Groups come in varying sizes—Dyads are
a group of two people and Triads are a group of three people. The number of people in a group plays an important structural role in the nature of the group’s functioning.
Dyads are the simplest groups because 2 people have only 1 relationship between them.
Triads have three relationships. A group of 4 has 6 relationships; 5 has 10; 6 has 15; 7 has 21; and one of my students from Brazil has 10 brothers and sisters and she counts 91 relationships just in her immediate family (not counting the brothers and sisters in law).
When triads form it looks much like a triangle and these typically take much more energy than dyads. A newly married couple experience great freedoms and
opportunities to nurture their marital relationship. A triad forms when their first child is born, they experience a tremendous incursion upon their marital relationship from the child and the care demanded by the child—As Bill Cosby Said in his book
"Fatherhood" "Children by their very nature are designed to ruin your marriage (see 1987, Doubleday Publisher, NY)."
Two of my Introduction to Sociology students told me a true story about how they were BFF’s since elementary school and had similar last names and even been in the same homerooms until they graduated high school. They then came to college together and majored in the same major. They told me and the other students in the class about what stressed their friendship when one fell in love and dated a young man.
The other felt a great deal of pressure to get along with her best friend’s boyfriend. She
did and they all three were friends although each explained that the guy put more pressure on their own friendship. When the boyfriend-girlfriend relationship finally ended it put the other girl in an awkward position with the guy. They had established their own friendship, but since her best friend broke up with the guy she felt like she had to end her friendship with him too. She did.
You can begin to see how the Functional approach to studying groups gives you insight into how group structure, function, and dysfunction affect the everyday lives of group members. Sociometry is the study of groups and their structures (Google Jacob L.
Moreno for its founder). To simply study it for the sake of creating more knowledge about it does not help groups directly. To solve problems you might be hired to come into an organization, examine the organization’s groups and functions or dysfunctions , then eventually create strategies for enhancing the quality of the groups’ interactions or expanding the groups social network in a beneficial way.
As sociologists further study the nature of the group’s relationships they realize that there are two broad types of groups: Primary Groups tend to be smaller, less formal, and more intimate (Families and friends); whereas Secondary Groups tend to be larger, more formal, and much less personal (you and your doctor, mechanic, or
accountant). Look at the diagram below. Typically with your primary groups, say with your roommates, you can be much more spontaneous and informal. On Friday night you can hang out where ever you want, change your plans as you want, and experience the fun as much as you want.
Contrast that to the relationship with your doctor. You have to call someone else to get an appointment, you have to wait if the doctor is behind, you typically call her or him
"Doctor," once the diagnoses and co-pay are made you leave and have to make another formal appointment if you need another visit. Your Introduction to Sociology class is most likely large and secondary. Your friends tend to be few and primary (see Figure 4 below).
Figure 4. A Comparison of Primary Versus Secondary Groups
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© 2007 Ron J. Hammond, Ph.D.
In modern society the social world we live in is global and technology connects us together. Over 7 billion people have the potential to be connected together via
numerous interlocking social networks which are supported and sustained with relative ease and extremely low cost via technologies such as the Internet and telephone
connections. It is easier and easier to get to know people from all over the world, to see their cultures and customs, and to share your own with them. One international
traditions that takes place every spring is the annual Festival of Colors held at the
Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah. Figure 5 shows a photo taken by one of my sons at the moment the tossing of colors began. At first glance, it may appear that this is a very diverse group of people. But, the majority of 15,000 annual participants come from within a 100 mile radius and about 80 percent of them are members of a Christian religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also called "Mormons." For our own children and their friends (in this picture located beneath the cloud of colors) this is a rite of passage of sorts which allow them to experience a genuine and original cultural event which they document with photos and share throughout the world with their friends on Facebook.
Figure 5. Photo of Annual Festival of Colors, Spanish Fork Utah
With your own friends, have you noticed that one or two tend to be informally in charge of the details? You might be the one who calls everyone and makes reservations or buys the tickets for the others. If so, you would have the informal role of "organizer." Status is what you do in a role or otherwise stated, Status is a socially defined position. There are three types of status considerations: Ascribed Status is present at birth (race, sex, or class); Achieved Status is attained through one's choices and efforts (college student, movie star, teacher, or athlete); or Master Status is a status which stands out above our other statuses and which distracts others from really seeing who we are.
Another consideration about groups and our roles in them is the fact that one single role can place a rather heavy burden on you (IE: student). Role Strain is the burden one feels within any given role. And when one role comes into direct conflict with another or other roles you might experience Role Conflict includes conflict and burdens one feels because the expectations of one role compete with the expectations of another role.
Additional Reading
Search Internet for:
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Harold Garfinkel Mudrick
interactional vandalism back region
front region
compulsion of proximity social aggregate
social category ideal type
formal relations informal relations George Ritzer
information and communication technology role exit
characteristics of a bureaucracy trained incapacity
bureaucratization classical theory
scientific management approach human relations approach
Gerhard Lenski
sociocultural evolution BACK TO TOP
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Introduction to SOCIOLOGY
Ron Hammond, Paul Cheney, Raewyn Pearsey