different social groups or entities. Social groups

Lecture:

Social groups

Social groups are one of the elements of the social structure of society. Social groups are associations of people interconnected by common characteristics (sex, age, nationality, profession, income, power, education, and many others), interests, goals, activities. There are more social groups on Earth than individuals, because one and the same individual is included in several groups. Pitirim Sorokin noted that history does not give us a person outside the group. Indeed, from birth, a person is in a group - a family, whose members are connected by consanguinity and common life. The circle of groups expands as they grow older, yard friends, a school class, a sports team, a labor collective, a party, and others appear. A social group is characterized by such features as internal organization, common goal, joint activities, rules and norms, interaction (active communication).

In sociology, along with the term social group, the term social community is used. Both terms characterize the association of people, but the concept of community is broader. A community is an association of various groups of people according to some sign or life circumstances. The main difference between a community and a group is that there is no stable and repetitive relationship between members of the community, which is in the group. Examples of social community: men, children, students, Russians, etc.

A transitional position between a social community and a social group is occupied by a quasi-group - this is an unstable short-term community of people, which is random in nature. Examples of quasi-groups are a concert audience, a crowd.

Types of social groups

Social groups
Kinds		signs	Examples
1.	Primary	Direct personal contacts, emotional involvement, solidarity, sense of "we", individual qualities are valued	Family, school class, friends
1.	Secondary	Indirect subject contacts, lack of emotional relationships, the ability to perform certain functions is valued	Professional, territorial, demographic groups, party electorates
2.	Large	Large numbers	Nations, age groups, professional groups
2.	Small	small numbers	Family, school class, sports team, work team
3.	Formal	Arise at the initiative of the administration, the behavior of group members is determined by job descriptions	Party, labor collective
3.	informal	Created spontaneously, the behavior of group members is not regulated
4.	Reference	Real or imagined significant group with which a person identifies and orients himself	Political party, denomination
4.	non-referential	A real group of little value to the person who studies or works in it	School class, sports section, labor collective
5.	Professional	Joint professional activities	Doctors, lawyers, programmers, agronomists, veterinarians
	ethnic	General history, culture, language, territory	Russians, French, Germans
	Demographic	Gender, age	Men, women, children, old people
	confessional	Common Religion	Muslims, Christians, Buddhists
	Territorial	Common territory of residence, unity of living conditions	Citizens, villagers, provincials

Functions of social groups

American sociologist Neil Smelser identified four socially significant functions of social groups:

1. The function of human socialization is the most important. Only in a group does a person become a person and acquire a socio-cultural essence. In the process of socialization, a person masters knowledge, values, norms. Socialization is closely related to education and upbringing. A person receives education at school, college or university, and upbringing is mainly in the family.

2. The instrumental function is to carry out joint activities. Collective work in a group is essential for the development of a person and society, because a person cannot do much alone. By participating in a group, a person acquires material resources and self-realization.

3. The expressive function of the group is to satisfy the needs of a person for respect, love, care, approval, trust. Communication with group members gives a person joy.

4. The supporting function is manifested in the desire of people to unite in difficult and problematic life situations. The feeling of group support helps a person to ease unpleasant feelings.

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A social group is an association of people connected by common relations, which are regulated by special social institutions, and have common norms, values and traditions. The social group is one of the main components of the social structure. The bonding factor for the group is a common interest, that is, spiritual, economic or political needs.

Belonging to a group implies that a person has some characteristics that, from the point of view of the group, are valuable and significant. From this point of view, the "core" of the group is distinguished - those of its members who possess these characteristics to the greatest extent. The remaining members of the group form its periphery.

A specific person cannot be reduced to membership in one group, since he certainly belongs to a sufficiently large number of groups at once. And indeed, we can divide people into groups in many ways: according to belonging to a confession; by income level; in terms of their attitude to sports, art, etc.

Organization method:

formal group- this is a group with a legal status, interaction in which is regulated by a system of formalized norms, rules, laws. These groups have a consciously set goal, a normatively fixed hierarchical structure and act according to the administratively established order (organizations, enterprises, etc.).

informal group arises spontaneously, on the basis of common views, interests and interpersonal interactions, has no official regulation and legal status. (friendly companies, informal youth associations, rock music lovers)

real (ward with patients);

conditional (alcoholics of some city, for the most part unfamiliar with each other, and who do not consider themselves to this social group).

By way of interaction:

primary(or contact) - friends; Primary groups are, as a rule, small groups characterized by close ties between members and, as a result, have a great influence on the individual. The last feature plays a decisive role in determining the primary group.

secondary(or contactless) - a community of young mothers on a forum with relevant topics. In secondary groups, there are practically no close relationships between individuals, and the integrity of the group is ensured by the presence of common goals and interests.

