Anuj Patel

SOC 101

10/01/2015

You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist

Chapter 5: Groups and Networks
I.

II.

Introduction
i. Social networks suck most of the population into a virtual landscape
ii. Feral Trade
1. Cant trust packaging labels, but can trust firsthand reports of colleagues
2. Extended social network allows for peer-to-peer product for cash
transactions around the globe
iii. Connections between groups matter, specifically size and shape, group member
roles, and groups vs institutions/individuals
Social Groups
i. Without knowing about the group members individual psychology or
cultural/social context in which they are embedded, we can make predictions
about the way people will behave based on the number of members, according to
sociologist Georg Simmel
b. Just the Two of Us
i. Dyads
1. Most intimate form of social life because of dependent members
2. Existence of group contingent on both parties participating
3. No third person to buffer situation/mediate
4. No need to concern with third party perception
5. Dependencies are created, even with master/servant relationship
6. Change in dyad dynamic can threaten existence of group
a. Divorce rates highest when first child is born in marriage,
turning dyad into triad due to lack of intimacy, or spouse feels
trapped superficially in marriage due to child.
c. And Then There Were Three
i. Triads
1. Group holds supra-individual power.
2. If one leaves, group still exists independent of particular members
3. Secrets/Politics exist within triads
4. Different possible roles for incoming third member
a. Mediator - resolve conflict between two members
b. Opposite of mediator, rejoices from disagreements between other
members, like marriage counselor who profits from mediating
c. Person who intentionally drives a wedge between members
d. Size Matters: Why Social Life is Complicated
i. Dyads have one possible relationship, while Triads have three
ii. As number of group members increases, more relationships can be made, such as
f members having 6 possible relationships, while 5 members can have 10, and 6
having 15.
iii. Even while some members dont relate, group still exists
e. Lets Get This Party Started: Small Groups, Parties, and Large Groups
i. Groups larger than Triads are small groups, parties, or large groups
1. Small group is a group characterized by face-to-face interaction, a
unifocal perspective, lack of formal arrangements, and a certain level of
equality
2. Party is a group that is similar to a small group but multifocal

Anuj Patel

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SOC 101

10/01/2015

3. Large group is a group characterized by the presence of a formal

structure that mediates interaction and, consequently, status
differentiation
f. Primary and Secondary Groups
i. Sociologist Charles Horton Cooley emphasized a distinction between primary
and secondary groups
1. Primary groups social groups, such as family or friends, composed of
intimate face-to-face relationships that strongly influence the attitudes
and ideals of those involved
a. Loyalty and strong allegiance are primary ethics, no competition
2. Secondary groups groups marked by impersonal, instrumental
relationships (those existing as a means to an end)
a. Group is impersonal, existing because of aligned interests
b. Members of a secondary group may change often, but roles dont
g. Group Conformity
i. Groups have strong influences over individual behavior
ii. Psychologist Solomon Asch experiments demonstrated power of conformity
within groups
h. In-Groups and Out-Groups
i. In-group is another term for the powerful group, most often the majority
1. Major example being the heterosexual population
2. Whites, though the minority in South Africa, still the in-group due to
enormous political and economic power
ii. Out-group another term for the stigmatized or less powerful group, the minority
1. Homosexuals, bisexuals, and other nonnormative sexual identities is a
major example.
i. Reference Groups
i. A Reference group is a group that helps us understand or make sense of our
position in society relative to other groups.
From Groups to Networks
i. A social network is a set of relationsa set of dyadsheld together by ties
between individuals
ii. A tie is a set of stories that explains our relationship to the other members of our
network
iii. A narrative is the sum of stories contained in a set of ties
1. For example, when you add up the stories of all the actors involved in the
social network of your school, the result is a narrative of what your
college is
b. Embeddedness: The Strength of Weak Ties
i. Embeddedness refers to the degree to which ties are reinforced through indirect
paths within a social network
ii. The more embedded a tie is, the stronger.
iii. The Strength of weak ties refers to the fact that relatively weak ties, those not
reinforced through indirect paths, often turn out to be quite valuable because they
bring novel information
1. Especially useful in job searches, where all the individuals probably
know the same people, hear of the same job openings, and maintain the
same contacts
2. It is a paradox in that, these weak ties provide the most opportunities

