Describe the types of social groups. Social group. Characteristics and characteristics of groups

INTRODUCTION

A social group is a collection of people who have a common social characteristic and perform a socially necessary function in the general structure of the social division of labor and activity. Such characteristics may be gender, age, nationality, race, profession, place of residence, income, power, education.

P.A. Sorokin wrote: “... history does not give us a person outside the group. We do not know an absolutely isolated person who lives without communication with other people. We are always given groups.” Society is a collection of the most different groups: large and small, real and nominal, primary and secondary. Group- is the foundation of human society, since it itself is one of such groups. Therefore, the study of social groups, their characteristics and analysis are very relevant today.

The purpose of this work is to analyze and characterize social groups. To achieve this goal, we consider it necessary to solve the following tasks:

ь define the concept of a social group;

b propose a classification of social groups;

b identify and characterize forms of manifestation of group solidarity;

b give a description of the small group.

When writing this work, we used the works of the following authors: Z.T. Golenkova, M.M. Akulich, V.N. Kuznetsov, O.G. Filatova, A.N. Elsukov, A.G. Efendiev, E.M. Babosov and others.

THE CONCEPT OF A SOCIAL GROUP. CLASSIFICATION OF GROUPS

Wanting to increase the effectiveness of his actions, a person seeks to enter into a network of relationships, which, by combining the efforts of people, makes them able to act as a single whole - as a social group.

Z.T. Golenkova defines a social group as a set of people who have a common social characteristic and perform a socially necessary function in the general system of division of social labor and activity.

EAT. Babosov notes that a social group is the most general and special concept sociology, meaning a certain set of people who have common natural and social characteristics, united by common interests, values, norms and traditions.

From our point of view, the most accurate definition of a social group proposed by A.N. Elsukov, who believes that “a group in the strict sense of the word should be understood as a primary social association of people who are in direct (formal or informal) contact, perform certain social functions and are characterized by common goals and interests.”

In sociological theory, the concepts of “group”, “primary group” and “small group” are distinguished. In order not to get confused in terminological subtleties, we will use these concepts as equivalent. From the point of view of A.A. and K.A. Radugin, social groups, in contrast to mass communities, are characterized by:

· sustainable interaction, which contributes to the strength and stability of their existence;

· high degree of cohesion;

· clearly expressed homogeneity of composition, i.e. the presence of characteristics inherent in all members of the group;

· joining wider communities as structural elements.

Examples of primary social groups can be: groups of kindergarten children, school classes, student groups, groups of neighbors, a group of friends, a sports team, members of a sports section, a production team, a workshop or shift team, a teaching team, employees of a department or dean’s office, a theater troupe, members of the orchestra, employees of subdivisions of ministries and government agencies departments, small units of law enforcement agencies, etc.

Most of these group entities have a formal status and structure. It has its own leaders and ordinary members, it has its own professional functions and roles, the totality of which forms the structure of the group. Personal likes (or antipathies) do exist here, but they are secondary compared to job responsibilities. Particular cohesion of a group is observed if its official structure and relationships coincide with personal sympathies or, as they say, formal and informal structures coincide.

Along with formal group associations, there are also informal ones - these are interest or hobby groups (hunters, fishermen, music lovers, fans), as well as various types of criminal associations (gang, mafia, clan).

The positive significance of group associations is manifested in the fact that the group not only sums up the capabilities and efforts of each member, but also leads them to a new integral unity (what a group of 10 people can do, 10 people separately cannot do). This integral unity is manifested in the degree of cohesion of group members and in the nature of their interaction. Therefore, an important indicator of a group’s vital activity is its organization, that is, the discipline and coordination of the actions of each group member.

The socializing role of the group (and we're talking about specifically about the primary group) is manifested in a number of factors:

ь integrating role;

b increasing the level of individual motivation;

b the protective role of the team.

A group, like any complex object, has its own structure and functional relationships. There are formal and informal group structures. The first represents the division of roles (functions) within the group according to prescribed rules, the second represents the sensory-emotional attitude of group members towards each other, their likes or dislikes.