In terms of size and prevalence in society, social groups are:

large- existing on the scale of the whole society (pensioners, nationalities and nations, men and women, scientists, workers, children, schoolchildren, military, students, politicians, lawyers, etc.); a large group is a large collection of people who do not have direct contacts with each other, but are united by the awareness of belonging to a group, lifestyle, common psychology, customs and traditions: nation, class, estate, ethnic community.

medium(workers of a factory, residents of a city,); these are relatively stable groups of people who also have common goals and interests, are connected by one activity, but at the same time are not in close contact with each other.

small(family, group of friends, neighbours). Small groups are characterized by the fact that their members are in direct contact with each other, have common goals and interests: the connection between members of the group is so strong that a change in one of its parts will certainly lead to a change in the group as a whole.

Depending on socially significant signs- real and nominal.

Real groups- these are groups allocated according to socially significant criteria:

gender - men and women;

age - children, youth, adults, elderly;

income - rich, poor, prosperous;

nationality - Russians, French, Americans;

marital status - married, single, divorced;

profession (occupation) - doctors, economists, managers;

place of residence - townspeople, rural residents.

Rated(conditional) groups, sometimes called social categories, are allocated for the purpose of conducting a sociological study or statistical accounting of the population (for example, to find out the number of passengers-benefits, single mothers, students receiving nominal scholarships, etc.).

A quasi-group is an informal, spontaneous, unstable social community that does not have a definite structure and system of values, in which the interaction of people is, as a rule, of a third-party and short-term nature.

The main types of quasigroups are:

The audience is a social community united by interaction with the communicator and receiving information from him. The heterogeneity of this social formation, due to the difference in personal qualities, as well as the cultural values and norms of the people included in it, determines the different degree of acceptance and evaluation of the information received.

A crowd is a temporary, relatively unorganized, unstructured accumulation of people united in a closed physical space by a common interest, but at the same time devoid of a clearly perceived goal and interconnected by the similarity of their emotional state.

random crowd - an indefinite set of individuals formed spontaneously without any goal (to watch a celebrity suddenly appear or a traffic accident);

conventional crowd - a relatively structured collection of people under the influence of planned predetermined norms (spectators in the theater, fans in the stadium, etc.);

expressive crowd - a social quasi-group formed for the personal pleasure of its members, which in itself is already a goal and result (discotheques, rock festivals, etc.);

acting (active) crowd - a group that produces some kind of action, which can act as: a gathering - an emotionally excited crowd gravitating towards violent actions, and an insurgent crowd - a group characterized by particular aggressiveness and destructive actions.

Social circles are social communities that are created for the purpose of exchanging information between their members.

The whole history of people's lives is the history of their relationships and interactions with other people. In the course of these interactions, social communities and groups are formed.

The most general concept is social community - a set of people united by common conditions of existence, regularly and steadily interacting with each other.

In modern sociology, several types of communities are distinguished.

Primarily, nominal communities- a set of people united by common social characteristics that a scientist-researcher establishes to solve his scientific problem. For example, people of the same hair color, skin color, sports lovers, stamp collectors, vacationers at sea can be united, and all these people may never come into contact with each other.

Mass communities- this is a real-life set of people who are accidentally united by common conditions of existence, and do not have a stable goal of interaction. Fans of sports teams, fans of pop stars, and participants in mass political movements are typical examples of mass communities. The features of mass communities can be considered the randomness of their occurrence, the temporality and uncertainty of the composition. One type of mass community is crowd. The French sociologist G.Tard defined a crowd as a multitude of people gathered at the same time in a certain place and united by feeling, faith and action. In the structure of the crowd, leaders stand out, on the one hand, and everyone else, on the other.

According to the sociologist G.Lebon, the behavior of the crowd is due to a certain infection that provokes collective aspirations. People infected with this infection are capable of ill-conceived, sometimes destructive actions.

How to protect yourself from such an infection? First of all, people with a high culture, well-informed about political events, have immunity to it.

In addition to the crowd, sociologists operate with such concepts as the audience and social circles.

Under audience is understood as a set of people united by interaction with a certain individual or group (for example, people watching a performance in the theater, students listening to a lecture by a teacher, journalists attending a press conference of a statesman, etc.). The larger the audience, the weaker the connection with the unifying principle. Please note that during the broadcast of a meeting of any large group of people, the TV camera may snatch someone from the audience who has fallen asleep, someone who is reading a newspaper or drawing figures in his notebook. The same situation often occurs in the student audience. Therefore, it is important to remember the rule formulated by the ancient Romans: "The speaker is not the measure of the listener, but the listener is the measure of the speaker."

social circles- communities created for the purpose of exchanging information between their members. These communities do not set any common goals, do not undertake joint efforts. Their function is to exchange information. For example, discuss the change in the dollar against other currencies, the performance of the national team in the qualifying round of the World Cup, the reforms planned by the government in the field of education, and so on. A variety of such social circles is a professional circle, for example, scientists, teachers, artists, artists. The most compact in composition is a friendly circle.

