Types of Groups and Networks

1. UNIT 3: Insider/OutsiderChapter 6: Groups and Formal OrganizationsChapter 7: Deviance and Social Control Standard: Students will explain and interpret the influence of social groups on individual/group behavior and assess how social inequalities may affect changes in society.

2. Types of Groups and Networks • A group is at least two people who have one or more goals in common and share common ways of thinking and behaving. • A social category is made up of people who share a social characteristic. • A social aggregate is made up of people temporarily in the same place at the same time. • A primary group are people who are emotionally close, know one another well, and seek one another’s company. • Primary relationships are characterized by interactions that are intimate, personal, caring and fulfilling. • Secondary groups are people who share only part of their lives while focusing on a goal or a task. • Secondary relationships are characterized by impersonal interactions involving limited parts of personalities. • A reference group is a group use for self-evaluation and the formation of attitudes, values, beliefs and norms. • In-groups are exclusive groups demanding intense loyalty. • Out-groups are groups targeted by an in-group for opposition, antagonism, or competition. • A social network is a web of social relationships that join a person to other people in a group. A social network is not a group! • Answer question 20 on page 198. Be prepared to discuss your answer. • Read “School Violence and Social Networks” and answer the question on page 180. Be prepared to discuss your answer. We will watch a movie based on the Columbine tragedy at the end of this unit. • Read “Bullies and Their Victims” and answer the questions on page 201. Be prepared to discuss your answers. • Read “Group Pressure and Obedience” and answer the questions on page 189. Be prepared to discuss your answers. • Watch “My Kid Would Never Bully” (Dateline) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600/vp/41928090#41928090

3. Types of Social Interactions

4. Formal Organizations • A formal organization is a group deliberately formed to achieve one or more long term goals. • A bureaucracy is a formal organization that is based on rationality and efficiency. Characteristics of a bureaucracy include: • A division of labor based on the principal of specialization. • A hierarchy of authority. • A system of rules and procedures. • Written records of work and activities. • Promotion on the basis of merit and qualifications. • Informal organizations are groups within a formal organization in which personal relationships are guided by norms, rituals and sentiments that are not part of the formal organization. • The Iron Law of Oligarchy is the theory that power increasingly becomes concentrated in the hands of a few members of any organization. • Organizations need a hierarchy of authority to delegate decision making. • The advantages held by those at the top allow them to consolidate and increase their powers. • Other members of the organization tend to defer to leaders—to give in to those who take charge.

5. Deviance and Social Control • Deviance is behavior that departs from societal or group norms. • Negative deviance involves behavior that underconforms to accepted norms. • Positive deviance involves behavior that overconforms to social expectations. • A deviant is a person who breaks significant societal or group norms. • Social control is ways to encourage conformity to social norms. • Internal social control lies within the individual and is developed during the socialization process. • External social control depends on formal or informal sanctions. • Social sanctions are rewards and punishments that encourage conformity to social norms. • Read “Murder Among the Cheyenne” and answer the question on page 208. Be prepared to discuss your answers with the class.

6. Schools of Thought on Deviance • Functionalists believe that deviance can be both positive and negative. • The negative effects include eroding trust, inspiring deviant behavior in others and diverting resources from other aspects of society. • The positive effects include clarifying norms and providing a safety valve when problems arise. • An anomie is a social condition where norms are weak, conflicting or absent. • Strain theory is a belief that deviance is more likely to occur when a gap exists between cultural goals and the ability to achieve these goals by legitimate means. • Ways that individuals cope with strain include innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion. • Control theory is a belief that compliance with social norms require strong bonds between individuals and society. • Social bonds include attachment, commitment, involvement and belief. • The symbolic interactionist perspective yields two theories of deviance. • The differential association theory contends that the individual learns deviance in proportion to the number of deviant acts they were exposed to. • The labeling theory contends that society creates deviance by indentifying particular members as deviant. • Primary deviance involves the occasional breaking of norms that is not a part of a person’s lifestyle or self-concept. • Secondary deviance occurs when an individual’s life and identity are organized around breaking society’s norms. • A stigma is an undesirable trait or label that is used to characterize an individual.

7. Crime and Punishment • Supporters of the conflict theory believe that minorities receive unequal treatment in the criminal justice system. • Victim discounting is the process of reducing the seriousness of crimes that injure people of lower social status. • White collar crimes are job-related crimes committed by high-status people. • Read “Look Out for Identity Thieves” and answer the question on page 228. • Watch “The Madoff Affair” (PBS Frontline) for an example of white collar crime. • http://video.pbs.org/video/1122731028 • Measurement of Crime • The FBI publishes Uniformed Crime Reports (UCR) that track the number of murders, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson and hate crimes. • The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) uses scientific methods to document underreported crimes. • Juvenile Crime • Juvenile crime is a crime committed by a minor; Juvenile delinquency includes deviances that are not crimes in the adult world. • Juvenile crime has been decreasing, possibly because of less crack use, harsher sentences and efforts to reduce the number of guns in communities. • Approaches to Crime Control • Does punishment discourage crime? • Do Americans believe capital punishment deters criminals? • Why do attitudes toward the death penalty vary? • What is retribution? • Why does society keep criminals in prisons? • Do prisons rehabilitate criminals? • What are some alternatives to prison? • Will any of these alternatives work?