The typology of social groups can be carried out according to several criteria (grounds). Thus, the American sociologist E. Eubank identified seven main characteristics that allow classifying social groups: 1) ethnicity or race; 2) level of cultural development; 3) types of group structure; 4) tasks and functions performed by the group in wider communities; 5) the predominant types of contacts between group members; 6) different kinds connections in groups; 7) other principles.

Based on the degree of cohesion, groups are distinguished between primary and secondary.

Primary groups- groups in which people are in direct contact, connected by personal or business relationships. Examples of such groups are families and children's groups. preschool institutions, school classes, student group, school teaching staff, university department teachers, sports team members, primary military unit, production team. This category also includes groups such as a group of friends, peers, close neighbors, members of gardening partnerships, and music lovers who know each other. Some of these groups may also have a criminal nature and are called gangs.

Secondary groups represent associations of people with a broader quantitative composition. In such associations, business and formal ties are preserved and complicated, but personal ties are weakened. In this case, they are talking about school students, students of a faculty or university, workers of a workshop or factory, etc.

Formal and informal groups are distinguished by forms of education.

Formal groups- such associations of people, the composition and functions of which are regulated official documents: legal norms, charters, service instructions, professional requirements, etc. Therefore, a formal group has a strict structure, an ordered hierarchy, and prescribed role functions that regulate the activities of its members. In this case, we talk about the formal structure of the group and the formal relationships between its members. The primary formal group represents the initial link social structure society.

Informal groups arise spontaneously on the basis of friendly, trusting relationships between its members. Basically, these are groups of friends, comrades, buddies who not only live, study or work together, but also relax together, have fun, support each other in difficult situations etc. The cohesion factor here is sympathy, friendship, love, a sense of affection, common interests, etc. Informal primary associations can also arise within formal groups. For example, in a student group or in a school class as official group associations, there are always microgroups of a friendly or friendly nature. Harmonious combination formal and informal connections and interests determine the normal and fruitful functioning of the primary link of the social structure.

Sometimes informal relationships can turn into formal ones - these are cases when a group of friends transforms into a strictly organized group. For example, informal relationships that develop between individuals of criminal behavior gradually acquire the character of rigidly structured formations with clearly defined functions and severe discipline - this is a gang, mafia, criminal clan, group racketeering, etc.

Each person can be a member of several formal and informal groups, where he is considered as “one of our own” at his place of residence, study or work. At the same time, a person is not only a member of his group, but he can also observe the activities of other groups of which he is not a member, but whose values ​​and norms he correlates his views and behavior with. Such groups are called reference groups.

Means play a major role in the formation of referent stereotypes. mass media, creating a certain “image” of both individuals and group associations: sports teams, popular musical groups, political groups, etc. Moreover, such groups can be real and imaginary, invented by the person himself as a synthesis of several stereotypes.

Depending on the number of members and the conditions of intra-group interaction, social groups are divided into small, medium and large.

Small social groups include such associations of people in which all members are in direct contact with each other; as a rule, they number from two to several dozen people. Such groups include: family, group of friends, neighborhood community, school class, student group, sports team, primary production cell (brigade), primary party organization, primary military team (company, platoon), etc. The small group thus acts as primary organization of people.

With the exception of a group of friends and a neighborhood community, all these groups have clearly defined legal norms for their organization and behavior, which, however, does not exclude informal forms of relationships. The combination of formal and informal norms of collective relationships is an indispensable condition for the most optimal functioning of the group as a single social whole.

Based on the nature of combining people into small groups, the following types are distinguished: 1) diffuse group - group members enter into interpersonal relationships that are mediated not by the content of group activity, but only by personal sympathies (a group of friends); 2) association - group members enter into interpersonal relationships that are mediated only by personally significant goals (for example, an association of hunters, fishermen, coin collectors, etc.), 3) corporation - group members enter into interpersonal relationships mediated by private group interests; 4) collective - group members enter into interpersonal relationships mediated by the unity of personal and public interests.

Medium-sized social groups are relatively stable communities of people working at the same enterprise, being members of any public organizations or living in one fairly large but limited territory (residents of a city, district, region). The first type can be called production-organizational groups, the second - territorial.