Social circles can nominate their leaders, form public opinion, and be the basis for the formation of social groups.

The most common concept in sociology is the social group.

Under social group is understood as a set of people united on the basis of joint activities, common goals and having an established system of norms, values, life guidelines. In science, several signs of a social group are distinguished:

Composition stability;

duration of existence;

Definiteness of the composition and boundaries;

General system of values and norms;

Awareness of one's belonging to a group by each individual;

Voluntary nature of association (for small groups);

The unification of individuals by external conditions of existence (for large social groups).

In sociology, there are a number of grounds for classifying groups. For example, by the nature of connections, groups can be formal and informal. According to the level of interaction within the group, primary groups (family, a company of friends, like-minded people, classmates) are distinguished, which are characterized by a high level of emotional ties, and secondary groups that have almost no emotional ties (work collective, political party).

Let us give an example of the classification of social groups for various reasons in the form of a table.

Table: Types of social groups

Basis for the classification of groups	Group type	Examples
by number of participants	small medium large	family, group of friends, sports team, board of directors of the company labor collective, residents of the microdistrict, university graduates ethnic groups, confessions, programmers
according to the nature of relationships and connections	formal informal	political party, labor collective cafe visitors
at the place of residence	settlement	townspeople, villagers, residents of the metropolitan metropolis, provincials
according to gender and age	demographic	men, women, children, old people, youth
by ethnicity	ethnic (ethnosocial)	Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Vepsians, Mari
by income level	socio-economic	rich (high income people), poor (low income people), middle class (middle income people)
by nature and occupation	professional	programmers, operators, teachers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, turners

This list could go on and on. It all depends on the basis of classification. For example, a certain social group can be considered all users of personal computers, mobile phone subscribers, the totality of subway passengers, and so on.

A rallying, group-forming factor is also citizenship - a person's belonging to the state, expressed in the totality of their mutual rights and obligations. Citizens of one state are subject to the same laws, have common state symbols. Belonging to certain political parties and organizations establishes ideological affinity. Communists, liberals, social democrats, nationalists imagine the future and the correct structure of society in different ways. In this regard, they are very similar to political communities and religious associations (confessions), only they pay more attention not to external changes, but to the inner world of people, their faith, good and evil deeds, and interpersonal relationships.

Special groups are formed by people with common interests. Sports fans from different cities and countries share a passion for their favorite sport; fishermen, hunters and mushroom pickers - search for prey; collectors - the desire to increase their collection; lovers of poetry - feelings about what they read; music lovers - impressions of music and so on. We can easily find all of them in the crowd of passers-by - the clothes of fans (fans) contain the colors of his favorite team, music lovers walk with players and are completely absorbed in their music, etc. Finally, students all over the world are united by the desire for knowledge and education.

We have listed quite large communities that unite thousands and even millions of people. But there are also countless smaller groups - people in line, passengers of the same compartment on the train, vacationers in a sanatorium, museum visitors, neighbors on the porch, street comrades, party participants. Unfortunately, there are also socially dangerous groups - gangs of teenagers, mafia organizations, extortionate racketeers, drug addicts and substance addicts, alcoholics, beggars, homeless people (homeless people), street hooligans, gamblers. All of them are either directly related to the underworld, or are under its scrutiny. And the boundaries of the transition from one group to another are very invisible. A regular casino visitor can instantly lose all his fortune, get into debt, become a beggar, sell an apartment or join a criminal gang. The same threatens drug addicts and alcoholics, many of whom at first believe that they will give up this hobby at any moment if they wish. Getting into the listed groups is much easier than getting out of them, and the consequences are the same - prison, death or an incurable disease.

A social group is a set of people who have a common social attribute and perform a socially necessary function in the structure of the social division of labor and activity (G.S. Antipova).

A social group is a collection of individuals who interact with each other in a certain way, are aware of their belonging to this group and are recognized as members of this group from the point of view of others (American sociologist R. Merton).

A social group is a formation of two or more people who come into contact for a specific purpose and consider this contact significant (C.R. Mills).

Large and small, primary and secondary social groups differ depending on the density, the form of implementation of ties and their constituent members.

The main object of sociological research is small social groups (a small social group can include from 2 to 15 - 20 people). A small social group is small in composition, its members are united by common activities and are in direct, stable, personal communication.

- a small number of staff;
– spatial proximity of its members;
- duration of existence;
- commonality of group values, norms and patterns of behavior;
- voluntariness of joining the group;
- informal control over the behavior of members.

Typology of small groups. Currently, about fifty different bases for the classification of small groups are known.

