Each person, regardless of their age and occupation, consists of several small groups - a family, a school class, a sports team. The relationship of the individual with other members of the team plays a key role in the formation of his personality. A variety of types of associations is demonstrated by the classification of small groups. Psychology attaches particular importance to the study of the characteristics of small collectives and their role in society.
What is a small social group?
On the basis of small collectives, a detailed study of the relationship of the individual with his environment, the influence of society on its members is possible. Therefore, in sociological studies, the concepts “group”, “small group”, “classification of groups” occupy an important place. The fact is that a person spends most of his life in small groups, which have a strong influence on the formation of his values.
A social group is an association of people connected by a joint activity and a system of interpersonal relations. Such groups are classified by size, that is, by the number of participants.
A small group is a small association of people connected by joint activities and in direct communication with each other. A feature of such a team is that the number of its members does not exceed twenty, and therefore they can freely communicate with each other and establish an emotional connection.
Signs
There are a number of provisions, the presence of which may indicate that the association is a small social group:
- the presence of people in one territory at a certain time;
- emotional contact between team members, the presence of stable relationships;
- joint activities aimed at achieving a common goal;
- separation between members of group roles;
- the presence of an organizational and managerial structure;
- the formation of their norms and values.
On these signs and the nature of their manifestation, the concept and classification of small groups is built. Establishing emotional relationships between individual members can lead to subunits and internal structure.
Types of Associations
There are several aspects regarding which the classification of small groups is formed. The table below shows the types of small social associations.
Sign | Types |
Occurrence | Formal (consciously organized) and informal. |
Way of interaction | Primary (high level of cohesion) and secondary (lack of strong relationships, teamwork). |
Duration of existence | Temporary (created to achieve a single goal) and stable (designed for long-term work). |
Nature of activity | Labor, research, entertainment, ideological, aesthetic, communicative, political. |
Personal significance | Elite and referential. |
The nature of internal relations
The determining factor is the classification of small social groups with respect to the way it occurs. Formal associations are created by management and have legal status. Their activities are regulated by certain documentation. The management of such a group occurs on a top-down basis, and the interpersonal relationships of its members are determined by the organization.
Informal groups arise spontaneously based on the emotional connections of participants. Such societies do not have an official status, and its activities are directed from the bottom up. Nevertheless, they also form some norms and values shared by all members of the group and predetermining their behavior. If in formal organizations the leader has official authority, then in contact organizations he acts through the recognition of other participants.
Reference team
A different classification of social groups is based on the significance of association for an individual . A small group whose norms play an important role for a person is called a reference (reference) one. A team member goes through its value system, forms the appropriate standards. Such a group is divided into two subspecies:
- Perfect . An individual does not consist in unification, however, in his behavior he is guided by his norms.
- Presence group. Man is a member of this collective and shares values.
Small communities play a decisive role in shaping a person’s personality. The child sees the norms adopted in the family and among friends. At the same time, small social groups can also have a negative impact on an individual - suppress his personal qualities (inhibition), impose wrong ideals.
Social significance
Small organizations can play a different role in society, depending on the values and goals that the small group pursues. The classification of small groups based on criteria of social significance presupposes the existence of three types of associations: socially oriented, antisocial and antisocial. Accordingly, they play a positive, neutral and negative role. To socially oriented small groups include educational, social, productive organizations. Various criminal associations are not accepted by people, which nonetheless retain authority for their members.
Group management
Management includes a number of actions necessary to organize the activities of the association. This concept includes decision making, goal setting, development of plans, control, coordination, etc. There is a conditional classification of small groups with respect to the control method. There are such types of relationships:
- subordination (top);
- coordination (horizontal system);
- reordination (from below).
Successful organization of activities is based on the combination of these principles, the search for the best option for building internal relations.
Team Leader
A feature of the organization of small groups is the selection of a leader. This is a member of the association, which has a strong influence on its activities. He is respected among other participants due to his personal qualities and plays an important role in managing the group. The activities of a leader extend to both internal and external communication. It ensures the involvement of team members in joint activities, exercises control over decision-making. There is a classification of small groups based on the level of intervention of the leader in the activities of the association and the degree of involvement of each member in the community management process. In the most successful organizations (both contact and formal), a balance is maintained between the two extremes.
Management styles
The conditional classification of small groups, which takes as a basis the involvement of association members in the process of its management, includes three positions presented in the table below.
Title | Nature of the relationship | Management process |
Authoritarian | Top down | Decisions are made by the leader, enhanced control. |
Democratic | Horizontalness, Equality | A collective discussion where everyone can express their opinion. |
Liberal | Upwards | The initiative is in the hands of the governed. |
There is also a theory of X and Y. In the first case, a person initially avoids work and prefers to be led. Theory Y suggests that the individual has a high level of self-control and is committed to responsibility. Accordingly, two different control methods are applicable here.
Collective pressure
The norms adopted in the association affect the lifestyle of its individual member. Everyone knows the experiment conducted with a group of children, where previously agreed upon participants incorrectly answered the question, and the last subject repeated the words of their peers. This phenomenon is called conformism. The opinion of most members of a small group exerts psychological pressure on an individual. The opposite of this phenomenon can serve as independence, that is, the independence of human attitudes from the opinion of the environment.
Moreover, the classification of small groups with respect to what role it plays for an individual is important. The higher the referentiality of the association, the more conformism is manifested.
Formation of a small social group
Each team goes through several stages of development. Psychologists G. Stanford and A. Roark developed a theory that includes 7 stages of the formation of a social group. The study is based on a two-factor model of collective development, where there are contradictions between business and emotional activity.
- Acquaintance, the first attempts at interpersonal interaction.
- Creation of group norms.
- Stage of conflict.
- The state of balance, the appearance of a sense of cohesion.
- Formation of unity - increased business activity, set common goals.
- The dominance of not workers, but interpersonal relationships of individual members of the association.
- Actualization, balance of business and emotional activity.
Social roles in a small group
Members of the association may be assigned certain behaviors related to solving problems or communicating with other participants. Roles are manifested both in business and in the emotional activity of the group. For example, in the process of solving problems, the “initiator” offers new ideas, and the “critic” evaluates the work of the entire group and finds its weaknesses. Roles are also manifested in the sphere of interpersonal relations of the collective. Thus, the mastermind actively supports the ideas of other members, and the mediator refuses his opinion and settles conflict situations.