A distinctive feature of the first type of medium-sized social groups is the presence of one or another program, a plan of joint action, in the implementation of which all members of the group are included. In such a group, the composition of individuals, the structure and content of their joint activities, interpersonal relationships, and the characteristics of the organization are determined by the goals for which it is created and functions. It clearly outlines the management system, methods of making and implementing decisions and sanctions, and formalized communications. In contrast, the second type of such groups - territorial associations - are spontaneous group formations that unite people only on the basis of their place of residence.

Large social groups include stable groups of a significant number of people acting together in socially significant situations and operating on the scale of a country (state) or their associations. These include classes, social strata, professional groups, ethnic associations (nationality, nation, race) or demographic associations (groups of men, women, youth, pensioners, etc.). The belonging of individuals to a given type of social group is determined on the basis of a certain set of socially significant characteristics - class affiliation, the content and nature of large-scale social activity, demographic indicators, membership in the main religious denominations, etc. Members of these groups, due to their large numbers, may be separated in time and space and not enter into direct communication with each other, but, nevertheless, due to a number of unifying factors, they constitute a group community. Of particular importance are those characteristics that give the group a class character.

Thus, a group is an association of people within which the social and production activities of people take place; it is the initial unit of the organizational structure of society. The harmonious functioning of groups determines the harmonious functioning of the collective of an enterprise, organization, institution and society as a whole. Primary groups and their systems determine the initial elements of social structure. Moreover, they themselves have their own structure and dynamics. The study of this structure represents the initial stage of studying the structure and functioning of society as a whole.

Man is part of society. Therefore, throughout his life he contacts or is a member of many groups. But despite their huge number, sociologists identify several main types of social groups, which will be discussed in this article.

Definition of social group

First of all, you need to have a clear understanding of the meaning of this term. A social group is a collection of people who have one or more unifying characteristics that have social significance. Another factor of unification is participation in any activity. You need to understand that society is not viewed as an indivisible whole, but as an association of social groups that constantly interact and influence each other. Any person is a member of at least several of them: family, work team, etc.

The reasons for creating such groups may be similarity of interests or goals, as well as the understanding that when creating such a group, you can achieve more results in less time than individually.

One of the important concepts when considering the main types of social groups is the reference group. This is a really existing or imaginary association of people, which is an ideal for a person. The American sociologist Hyman first used this term. The reference group is so important because it influences the individual:

1. Regulatory. The reference group is an example of an individual's behavioral norms, social attitudes and values.
2. Comparative. Helps a person determine what place he occupies in society, evaluate his own and others’ activities.

Social groups and quasi-groups

Quasi-groups are randomly formed and short-lived communities. Another name is mass communities. Accordingly, several differences can be identified:

• Social groups have regular interactions that lead to their stability.
• High percent cohesion of people.
• Group members have at least one common characteristic.
• Small social groups can be a structural unit of wider groups.

Types of social groups in society

Man as a social being interacts with big amount social groups. Moreover, they are completely diverse in composition, organization and goals pursued. Therefore, it became necessary to identify which types of social groups are the main ones:

• Primary and secondary - allocation depends on how a person interacts with group members emotionally.
• Formal and informal - the allocation depends on how the group is organized and how relationships are regulated.
• Ingroup and outgroup - the definition of which depends on the degree to which a person belongs to them.
• Small and large - allocation depending on the number of participants.
• Real and nominal - the selection depends on features that are significant in the social aspect.

All these types of social groups of people will be considered in detail separately.

Primary and secondary groups

The primary group is one in which communication between people is high emotional character. It usually consists of a small number of participants. It is the link that connects the individual directly with society. For example, family, friends.

A secondary group is one in which there are many more participants compared to the previous one, and where interactions between people are needed to achieve a specific task. Relationships here, as a rule, are impersonal in nature, since the main emphasis is on the ability to perform the necessary actions, and not on character traits and emotional connections. For example, Political Party, working team.

Formal and informal groups

A formal group is one that has a specific legal status. Relations between people are regulated by a certain system of norms and rules. There is a clearly defined goal and a hierarchical structure. Any actions are carried out in accordance with the established procedure. For example, the scientific community, sports group.

An informal group usually arises spontaneously. The reason may be a commonality of interests or views. Compared to the formal group, there is no official rules and legal status in society. There is also no formal leader among the participants. For example, a friendly company, lovers of classical music.