According to the level of group consciousness, the following types of groups are distinguished (according to L.I. Umansky):

1. conglomerate group - a group that has not yet realized the common goal of its activity (the concepts of a diffuse or nominal group are similar to this);
2. an association group with a common goal; all other signs (preparedness, organizational and psychological unity) are absent;
3. group-cooperation, characterized by the unity of goals and activities, the presence of group experience and preparedness;
4. group-corporation, which is higher than cooperation by the presence of organizational and psychological unity (sometimes such a group is called autonomous). The corporation is characterized by the manifestation of group egoism (opposing oneself to other groups, individuals, society) and individualism up to asociality (for example, a gang);
5. collective - a group distinguished by the highest level of social development, goals and principles of humanism;
6. gomphotheric (literally, “downed”) team, in which psychophysiological compatibility is added to all other qualities (for example, the crew of a spaceship).

The following features are inherent in a formal group: a clear and rational goal, certain functions, a structure based on a hierarchy, suggesting the existence of positions, rights and obligations determined by the relevant rules, formal relations between people are determined directly by their official position, and not by their personal qualities.

In an informal group (neighbors, companies at home or at work, etc.), which most often unites from 2 to 30 people, there are no fixed goals and positions, the structure of relations and the norms of relationships are determined directly by the personal qualities of people; there are no clearly regulated rules for membership, entry and exit from the group; members of an informal group know each other well, see each other often, meet and are in a relationship of trust, but not blood relationship.

The formal group, for its part, can be either official (enterprise, brigade, trade union, public or state organizations, etc.) or an unrecognized official structure, i.e., unofficial (secret organization, illegal group, etc.). Consequently, not every formal group is official, and therefore one should not use the terms “formal”, “official” (respectively, “informal”, “unofficial”) group as unambiguous.

The division into groups we have considered bears in itself a certain element of relativity; on the one hand, an informal group can turn into a formal one, for example, friends found an organization; on the other hand, a group can be both formal and informal, such as a school class.

Reference group. This term denotes that group (real or imaginary), the system of values and norms of which acts as a kind of standard for the individual. A person always (willingly or unwittingly) correlates his intentions and actions with how those whose opinion he values \u200b\u200bcan evaluate them, regardless of whether they are watching him really or only in his imagination.

The reference group can be:

- to which the individual belongs at the moment;
- of which he was formerly a member;
- to which he would like to belong.

The personified images of the people who make up the reference group form an “internal audience”, to which a person is guided in his thoughts and actions.

By the time of existence, temporary groups are distinguished, within which the association of participants is limited in time (for example, conference participants, tourists as part of a tourist group) and stable, the relative constancy of the existence of which is determined by their purpose and long-term principles of functioning (family, department employees, students of one group ).

Small groups are part of the immediate social environment in which a person's daily life is carried out and which largely determines his social behavior, determines the specific motives of his activity, and influences the formation of his personality.

A variety of small social groups are primary groups (the term was introduced into sociology by C. Cooley). A distinctive feature of these groups, according to Cooley, is the direct, intimate, interpersonal contact of its members, which is characterized by a high level of emotionality.

Through these groups, individuals get the first experience of social unity (an example of primary social groups is a family, a student group, a group of friends, a sports team). Through the primary group, individuals are socialized, they master patterns of behavior, social norms, values and ideals.

The main type of secondary social group is a large social group formed to achieve certain goals - an organization (political, productive, religious, etc.).

So, secondary groups:

– Usually quite significant in size;
- Arise to achieve a specific goal;
- They maintain formal relationships;
– Relationships are limited (represented by contacts).

Types of primary and secondary groups:

	Primary groups	Secondary groups
Conditions of existence	Spatial proximity Predominance of personal (internal) evaluation	Distance Dominance of external evaluation
Relationship characteristics	Spontaneity Informal governance	Organized Formal management
Relationship examples	Friend - enemy Husband - wife Parent - child Teacher - student	Seller - buyer Lecturer - listener Actor - spectator Head - subordinate
Group examples	Playing, family, neighbors	Church organization, professional organization

Large social groups are communities of people that differ from small groups in the presence of weak constant contacts between all their representatives, but they are united no less and therefore have a significant impact on social life.

A large social group is a quantitatively unlimited social community that has stable values, norms of behavior and socio-regulatory mechanisms (parties, ethnic groups, industrial and industrial and public organizations).

Large social groups include:

- ethnic communities (races, nations, nationalities, tribes);
- socio-territorial communities (sets of people permanently residing in a certain territory, having a similar lifestyle). They are formed on the basis of socio-territorial differences;
- socio-demographic communities (communities distinguished by gender and age characteristics);
- social classes and social strata (sets of people who have common social characteristics and perform similar functions in the system of social division of labor).

Social group development

The problem of the development of a social group has never been posed in order to clarify the different levels of this development, and, further, to reveal the specifics of the various parameters of group activity at each of these levels. However, without such an approach, the picture of the development of the group cannot be complete. A holistic view of the development of a group according to the characteristics of group processes allows for a more detailed analysis, when the development of group norms, values, the system of interpersonal relations, etc. is separately studied.

