2. Social Groups
Social groups form the building blocks
for society and for most social
interaction.
The sociologist Georg Simmel argued
that the key element in determining
the form of social relations in a group
is the size of the groupthe size of the group..
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3. George Simmel argued that without knowing aboutGeorge Simmel argued that without knowing about
individuals as personalities,individuals as personalities, we can makewe can make
predictions about the way people are going topredictions about the way people are going to
behave solely on the number of people in that group.behave solely on the number of people in that group.
4. Social Groups
Simmel emphasized, in particular, the differences
between social relations in a dyaddyad (group of two) and
a triadtriad (group of three or more).
DyadDyad is the most intimate form of social life because
the two members are mutually dependent on each
other – if one member leaves the group, the group
ceases to exist.
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5. Properties of Dyads
• Most intimate
• Continued existence depends of the willingness to
participate
• Membership is voluntary
• Doesn’t need to be concerned about a third party
• Symmetry must be maintained
• Even if power is unequal
• Servant master relationship is an example
6. Properties of triads
The group itself hold the power – it will go on even
without you.
Secrets can exist
Politics exists – influencing people on a group level.
7. The Politics of Social Groups
When a third person joins a dyad, that person can
fill the role of:
mediatormediator – the conflict resolver.
tertius gaudenstertius gaudens — “the third that rejoices” the person
who profits from disagreement from the others.
divide et imperadivide et impera (“divide and conquer”) — the
individual who purposefully breaks up the other two.
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8. Social Groups
What problems might you expect?
As group size increases, the number of
possible relationships increase — in a group of
three, three possible relationships exist, but in
a group of four, six possible relationships
exist.
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9. Groups
Small groups:
Face-to-face interactions
Unifocal – there is one center of attention at a time
Lack of formal roles
Party
Face to face but multifocal
Potential for some formality
Large Group
Formal structure and status differentiation
Besides size, Physical space, pre-existing social relationships,
context
10. Group types
Primary GroupsPrimary Groups – socialization groups with limited
member and face to face interactions.
Secondary GroupSecondary Group – impersonal, affiliation is conditional
and instrumental as often a means to an end.
In- group versus out-groupIn- group versus out-group – relative power helps
define normal versus abnormal thoughts or behaviors
Reference groupsReference groups: relative concept for comparison e.g.
sports facilities for athletic teams of neighboring
universities.
11. Social Groups and
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.
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12. From Groups to Networks
A social networkA social network is a set of relations — a set of dyads — held
together by ties between individuals.
A tieA tie is a set of stories that explains our relationship to the other
members of our network, while a narrative is the sum of the stories
contained in a series of ties.
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14. From Groups to Networks
Embeddedness refers to the degree to
which ties are reinforced through indirect
paths within a social network.
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15. The more embedded a tie is, the stronger it is.
In other words, the more indirect paths you
make to another person, the stronger the
relationship will be.
16. Mark Granovetter developed the concept of the
strength of weak tiesstrength of weak ties to explain that relatively
weak ties can actually be quite valuable because
they are more likely to provide new opportunities
than a strongly embedded tie.
17. Organizations
An organization is any social network that is defined by a common
purpose and has a boundary between its membership and the rest of
the social world.
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18. Organizations
Organizational culture refers to the shared beliefs and behaviors
within a social group.
Organizational structure refers to the ways in which power and
authority are distributed within an organization.
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20. Organizational Structure and Culture
“A Power Elite”
http://theyrule.net/
Interlocking Directorates
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xorqPUYu_SE&feature=related
Feminist Perspective
21. Interview, Duncan Watts
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Duncan Watts describes his research
on the small world phenomenon.
From Groups to
Networkshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFK1bpQwHF4
22. Six Degrees of Separation
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?
action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=18417083&m=18417060
23. Small World Exercise
Write down five friends or acquaintances who are
also students at the college.
Share lists with two people sitting next to them. Are
there any common names on the three lists?
Is it a “small world, after all”?
How technology has changed the size of your
social networks?
24. From Groups to Networks
A structural hole is a gap between network clusters (or even
between two people) that would benefit from having the gap
closed.
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25. Facebook: The Entire Web Will Be Social
By Liz Gannes Apr. 21, 2010
Social plugins are little
widgets that bring Facebook
to the rest of the web. They
offer “instant
personalization”
Creates a persistent
relationship with you
around that content. Sites
give Facebook semantic
information around the thing
you liked — for instance, the
title, type, genre and city for a
band you like on Pandora.
27. Social Capital
Strength of Weak Ties
Social capital is a sociological concept which refers to the value of
social relations and the role of cooperation and confidence to achieve
positive outcomes. The term refers to the value one can get from their
social ties.
Weak ties may produce the most opportunity!