Ingroup and outgroup

Ingroup - a person feels direct belonging to this group and perceives it as his own. For example, “my family”, “my friends”.

An outgroup is a group to which a person has no relation; accordingly, there is identification as “stranger”, “other”. Absolutely every person has his own system for assessing outgroups: from a neutral attitude to an aggressive-hostile one. Most sociologists prefer to use a rating system - the social distance scale, created by the American sociologist Emory Bogardus. Examples: “someone else’s family”, “not my friends”.

Small and large groups

A small group is a small group of people united to achieve some result. For example, a student group, a school class.

The fundamental forms of this group are the forms “dyad” and “triad”. They can be called bricks of this group. A dyad is an association in which two people participate, and a triad consists of three people. The latter is considered more stable than the dyad.

Traits characteristic of a small group:

1. A small number of participants (up to 30 people) and their permanent composition.
2. Close relationships between people.
3. Similar views about values, norms and patterns of behavior in society.
4. Identify the group as “mine”.
5. Control is not regulated by administrative rules.

A large group is one that has a large number of participants. The purpose of unification and interaction of people, as a rule, is clearly fixed and clear to each member of the group. It is not limited by the number of people included in it. Also, there is no constant personal contact and mutual influence between individuals. For example, the peasant class, the working class.

Real and nominal

Real groups are groups that are distinguished according to some socially important criteria. For example:

• age;
• income;
• nationality;
• Family status;
• profession;
• location.

Nominal groups are identified one by one common feature to conduct various sociological studies or statistical records of a certain category of the population. For example, find out the number of mothers raising children alone.

Based on these examples of types of social groups, we can clearly see that absolutely every person has a connection with them or interacts in them.

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
State budgetary educational institution
higher professional education
"Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University"
Department of General Psychology and History of Psychology

Specialty: 050706
Course: 4
Department: full-time


Tsyndra Alexandra Dmitrievna
Essay
The concept of groups. Types of groups.

Checked:
Petrovskaya T.Yu.

Novosibirsk 2011

Content

Introduction………………………………………………………………………...3
Chapter 1. The concept of social groups……………………………………….…..4
Chapter 2. Types of groups…………………………………………………………….. 8
Chapter 3. Dynamics and development of groups…………………………………………...13
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….16
References……………………………………………………………..17

Introduction

Chapter 1. The concept of social groups

Reasons for joining the group:

Need for help. By various reasons people find it inconvenient to seek help from official management for advice on how to carry out the assigned work (lack of self-confidence, fear of criticism, etc.). In these cases, they prefer to get help informally from colleagues.
Need for protection. It occurs when subordinates do not trust management, or when they need to hide their own or friends’ mistakes, or when employees are not satisfied with the existing working conditions.
Need for information. People want to know about everything that happens around them, especially what concerns their work. In formal organizations, as a rule, not all information reaches the performers, and sometimes it is deliberately hidden. Therefore, one of important reasons belonging to an informal organization is access to an informal channel of information. This is also associated with the need for psychological protection and belonging to a group.
Need for close communication and sympathy. People tend to establish closer contacts with those who are closer to them than with those who are at a distance. In addition, they want to be closer to those they like and like.

Chapter 2. Types of groups

Conditional group - a group that is separate from other entities or formal feature(education, age, profession, political, ethnic or religious affiliation). Members of such a group may not be in direct communication with one another. This is a statistical rather than a psychological group (women, pensioners, farmers, Catholics, workers, Ukrainians, etc.).

Real group - is created to achieve joint goals, to combine efforts necessary for joint activities. Based on this, a real group can be defined as a community of people who interact with each other, united by joint activities, goals, interests, and needs.

Laboratory-natural (natural) - groups that are specially created to perform experimental tasks in laboratory conditions and groups that exist in real life situations have their own history, formed structure, and level of development.

Formal-informal (organized and spontaneous). In this case, the division is based on the method of creating groups. The emergence of the first of them is always due to the social need to achieve specific social goals, which gives the group its own structure and determines the coordination of actions and the method of leadership. Thus, these groups are institutionalized.

Primary and secondary- differ in the strength of their influence on the individual, their significance for a group member, and their role in the socialization of the individual.