From the point of view of social psychology, the study of the characteristics of large social groups encounters a number of difficulties. The richness of methods for studying various processes in small groups often contrasts with the lack of similar methods for studying, for example, the psychological makeup of classes, nations, and other groups of this kind. Hence the conviction is sometimes born that the commonality of the psychology of large groups is not amenable to scientific analysis. The lack of tradition in such research further reinforces such views.

At the same time, social psychology in the exact sense of the word, without a section on the psychology of large social groups, cannot claim success at all. According to G. G. Diligensky, consideration of the psychology of large groups cannot be considered legitimate, because this is not one of the problems of this discipline, but its most important problem. “No matter how great the role of small groups and directly interpersonal communication in the processes of personality formation, these groups themselves do not create historically specific social norms, values, attitudes.” All these and other meaningful elements of social psychology arise on the basis of historical experience.

Referring to Diligensky G.G. "this experience will only "bring" to the individual through the medium of a small group and interpersonal communication. Therefore, the socio-psychological analysis of large groups can be regarded as the "key" to the knowledge of the content of the individual's psyche.

Along with the experience of large social groups, mass social processes and movements are also of paramount importance for understanding the substantive elements of social psychology. Important factors that determine the whole system of psychological characteristics of certain groups of people: the nature of social changes, transformations, direct participation in revolutionary movements, complex processes of forming public opinion.

Stages of development of a social group:

1. Diffuse group - in it, relationships are mediated not by the content of group activity, but only by likes and dislikes.
2. Association - a group in which relationships are mediated only by personally significant goals.
3. Corporation - relationships are mediated by personally significant, but asocial in their settings, the content of group activity.
4. Collective - interactions are mediated by personally significant and socially valuable content of group activities (team, crew, calculation).

Social groups of the population

One of the main means of personality development and the formation of its basic culture is the content of education.

Education is a purposeful process of upbringing and education in the interests of a person, society, state, accompanied by a statement of the achievement by a citizen (student) of the educational levels (educational qualifications) established by the state:

1) basic general education;
2) secondary (complete) general education;
3) initial vocational education;
4) secondary vocational education;
5) higher professional education;
6) postgraduate professional education.

The level of general and special education is determined by the requirements of production, the state of science, technology and culture, as well as social relations.

The educational level of the population is one of the most important characteristics of society and the country.

It is possible to single out a group of the world's leading countries in the field of education: Australia, Great Britain, Germany, India, Spain, Canada, Korea, China, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, USA, Finland, France, Sweden, Japan.

Of this group of countries, the highest indicators of the level of education of the population are:

Education index - Australia, Spain, Canada, Finland (education index 0.99);
- the share of the adult population with higher education - the USA (30%), the Netherlands (28%), Canada, Australia, Korea (23%);
- the number of university students - USA (13.2 million), India (11.8 million), China (10.8 million), Russia (6.9 million).

USA (with a huge margin from other countries), Great Britain, Germany, France, Australia - in the export of educational services.
- USA, Great Britain - in the international rankings of world universities.
- Finland, Korea, Japan - in the international study of functional literacy of students PISA24.
- China, India, USA - by the scale of development of distance education.
- India, China, Russia - on the dynamics of growth in the number of students in higher education.

Any society always has a social structure, which is understood as the totality of classes, strata, social groups, etc.

The social structure of society is always determined by the mode of production and changes accordingly as social relations change.

Social stratification (stratification of society) is a hierarchically ranked social inequality, as well as a process in which individuals and groups are unequal to each other and hierarchically grouped according to social characteristics. The stratification system implies a characteristic stratification and the way it is asserted.

This provision did not correspond to the social structure of society, being unscientific.

Since the beginning of perestroika, the understanding of the social structure of society has changed, for example, Academician Zaslavskaya proposed a new structure based on specific sociological studies:

1. Working class:
- medium-educated (the most massive type);
- workers (they take more from the state than they give).
2. Peasantry:
- rural workers;
- farmers;
- collective farmers.
3. Intelligentsia;
4. Military personnel;
5. Entrepreneurs;
6. Major business leaders;
7. State and party workers;
8. Top political leadership;
9. etc. (students, pensioners, declassed elements, homeless people, clergymen).

Currently, there are several models of stratification systems. Among them are Western and Eastern.

Western (on the example of the USA); includes seven status groups:

1. "Upper upper class" - chief executives of nationwide companies, co-owners of prestigious law firms, senior military officials, federal judges, archbishops, stockbrokers, medical luminaries, famous architects, artists;
2. "Upper class" - chief executives of medium-sized firms, mechanical engineer, newspaper publishers, doctors in private practice, practicing lawyer, college teacher;
3. "Upper middle class" - bank tellers, community college teachers, middle managers, high school teachers;
4. "Middle middle class" - bank employees, dentists, elementary school teachers, shift supervisors at enterprises, employees of insurance companies, managers of large stores;
5. "Lower middle class" - auto mechanics, hairdressers, bartenders, salespeople, hotel employees, skilled workers, postal workers, policemen, truck drivers;
6. "Middle lower class" - taxi drivers, semi-skilled workers, gas stations, waiters, porters;
7. "Lower lower class" - domestic servants, gardeners, porters, scavengers.