Anuj Patel

SOC 101

10/01/2015

3. Linking two unrelated network groups can create a very large single
network group, creating opportunities for dating between not only the
link members, but other members of each others groups as well
a. This would be called a structural hole, a gap between network
clusters, or even two individuals, if those individuals (or
clusters) have complementary resources
b. Sociologist Ronald Burt found that those with the most structural
holes in their social networks were the ones who rose through
the company ranks the fastest and farthest.

IV.

V.

c. Six Degrees
i. Theory that each one of us is connected to every other person by social chains of
no more than six people.
ii. Evidence came out of research undertaken by Stanley Milgram in 1960s.
d. Social Capital
i. Having many weak ties is one form of what sociologists call social capital
ii. Social capital is the information, knowledge of people, and connections that help
individuals enter, gain power in, or otherwise leverage social networks
iii. The denser the social capital, the more people will feel inclined to help each
other by returning favors or keeping an eye on ones property in a neighborhood
iv. Even if you dont know someone directly, chances are that you are only one or
two degrees removed from him or her
v. Strong social capital binds people together
e. Case Study: Survival of the Amish
i. The secret to Amish success turns out to be the way they strategically combine
their traditions with the rest of the modern world
ii. Amish have become entangled in contemporary capitalism, but have held onto
cultural traditions by maintaining an ideologically integrated and homogenous
community
iii. Singular fashion, no government, and rejection of mass media leads to a
homogeneity of belief and values and most importantly, dense social capital
Network Analysis in Practice
a. The Social Structure of Teenage Sex
i. American teenagers supposedly approach their love lives with a blas attitude
1. Hooking up has replaced going steady
2. Friends with benefits are preferred over girlfriends and boyfriends
ii. The sexual mores of American adolescents are putting them at greater risk of
contracting STIs than ever before
iii. Two-thirds of American teens are having sex or participating in some form of
sexual activity
iv. Most adolescents with an STI have no idea that they are infected
v. Since not much of sexual networks of American Adolescents was known until
recently, it was difficult to design safe-sex programs to reduce rate of STIs
vi. Eliminating structural holes can prevent two networks from mingling and cutting
off an entire network from STIs
b. Romantic Leftovers
i. Do not date the ex of your exs current boyfriend or girlfriend, since you will be
viewed as left-overs
Organizations

Anuj Patel

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VII.
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SOC 101

10/01/2015

i. 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
1. Examples include Little League baseball team to General Motors or even
the US Government.
ii. Formal organizations have a set of governing structures and rules for their
internal arrangements, an example being the US Army
iii. Informal organizations do not have a set of governing structures and rules for
their internal arrangements, such as the local Brangelina fan club
b. Organizational Structure and Culture
i. Organizational culture is the shared beliefs and behaviors within a social group;
often used interchangeably with corporate culture
1. Slaughterhouse culture would be different due to low pay, protective
uniforms, dangerous environment, etc.
2. Small, non-profit community law center would be opposite from
slaughterhouse.
ii. Organizational structure is the ways in which power and authority are distributed
within an organization
1. Slaughterhouse has hierarchical structure, ranking managers and workers
2. Law center is more decentralized and cooperative/collaborative
c. Institutional Isomorphism: Everybodys Doing it
i. Networks provide information, a sense of security and community, resources, etc
ii. Isomorphism is a constraining process that forces one unit in a population to
resemble other units that face the same set of environmental conditions.
1. Example would be a bank attempting to distinguish itself from other
banks with a more community oriented approach, but ends up operating
like typical banks due to the influence of the major bank network.
Conclusion
a. Knowing the formal characteristics of a group helps us understand much of the social
dynamics within it
Practice
Paradox