Closed – open groups. The classification principle is a measure of openness, accessibility of a group to a wide social environment. The specifics of activity and living conditions confirm that there is a significant difference in the degree of openness and closedness of such groups as, for example, a civilian university - a military university, a group of researchers at the pole or on the mainland...
Membership groups – reference- these are groups whose norms, attitudes, orientations are not only taken into account by the individual, but also become the motive for behavior.

Diffuse groups- these are groups where interpersonal relationships are not yet mediated by the content of joint activity and belonging to it is not realized (for example, people stuck in an elevator, a queue).

Group - association. Group members are aware of their belonging to a given community, interpersonal relationships are mediated by the content of joint activities that is personally significant for each person (for example, a school class, a sports team)
Group- -corporation

Team

By type of main activity and main function(production and labor, socio-political, educational, executive and compulsory, family, military, sports, gaming, amateur (associations in the field of leisure).
By social orientation ( socially useful, socially unsafe)

As we organize ( unorganized, random groups, targeted (externally organized, internally organized)

Chapter 3. Group dynamics and development.

The highest form of an organized group is considered to be a collective. A team is a group of people, representing a part of society, united by joint activities, subordinate to the goals of this society. From this point of view, the staff of a travel company can also be considered.
The characteristics that determine the level of development of a group or team include the following: compatibility, cohesion, harmony, focus, self-organization.
Compatibility- this is the effect of combination, interaction of individuals, which shows the maximum satisfaction of partners with each other at fairly high energy costs and significant mutual identification. There are psychophysiological and socio-psychological compatibility.
Harmony- this is the effect of combination, interaction of individuals, which shows the maximum possible success (in teamwork) with minimal energy costs (on activity, interaction) against the background of significant subjective satisfaction with teamwork and high mutual understanding. Harmony is the result of the interaction of specific people in a specific activity. In a tourist group, there is also harmony, which manifests itself at the moment of any joint effort: fighting the current while rowing, overcoming mountain ranges in a team, etc.
etc.................

In the process of management, a manager encounters a collection of people (group). A group is 2 or more people who enter into such a relationship when each person influences others and is at the same time influenced by other persons. The groups identified are a department in a bank, a family, or a student group. Along with the concept of group, the term collective is used.

The team is a special quality of the group, a product of the group’s development. A team is a stable association of people striving for common goals and possessing group cohesion.

1) the presence of common goals,

2) the presence of a certain culture, which is expressed in common values, norms,

3) psychological recognition by group members of each other.

The term command is also known. A team is a group of people with a common goal, personal characteristics which correspond to roles and must be fulfilled when implementing the management process. Team how special group has such a feature as synergy.

Synergy is the ability of a group as a whole to achieve greater results in its work than the same number of people can do, but working independently of each other. Any organization can be considered as an association of several groups. By creating departments, management creates groups. A large organization consists of many groups.

Formal groups:

1) clearly defined composition,

2) general tasks,

3) strict definition of roles.

There are 3 main types of groups in any organization:

1.leader’s group (formed in accordance with the vertical and horizontal division of labor);

2. target group (employees jointly participating in work on the same task are formed in accordance with the horizontal division of labor);

3.committees (groups within the organization to which authority has been delegated to perform a task).

All formal groups interact with each other and form the organization as a system. At the same time, informal groups also arise - these are spontaneously formed groups of people who enter into regular interaction to achieve goals. The creation of informal groups is a reaction of workers to dissatisfaction with certain needs. Formal organizations do not always contribute to people's satisfaction, so informal groups are created. They have a lot in common - hierarchy, rules, etc., but informal groups do not have a clear structure, they are not rigid.

The main reasons for workers joining informal groups are:

1) a sense of belonging,

2) mutual assistance,

3) mutual protection,

4) close communication.

Organizations create various types of informal groups. Most often presented in the form of dyads, triads, quartets. They are divided into:

1) interested - formed to realize a common interest,

2) friendly - based on sympathy, the composition changes depending on the establishment or severance of other connections.

By composition:

*created on production basis- employees of the department, service,

*on a non-production basis.

According to the structure of intragroup connections:

a) star,

b) ball,

They are also divided into constructive and destructive.