28. Structural Holes on the Net
diminishing the power of the middle man
A Personal Account
41. Organizations
An organization is any social network that is defined by a common
purpose and has a boundary between its membership and the rest of
the social world.
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42. Organizations
Organizational culture refers to the shared beliefs and behaviors
within a social group.
Organizational structure refers to the ways in which power and
authority are distributed within an organization.
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54. The Pitfalls of the Digital World
Communication gone wrong.*
*Although the following is a comedic exaggeration, employers and recruiters are recruiters are using
technology to make hiring decisions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0H5sn1CkAc&feature=related
55. Great Opportunities to Further Your CareerGreat Opportunities to Further Your Career
Through Social ConnectednessThrough Social Connectedness
Now WEB 2.0 offers the ability toNow WEB 2.0 offers the ability to
talk outside the usual channelstalk outside the usual channels
1. Personal Publishing (blogs)
2. Easy to create and edit websites (wikis)
3. Publish and share photos, video (Flickr, YouTube)
4. Lots of ways to share and collaborate
58. From embarrassing photos to drunken texts,
Facebook users are notorious for sharing too muchFacebook users are notorious for sharing too much
information.information.
Will that off-hand comment or picture affect your job
chances?
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/tech/Facebook-on-Location-with-McDonalds-93255279.html#ixzz0nWsYglsj
59. “The reality is that nothing on Facebook is really confidential.
Facebook is founded on a radical social premise -- that an
inevitable enveloping transparency will overtake modern life."
60. The Machine is US/ing UsThe Machine is US/ing Us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE
61. dana boyd - Researcher at Microsoft Research New
England and a Fellow at the Harvard Berkman Center
for Internet and Society.
BoydBoyd’s Law:’s Law:
“Adding more users to a social network (site)
increases the provability that it will put you in a
awkward circumstance.”
62. Where and how you give up yourWhere and how you give up your
privacyprivacy
(anyone can badmouth you with the world and you may be helpless to stop it)
1. Messaging and online communication
2. Photo and video sharing sites
3. Giving reviews and opinions
4. Social bookmarking and tagging
5. Communities and groups
6. Virtual worlds and gaming
7. Collaboration and sharing
As groups grow, they become more stable at the cost of intimacy.
The more relationships there are in a group, the more likely it is that the group may be troubled by conflict or jealousy.
With his famous line study, Asch showed that if a majority of people agree on something, the minority will often go along, even if they don’t agree.
New technologies that offer social networking (like MySpace or Facebook) have made traditional social networks even more complex. One advantage of these technologies is that it is relatively easy to see some social networks. One disadvantage is that it is difficult to see the importance of the ties.
The more embedded a tie is, the stronger it is. In other words, the more indirect paths you make to another person, the stronger the relationship will be. Mark Granovetter developed the concept of the strength of weak ties to explain that relatively weak ties can actually be quite valuable because they are more likely to provide new opportunities than a strongly embedded tie.
Formal organizations have a set of governing structures and rules for their internal set-up while informal organizations do not.
Paul DiMaggio and Walter Powell are part of a school of thought called new institutionalism , which tries to develop a sociological view of institutions. They coined the phrase, institutional isomorphism . For example, if you wanted to create a new college, you might decide that in your institution, you don ’t want to give students grades. Instead, you want them to learn for the shear joy of obtaining knowledge. Unfortunately, though, if your students want to transfer to another college or continue on to graduate school, they need their transcripts with their grades. Because the environment is already firmly established, you’ll have to conform if you want students to keep coming to your college.
Watts talks about the "small world" phenomenon. Ask the class to summarize what he means by this and how it relates to networks. Suggest that each student write down five friends or acquaintances who are also students at the college. Ask the students to share lists with two people sitting next to them. Are there any common names on the three lists? Ask your students if it really is a “small world, after all”? Discuss how technology has changed the size of their social networks.
An example of this could be, suppose your friend needs a job and your mom is the manager of the local supermarket. There is a structural hole between them, but because you know them both, you can bridge that gap by mediating between the two parties. Photo Courtesy of AP Photo. Credit: Lauren Greenfield/VII
Formal organizations have a set of governing structures and rules for their internal set-up while informal organizations do not.
Paul DiMaggio and Walter Powell are part of a school of thought called new institutionalism , which tries to develop a sociological view of institutions. They coined the phrase, institutional isomorphism . For example, if you wanted to create a new college, you might decide that in your institution, you don ’t want to give students grades. Instead, you want them to learn for the shear joy of obtaining knowledge. Unfortunately, though, if your students want to transfer to another college or continue on to graduate school, they need their transcripts with their grades. Because the environment is already firmly established, you’ll have to conform if you want students to keep coming to your college.