personally connected with, such as the college or a workplace. What features of the

5. Formal Organizations. Have students analyze a formal organization they are familiar

with. This could be a sorority or fraternity, a voluntary organization, a local

6. McDonaldization. Have students select a topic such as childcare, healthcare, or

human services programs such as shelters for the homeless. Next, they need to design

7. Race and Gender in Bureaucracies. Have students discuss the question, “Has

Racial and Gender Equality Been Achieved in Bureaucracies?” using Virtual

Explorations or the Student Companion website.

8. Cultural Diversity Project: Taking Roots on Your Campus. Invite several top

campus officials to a presentation and discussion led by your class (that include other

9. In–Groups. Have students research the deaf community and its dynamics, then have

the class walk around one day acting as if they cannot hear, and watch the

10. Expressive Needs. Have students work in groups discussing how their family

satisfies their expressive needs. Have them discuss what the functions of a primary

group are and the outcomes of social changes on their lives.

11. Total Institutions. Form discussion groups in order to address how total institutions

12. Abu Ghraib. Read the original exposure of the torture of Iraqi prisoners in Abu

VIDEO SUGGESTIONS (Videos with a * next to them have corresponding activities

below.)

Insight Media (https://search.alexanderstreet.com/)

has a number of excellent videos and DVDs related to groups and organizations,

including, for example:



Group Influence (2001, 30 min.)

Dr. Irving Janis introduced the concept of groupthink by asking and then answering

these questions: How do groups really make decisions? What drives groups to agree

despite the better judgement of some, or even all, participants? Why do group decisions

sometimes result in monumental error? What are the signals to watch for?

Kid Nation (13 episodes, approx. 50 min. each)

This reality show gathered dozens of children and required them to create a functioning

Obedience: The Milgram Experiment (45 min.)

The video of Milgram’s classic experiment on obedience and conformity remains a

powerful tool for teaching students about the impact of social influence. Despite aging

visuals and audio, the experiments are still fascinating. Available in most college libraries.

Quiet Rage: The Stanford Prison Experiment (2004, 52 min.)

* We Live in Public (2010, 90 min.)

Film on Josh Harris. Harris, an Internet inventor, lost the fortune he made with Jupiter

VIDEO ACTIVITIES

After watching Groupthink (see above), write a short paper that relates a personal

experience in which the student either witnessed or experienced the group pressures at

work in groupthink and suggest ways to remedy such effects in a group decision-making

situation.

Watch the movie We Live in Public (see above). Address the following questions:

1. How does the movie reveal modern society?

INTERNET EXERCISES

1. Have students search the Internet for McDonaldization. They will encounter

several home pages, some produced for sociology classes and others with a

more activist bent. Some of the sites that seem the most interesting include

2. Visit the website for Robert Putnam’s book, Bowling Alone, at

3. Have students do a website search on closed mental asylums in the U.S. In their

4. Foster Milo offers a funny look at favorite and worst government websites. Go to

the link and look at the different government websites from around the world.

Note: Resources from these websites could be used for student research

papers, short written assignments, group projects, or online discussions.