All groups go through the same stages:

1) formation of a group - workers get to know each other, behave carefully, individualism predominates in behavior;

2) formation - bringing together group members, forming the core of the group, contacts are established, the group works unevenly;

3) normalization - the group stabilizes, unified groups are formed, cooperation is established, group norms of behavior are applied, group members identify themselves with the group;

4) maturity of the group - employees begin to work conscientiously, proactively, external control turns into self-control. The group becomes self-governing. This does not mean that all groups are able to go through all stages. The group may stop in its development, or the group may return to an earlier stage.

Sincerely, Young Analyst

One of general forms social interaction is a social group in which behavior and social status each member is conditioned to a perceptible degree by the activities and existence of the other members.

Merton defines a group as a collection of people who interact with each other in a certain way, are aware of their belonging to this group and are perceived by its members from the point of view of other people. The group has its own identity from the point of view of outsiders.

Primary groups consist of a small number of people between whom there are stable emotional relationships, personal relationships based on their individual characteristics. Secondary groups are formed from people between whom there are almost no emotional relationships, their interaction is determined by the desire to achieve certain goals, their social roles, business relationships and methods of communication are clearly defined. In critical and emergency situations, people give preference to the primary group and show devotion to the members of the primary group.

People join groups for a number of reasons. The group performs:

• as a means of biological survival;
• as a means of socialization and formation of the human psyche (one of the main functions of the group is the function of socialization);
• as a way of doing certain work that cannot be done by one person (the instrumental function of a group);
• as a means of satisfying a person’s need for communication, for an affectionate and friendly attitude towards oneself, for receiving social approval, respect, recognition, trust (the expressive function of the group);
• as a means of reducing unpleasant feelings of fear and anxiety (supportive function of the group);
• as a source of norms of behavior, social attitudes and value orientations of a person (normative function of the group);
• as a source of standard with the help of which a person can evaluate himself and other people (the comparative function of the group) I as a means of information, material and other exchange.

“The set of individuals in mental interaction constitutes a social group, and this interaction comes down to the exchange of various ideas, feelings, desires, and mental experiences” (P. Sorokin).

There are several types of groups:

1. conditional and real;
2. permanent and temporary;
3. big and small.

Conventional groups of people are united according to a certain criterion (gender, age, profession, etc.). Real individuals included in such a group do not have direct interpersonal relationships, may not know anything about each other, and may never even meet each other.

Real groups of people that actually exist as communities in a certain space and time are characterized by the fact that its members are connected by objective relationships. Real human groups vary in size, appearance and internal organization, purpose and social significance. A contact group brings together people who have common goals and interests in one or another area of ​​life and activity. A small group is a fairly stable association of people connected by mutual contacts.

Small group- a small group of people (from 3 to 15 people) who are united by a common social activities, are in direct communication, contribute to the emergence of emotional relationships, the development of group norms and the development of group processes.

At large quantities A group of people is usually divided into subgroups. Distinctive features of a small group: spatial and temporal co-presence of people. This co-presence of people enables contacts that include interactive, informational, perceptual aspects of communication and interaction. Perceptual aspects allow a person to perceive the individuality of all other people in the group, and only then can one speak of a small group.

Interaction- everyone’s activity is both a stimulus and a reaction to everyone else.

Joint activity implies the presence of a constant goal. Implementation common goal as a certain anticipated result of any activity, it contributes in a sense to the realization of the needs of everyone and at the same time corresponds to general needs. The goal as a prototype of the result and the initial moment of joint activity determines the dynamics of the functioning of a small group. Three types of goals can be distinguished:

1. short-term prospects, goals that are quickly realized over time and express the needs of this group;
2. secondary goals are longer in time and lead the group to the interests of the secondary team (the interests of the enterprise or the school as a whole);
3. long-term perspectives unite the primary group with the problems of functioning of the social whole.

The socially valuable content of joint activities should become personally significant for each group member. What is important is not so much the objective goal of the group as its image, that is, how it is perceived by group members. Goals and characteristics of joint activities “cement” the group into one whole and determine the external formal and goal structure of the group.

