Social Groups and Interaction

Group Types

Primary groups are close, personal, and long-term (family); secondary groups are formal and task-oriented (coworkers). In-groups ("us") contrast with out-groups ("them"), and reference groups are the standards you compare yourself against.

Group Dynamics

The high-yield phenomena: groupthink (cohesion overrides critical evaluation), social facilitation (audiences improve simple-task performance but impair complex tasks), social loafing (less individual effort in groups), deindividuation (lost self-awareness in crowds producing impulsive behavior), and the bystander effect (helping declines as the number of witnesses rises, via diffusion of responsibility).

Roles and Dramaturgy

A role is the expected behavior for a social position. Role conflict is tension BETWEEN two roles (physician vs. parent); role strain is tension WITHIN one role (a nurse balancing caregiving against efficiency). Goffman's dramaturgical theory treats social life as performance: front stage (public impression management) versus back stage (private self). These micro-level concepts sit within symbolic interactionism, where meaning is created through interaction.

Key Takeaways

• Primary vs. secondary groups; in/out/reference groups
• Groupthink, social loafing, deindividuation, bystander effect are exam staples
• Role conflict is between roles; role strain is within one role
• Goffman: front stage vs. back stage impression management