There are mixed stratification systems, in addition, according to scientists, people are in constant motion, and society is in development. Therefore, an important mechanism of social stratification is social mobility, which is defined as a change by an individual, family, social group, place in the social structure of society.

Vertical mobility is the movement of individuals, social groups from one stratum to another, in which the social position changes significantly (ascent, descent).

Horizontal mobility - the transition from one social group to another, located on the same social level.

Geographic mobility (migration) - change of residence, moving to another territory.

Some stratification tendencies of modern Russian society:

1. The gradual formation of a class system, with the continued influence of the etacracy (etacracy - the power of the state, based on ranks in the power hierarchy; class - the size of property and market exchange);
2. Change in the structure of employment. New professions, development of self-employment;
3. Polarization by property;
4. Actualization of the physical and technical system of stratification.

Social groups of children

A small group is defined as the simplest kind of social group with direct personal contacts and certain emotional relationships between all its members, specific values and norms of behavior; develop in all spheres of life and have an important impact on the development of personality. There are formal (relations are regulated by formal fixed rules) and informal (arising on the basis of personal sympathies).

Consider the specifics of a small group of kindergarten. The kindergarten group, on the one hand, is a socio-pedagogical phenomenon that develops under the influence of educators who set socially significant tasks for this group. On the other hand, thanks to the existing intra-group processes, it has the beginnings of self-regulation. Being a kind of small group, the kindergarten group is the genetically earliest stage of social organization, where the child develops communication and various activities, the first relationships with peers are formed, which are so important for the development of his personality.

With regard to the children's group T.A. Repin distinguish the following structural units:

1. behavioral, it includes: communication, interaction in joint activities and the behavior of a group member addressed to another.
2. emotional (interpersonal relationships). It includes business relations (in the course of joint activities), evaluative (mutual evaluation of children) and actually personal relationships. T.A. Repin suggests that preschoolers manifest the phenomenon of interconnection and interpenetration of different types of relationships.
3. cognitive (gnostic). It includes the perception and understanding of each other by children (social perception), the result of which are mutual assessments and self-assessments (Although there is also an emotional coloring, which is expressed in the form of a partiality of the image of a peer in a preschooler through the value orientations of the group and the specific personality of the perceiver).

In the kindergarten group, there are relatively long-term attachments between children. The existence of a relatively stable position of a preschooler in the group is traced (according to T.A. Repina, 1/3 of the children have an unfavorable position for the preparatory groups). A certain degree of situationality is manifested in the relations of preschoolers (children often forgot about their peers who were absent on the day of the experiment). The selectivity of preschoolers is due to the interests of joint activities, as well as the positive qualities of their peers. Also significant are those children with whom the subjects interacted more, and these children often turn out to be peers of the same sex. The question of what influences a child's position in a peer group is of paramount importance. By analyzing the quality and abilities of the most popular children, one can understand what attracts preschoolers to each other and what allows the child to win the favor of peers. The question of the popularity of preschool children was decided mainly in connection with the playing abilities of children. The nature of social activity and initiative of preschoolers in role-playing games was discussed in the works of T.A. Repina, A.A. Royak, V.S. Mukhina and others. The studies of these authors show that the position of children in a role-playing game is not the same - they act as leaders, others - as followers. The preference of children and their popularity in the group largely depend on their ability to invent and organize joint play. In the study of T.A. Repina, the position of the child in the group was also studied in connection with the success of the child in constructive activities. It has been shown that increased success in this activity increases the number of positive forms of interaction and raises the status of the child.

It can be seen that the success of the activity has a positive effect on the position of the child in the group. However, when evaluating success in any activity, it is not the result that matters, but the recognition of this activity by others. If the success of the child is recognized by others, which is in connection with the value orientations of the group, then the attitude towards him from his peers improves. In turn, the child becomes more active, self-esteem and the level of claims increase.

So, the basis of the popularity of preschoolers is their activity - either the ability to organize joint play activities, or success in productive activities.

There is another line of work that analyzes the phenomenon of children's popularity from the point of view of children's need for communication and the degree to which this need is satisfied. These works are based on the position of M.I. Lisina that the formation of interpersonal relationships and attachment is based on the satisfaction of communicative needs. If the content of communication does not correspond to the level of the subject's communicative needs, then the attractiveness of the partner decreases, and vice versa, adequate satisfaction of the basic communicative needs leads to the preference of a specific person who has satisfied these needs. The results of experimental work carried out under the guidance of M.I. Lisina, showed that the most preferred were children who demonstrate benevolent attention to their partner - benevolence, responsiveness, sensitivity to peer influences. A study by O.O. Papir (under the guidance of T.A. Repina) discovered that popular children themselves have an acute, pronounced need for communication and recognition, which they seek to satisfy.