There is an organizing principle in the group. It may or may not be personified in one of the group members (leader, manager), but this does not mean that there is no organizing principle. It’s just that in this case the leadership function is distributed among group members, and leadership is situationally specific (in a certain situation, a person who is more advanced in a given area than others takes on the functions of a leader).

Separation and differentiation of personal roles (division and cooperation of labor, division of power, i.e. the activity of group members is not homogeneous, they make their own, different contributions to joint activities, play different roles).

The presence of emotional relationships between group members, which influence group activity, can lead to the division of the group into subgroups, and form the internal structure of interpersonal relationships in the group.

Development of a specific group culture - norms, rules, standards of life, behavior that determine the expectations of group members in relation to each other and determine group dynamics. These norms are the most important sign of group integrity. We can speak of an established norm if it determines the behavior of the majority of group members, despite all the differences among group members. Deviation from group standards and norms, as a rule, is allowed only to the leader.

The group has the following psychological characteristics: group interests, group needs, etc. (Fig. 9).

The group has the following general patterns:

1. the group will inevitably become structured;
2. the group is developing (progress or regression, but dynamic processes occur in the group);
3. fluctuation - a change in a person’s place in a group can occur repeatedly.

By psychological characteristics distinguish:

1. membership groups;
2. reference groups (standard), the norms and rules of which serve as a model for the individual.

Reference groups may be real or imagined, positive or negative, may or may not coincide with membership, but they do:

1. the function of social comparison, since the reference group is a source of positive and negative samples;
2. normative function, since the reference group is the source of norms and rules to which a person strives to join.

Based on the nature and forms of organization of activities, the following levels of development of contact groups are distinguished (Table 5).


Unorganized (nominal groups, conglomerates) or randomly organized groups (movie audiences, random members of excursion groups, etc.) are characterized by a voluntary temporary association of people based on similar interests or common space.

Association- a group in which relationships are mediated only by personally significant goals (a group of friends, acquaintances).

Cooperation- a group that is distinguished by its actual functioning organizational structure, interpersonal relationships are of a business nature, subordinated to achieving the required result in performing a specific task in a certain type of activity.

Corporation- this is a group united only by internal goals that do not go beyond its scope, striving to achieve its corporate goals at any cost, including at the expense of other groups. Sometimes corporate spirit can take place in work or educational groups, when the group acquires features of group egoism.

Team- a time-stable organizational group of interacting people with specific governing bodies, united by the goals of joint socially beneficial activities and the complex dynamics of formal (business) and informal relationships between group members.

Thus, real human groups differ in size, external and internal organization, purpose and social significance. As the size of the group increases, the role of the leader increases.

The interdependence of the parties and group members in the interaction process may be equal, or one of the parties may have a stronger influence on the other. Therefore, one-way and two-way interaction can be distinguished. Interaction can cover both all spheres of human life - total interaction, and only one specific form or sector of activity. In independent sectors, people may not have any influence on each other.

The direction of the relationship can be solidary, antagonistic or mixed. In solidary interaction, the aspirations and efforts of the parties coincide. If the desires and efforts of the parties are in conflict, then this is an antagonistic form of interaction; if they coincide only partially, this is a mixed type of direction of interaction.

Organized and unorganized interactions can be distinguished. Interaction is organized if the relations of the parties and their actions have developed into a certain structure of rights, duties, functions and are based on a certain system of values.

Disorganized Interactions- when relationships and values ​​are in an amorphous state, therefore rights, responsibilities, functions, social positions are not defined.

Sorokin, combining various interactions, identifies the following types of social interaction:

• an organized antagonistic system of interaction based on coercion;
• an organized and solidary system of interaction based on voluntary membership;
• an organized-mixed, solidary-antagonistic system, which is partly controlled by coercion, and partly by voluntary support of an established system of relationships and values.

“Most organized social-interactive systems, from family to church and state,” Sorokin notes, “belong to the organized-mixed type. And they can also be disorganized and antagonistic; unorganized-solidarity; unorganized-mixed type of interactions.”

