CHAPTER 5

Groups and Networks

5.1 Social Groups
Just the Two of Us

• Dyad: A group of two.

• A dyad is the most intimate form of social life.

• Symmetry must be maintained.

• The group itself exerts no collective influence over the individuals involved.

• Triad: A group of three.

• Georg Simmel identified the distinction between dyad and triad as the

most important distinction in social relations.

And Then There Were Three

• Simmel identified three different roles that a third party in a triad can assume.

• Mediator: A member of a triad who attempts to resolve conflict between the

two other actors in the group

• Tertius gaudens: A member of a triad who benefits from conflict between the

other two members of the group.

• Divide et impera: A member of a triad who intentionally drives a wedge

between the other two actors in the group

Size Matters: Why Social Life Is Complicated

• As group size increases, the

number of possible relationships

increases as well.

• The more relationships there are

in a group, the more likely it is

that the group will be troubled

by conflict or jealousy.
Let’s Get This Party Started: Small Groups, Parties, Large Groups

• Small group: A group characterized by face-to-face interaction, a unifocal

perspective, lack of formal arrangements or roles, and a certain level of

equality.

• Party: A group that is similar to a small group but is multifocal.

• Large group: A group characterized by the presence of a formal structure

that mediates interaction and, consequently, status differentiation.

Primary Groups

• Primary group: Social groups, such as family or friends, composed of

enduring, intimate face-to-face relationships that strongly influence the

attitudes and ideals of those involved

• Primary groups have a limited number of members.

• Primary groups are key agents of socialization.

• Members of primary groups are noninterchangeable.

• Relationships in primary groups are enduring.

Secondary Groups

• Secondary group: Groups marked by impersonal, instrumental

relationships

• Secondary group relationships are impersonal in that you may or may

not know all of the members.

• Relationships are also instrumental and exist as a means to an end.

• In a secondary group, affiliation is contingent.

• An example of a secondary group is a labor union.

Group Conformity

• Although American culture tends to put a

high value on individuality, our lives as

Americans are marked by high levels of

conformity.

• The Asch Test is an experiment developed in

the 1940s that shows how much people are

influenced by the actions or norms of a group.

In-Groups and Out-Groups

• In-group: Another term for the powerful group, which is most often the

majority

• Out-group: Another term for the stigmatized or less powerful group, which is

generally the minority

• In-groups and out-groups are not always determined numerically. In South

Africa, White people are the in-group despite being a minority because of their

enormous political and economic power, whereas Black people are the out-

group despite their greater numbers.

Reference Groups

• We often compare ourselves to other groups of people we do not know

directly in order to make comparisons.

• Reference group: A group that helps us understand or make sense of our

position in society relative to other groups

• For example, if your sociology class has exams every week while another

sociology class only has exams once a month, you may feel that your class is

more rigorous.
5.2 From Groups to Networks
A Social Network and Its Elements

• Social network: A set of relations— essentially, a set of dyads—held

together by ties between individuals

• Tie: The connection between two people in a relationship that varies in

strength from one relationship to the next; a story that explains our

relationship with another member of our network

• Narrative: The sum of stories contained in a set of ties

Embeddedness: The Strength of Weak Ties

• Embeddedness: The degree to which

social relationships are reinforced

through indirect ties (i.e., friends of

friends).

• Strength of weak ties: The notion that

relatively weak ties often turn out to be

quite valuable because they yield new

information.
Discussion Questions

• If getting a job is all about connections, how does the work on the strength

of weak ties round out our understanding of this phenomenon?

• How does nepotism (hiring family members) fit into this discussion?
Structural Holes

• Structural hole: A gap between

network clusters, or even two

individuals, if those individuals (or

clusters) have complementary

resources

• In Figure 5.4, the tie between Emily

and Natalie bridges a structural hole.

Social Capital

• Social capital: The information,

knowledge of people or things, and

connections that help individuals

enter, gain power in, or otherwise

leverage social networks.

• Having many weak ties is one form of

social capital.
5.4 Organizations
Organization

• Organization: Any social network that is defined by a common purpose

and has a boundary between its membership and the rest of the social

world.

• Formal organizations have a set of governing structures and rules for their

internal arrangements (an example is the U.S. Army).

• Informal organizations do not have such structures and rules.

Organizational Structure and Culture

• Organizational culture: The shared beliefs and behaviors within a social

group; often used interchangeably with corporate culture.

• Organizational structure: The ways in which power and authority are

distributed within an organization.

• An example of this impact can be seen in interlocking directorates, the

phenomenon whereby the members of corporate boards often sit on

the board of directors for multiple companies. .

Discussion Questions

• Describe the organizational structure at your school or workplace.

• How might this structure affect the organizational culture?

Institutional Isomorphism: Everybody’s Doing It

• Isomorphism: A constraining process that forces one unit in a population

to resemble other units that face the same set of environmental conditions.

• In the case of organizations, this means that those facing the same

conditions (say, in industry, the law, or politics) tend to end up resembling

one another.
Review & Discuss
Review Question 1

One of the unique characteristics of a dyad is that

a. each member exerts supra-individual control over the other.

b. there is an inherent asymmetry to the relationship.

c. if one member of the group leaves, the group ceases to exist.

d. all of the above

Review Question 2

Jose goes to a training session for election volunteers in his precinct. There are

15 participants and two trainers. This is an example of which kind of group?

a. party

b. large group

c. primary group

d. small group
Review Question 3

__________ refers to the degree to which social relationships are reinforced

through indirect ties within a social network.

a. Isomorphism

b. The strength of weak ties

c. Embeddedness

d. Connectivity
Review Question 4

A structural hole is

a. a weak tie in a social network that eventually breaks.

b. a gap between two people or two groups that have complementary

resources and could benefit from having a closer connection.

c. a lack of social capital in a community.

d. a gap in the data collected as part of a network analysis.

Review Question 5

Organizational culture refers to

a. the embedded ties that connect members of a formal social network.

b. the shared beliefs and behaviors within a social group.

c. the ways in which power and authority are distributed within an

organization.

d. whether an organization uses an autocratic or consultative decision-making

process.
Discussion Questions

• According to Asch’s work on conformity, how might polls affect an

undecided voter’s behavior?

• Do you think media sources should release polls shortly before an election?