So, the analysis of psychological research shows that the basis of children's elective attachments can be a variety of qualities: initiative, success in activities (including play), the need for communication and recognition of peers, recognition of an adult, the ability to satisfy the communicative needs of peers. Obviously, such a wide list of qualities does not allow us to identify the main condition for children's popularity. The study of the genesis of the group structure showed some trends that characterize the age dynamics of interpersonal processes. From the younger to the preparatory groups, a persistent, but not in all cases, pronounced age trend of increasing "isolation" and "stardom", reciprocity of relationships, satisfaction with them, stability and differentiation depending on the sex of their peers was found. An interesting age-related pattern is also revealed in the justification of the choices: younger preschoolers five times more often than children in preparatory groups named the positive qualities of their peers, which he showed in relation to them personally; the elders noted the qualities of a peer, in which an attitude towards all members of the group was manifested, in addition, if children of the first half of preschool age more often justify their choices by interesting joint activities, then children of the second half of the age - by friendly relations.

There are groups that are more prosperous than the others, with a high level of mutual sympathy and relationship satisfaction, where there are almost no "isolated" children. In these groups, a high level of communication is found and there are almost no children whom their peers do not want to accept in a common game. Value orientations in such groups are usually aimed at moral qualities.

Let's touch on the issue of children with communication difficulties. What are the reasons for their isolation? It is known that in such cases there cannot be a full-fledged development of the child's personality, because. the experience of learning social roles is depleted, the formation of the child's self-esteem is disrupted, contributing to the development of self-doubt in the child. In some cases, communication difficulties can cause these children to have an unfriendly attitude towards their peers, anger, and aggression as compensation.

A.P. Royak identifies the following characteristic difficulties:

1. the child strives for a peer, but he is not accepted into the game;
2. the child strives for peers, and they play with him, but their communication is formal;
3. the child leaves his peers, but they are friendly towards him;
4. the child moves away from peers, and they avoid contact with him.

A. the presence of mutual sympathy;
b. the presence of interest in the activities of a peer, the desire to play together;
c. the presence of empathy;
d. the ability to "adapt" to each other;
e. availability of the required level of gaming skills and abilities.

Thus, the kindergarten group is a holistic education, it is a single functional system with its own structure and dynamics. There is a complex system of interpersonal hierarchized connections of its members in accordance with their business and personal qualities, the value orientations of the group, which determine which qualities are most highly valued in it.

Let us consider how the communication of children with each other changes by the senior preschool age in the light of the concept of communication. As the main parameters, we take: the content of the need for communication, motives and means of communication.

The need for communication with other children is formed in the child during his lifetime. Different stages of preschool childhood are characterized by unequal content of the need for communication with peers. A.G. Ruzskaya and N.I. Ganoshchenko conducted a series of studies to identify the dynamics of the development of the content of the need for communication with peers and found out the following changes: the number of contacts between preschoolers and peers associated with their desire to share experiences with peers increases significantly (twice). At the same time, the desire for purely business-like cooperation with a peer in specific activities is somewhat weakening. It is still important for older preschoolers to respect peers and the opportunity to "create" together. There is a growing tendency for preschoolers to "play out" emerging conflicts and resolve them.

By the end of preschool age, the need for mutual understanding and empathy increases (under empathy we mean the same attitude, a similar assessment of what is happening, the consonance of feelings caused by a commonality of opinions). Research N.I. Ganoshchenko and I.A. Zalysin showed that in a state of excitement, children visually twice, and with the help of speech three times more often turned to a peer than to an adult. In communication with peers, the treatment of older preschoolers becomes more emotional than in contacts with adults. Preschoolers actively reach out to their peers for a variety of reasons.

The data shown shows. That the preschooler of the senior group of the kindergarten is not only more active with peers in an effort to share experiences with them, but the level of functioning of this need is higher. Equality of peers allows the child to directly "impose" his attitude to the world he perceives on the attitude of his partner. Thus, the need for communication is transformed from the younger preschool age to the older one, from the need for benevolent attention and play cooperation in the younger preschool age through the middle preschool age with its dominant need for the benevolent attention of a peer - to the older preschool age with its needs not only in benevolent attention, but also in experience.