In long-existing organized groups, Sorokin identified 3 types of relationships:

• family type (interactions are total, extensive, intense, consistent in direction and long-lasting, internal unity of group members);
• treaty type (limited time of action of the parties interacting within the framework of the contractual sector, the solidarity of the relationship is selfish and aimed at obtaining mutual benefit, pleasure, or even getting “as much as possible for less”, while the other party is considered not as an ally, but as a kind of “tool” ”, which can provide a service, bring profit, etc.);
• forced type (antagonism of relationships, various forms of coercion: psychological coercion, economic, physical, ideological, military).

The transition from one type to another can occur smoothly or unpredictably. Mixed types of social interactions are often observed: partly contractual, familial, forced.

Sorokin emphasizes that social interactions act as sociocultural:

• 3 processes occur simultaneously - the interaction of norms, values, standards contained in the consciousness of an individual and a group;
• interaction of specific people and groups;
• interaction of materialized values ​​of social life.

Depending on the unifying values, we can distinguish:

• one-sided groups built on one set of basic values ​​(biosocial groups: racial, gender, age; sociocultural groups: gender, language group, religious group, trade union, political or scientific union);
• multilateral groups built around a combination of several sets of values: family, community, nation, social class.

It is possible to classify groups in terms of the specifics of information dissemination and the organization of interaction between group members.

So the pyramid group is:

1. closed type system;
2. built hierarchically, i.e. the higher the place, the higher the rights and influence;
3. information flows mainly vertically, from bottom to top (reports) and top to bottom (orders);
4. every man knows his hard spot;
5. traditions are valued in the group;
6. the leader of this group must take care of his subordinates, in return they obey unquestioningly;
7. Such groups are found in the army, in established production, and also in extreme situations.

A random group where everyone makes their own decisions, people are relatively independent, they move in different directions, but something unites them. Such groups are found in creative teams, as well as in situations of market uncertainty, typical of new commercial structures.

An open group where everyone has the right to initiative, everyone openly discusses issues together. The main thing for them is a common cause. Roles change freely, emotional openness is inherent, and informal communication between people increases.

A group of synchronous type, when all people are in different places, but everyone moves in the same direction, since everyone knows what needs to be done, everyone has one image, one model, and although everyone moves on their own, everyone moves synchronously in the same direction, even without discussion or agreement. If any obstacle is encountered, each group strengthens its distinctive feature:

• pyramidal - enhances order, discipline, control;
• random - its success depends on the abilities and potential of each group member;
• open - its success depends on the ability to reach agreement, negotiate, and its leader must have high communication skills, be able to listen, understand, agree;
• synchronous - its success depends on the talent, the authority of the “prophet”, who convinced, led people, and people infinitely believe and obey him.

It is generally accepted that the most optimal group size should consist of 7+2 (i.e. 5, 7, 9 people). It is also known that a group functions well when there is an odd number of people in it, since in an even number two warring halves can form. A team functions better if its members differ from each other in age and gender. On the other hand, some psychologists practicing in the field of management argue that groups with 12 people work most effectively. The fact is that large groups are poorly managed, and teams of 7-8 people are the most conflict-prone, as they usually break up into two warring informal subgroups; with a larger number of people, conflicts tend to smooth out.

Conflict in a small group (if it is not formed by like-minded people) is not least explained by the fact that in any work collective there are 8 social roles, and if there are not enough employees, then someone has to play not only for themselves, but also for “ that guy", which creates a conflict situation. The team leader (manager) needs to know these well roles. This:

1. a coordinator who is respected and knows how to work with people;
2. a generator of ideas seeking to get to the bottom of the truth. He is most often unable to put his ideas into practice;
3. an enthusiast who takes on a new business and inspires others;
4. controller-analyst, capable of soberly assessing the proposed idea. He is efficient, but more often he avoids people;
5. a profit seeker interested in the external side of the matter. He is efficient and can be a good mediator between people, since he is usually the most popular member of the team;
6. a performer who knows how to bring an idea to life is capable of painstaking work, but often “drowns” in trifles;
7. a hard worker who does not seek to take anyone’s place;
8. grinder - it is necessary so as not to cross the last line.

Thus, in order for a team to successfully cope with its work, it must not only consist of good specialists. The members of this team as individuals must collectively correspond to the required set of roles. And when distributing official positions, one must proceed from the suitability of individuals to perform a particular role, and not from the personal likes or dislikes of the manager.