The need for communication of a preschooler is inextricably linked with the motives of communication. Motives are the motivating forces of the activity and behavior of the individual. The subject is encouraged to interact with a partner, i.e. becomes the motives for communicating with him, it is precisely those qualities of the latter that reveal to the subject his own "I", contributes to his self-awareness (MI Lisina). In domestic psychology, there are three categories of motives for communication between older preschoolers and peers: business, cognitive and personal. The following age dynamics of the development of motives for communication with peers in preschoolers emerges. At each stage, all three motives operate: the position of leaders in two or three years is occupied by personal and business ones; in three or four years - business, as well as dominant personal; in four or five - business and personal, with the dominance of the former; at five or six years old - business, personal, cognitive, with an almost equal position; at six or seven years old - business and personal.

Thus, at the beginning, the child enters into communication with a peer for the sake of a game or activity, to which he is prompted by the qualities of a peer necessary for the development of exciting activities. During preschool age, the cognitive interests of children develop. This creates a reason for contacting a peer, in which the child finds a listener, connoisseur, and source of information. Personal motives that remain throughout preschool childhood are divided into comparing oneself with a peer, with his abilities, and the desire to be appreciated by a peer. The child demonstrates his skills, knowledge and personal qualities, encouraging other children to confirm their value. The motive of communication becomes his own qualities in accordance with the property of a peer to be their connoisseur.

In the field of communication with peers, M.I. Lisina distinguishes three main categories of means of communication: in younger children (2-3 years old), expressive and practical operations occupy a leading position. From the age of 3, speech comes to the fore and occupies a leading position.

At senior preschool age, the nature of interaction with a peer is significantly transformed and, accordingly, the process of learning a peer: a peer, as such, as a certain individuality, becomes the object of the child's attention. A kind of reorientation stimulates the development of peripheral and nuclear structures of the image of a peer. The child's understanding of the partner's skills and knowledge expands, and there is an interest in such aspects of his personality that were not noticed before. All this contributes to the selection of stable characteristics of a peer, the formation of a more holistic image of him. The dominant position of the periphery over the core is preserved, because the image of a peer is realized more fully and more accurately, and the distorting tendencies caused by the activity of nuclear structures (affective component) affect less. The hierarchical division of the group is due to the choice of preschoolers. Let's look at value relationships. The processes of comparison, evaluation arise when children perceive each other. In order to evaluate another child, it is necessary to perceive, see and qualify him from the point of view of the evaluation standards and value orientations of the kindergarten group that already exist at this age. These values, which determine children's mutual assessments, are formed under the influence of surrounding adults and largely depend on changes in the child's leading needs. Based on which of the children is the most authoritative in the group, what values and qualities are the most popular, one can judge the content of the children's relations, the style of these relations. In a group, as a rule, socially approved values predominate - to protect the weak, to help, etc., but in groups where the educational influence of adults is weakened, a child or a group of children who try to subjugate other children can become the "leader".

The content of the motives underlying the creation of play associations for older preschool children largely coincides with the content of their value orientations. According to T.A. Repina, children of this age called the community of interests, highly appreciated the business success of the partner, a number of his personal qualities, at the same time, it was revealed that the motive for uniting in the game may be the fear of being alone or the desire to command, to be in charge.

Social groups of societies

The concept of "social group" is one of the most important for sociology, and, from this point of view, it can be compared with such sociological concepts as social structure and social institution. At the same time, the widespread use of this concept makes it very vague. It is used in various senses, which cannot always be reduced to a common denominator. Nevertheless, one can try to give the following definition: a social group is an association of people who are connected by common relations, regulated by special social institutions, and have common goals, norms, values and traditions, and are also united by common activities. A social group is also understood in some cases as an association of people on some significant social basis.

A social group has a number of characteristics that are very important in terms of its integrity:

In a social group, a more or less stable interaction should take place, thanks to which the ties between members of the group become stronger and last for a long time;
a social group must be sufficiently homogeneous in its composition, that is, all its members must have a certain set of features that are valuable from the point of view of the group and allow its members to feel more united;
the social group in the overwhelming majority of cases belongs to wider social groups and communities.

According to N. Smelzer, groups perform the following functions:

1) they participate in socialization, i.e., they contribute to the fact that a person learns the skills necessary for social life, as well as the norms and values \u200b\u200bshared by the group and society as a whole;
2) they contribute to the organization of joint activities of people, that is, they perform an instrumental function;
3) they can also perform a supportive function in case people come together in a difficult situation or to solve a problem that they cannot solve alone;
4) groups perform an emotional function, give their members the opportunity to satisfy emotional needs (needs for warmth, respect, understanding, trust, communication, etc.).

In sociology, there are many classifications of social groups according to various criteria. Depending on the density, the form of implementation of the connections and interactions of their constituent members, and the functional role, primary and secondary, small and large, formal and informal, referential and other social groups are distinguished.

Primary social groups play the most important role in social life and in the life of each individual. The primary group is a social community characterized by a high level of emotional intimacy and social solidarity.

The characteristic features of the primary social group are: small size, spatial proximity of members, duration of existence, common group values of norms and patterns of behavior, voluntary entry into the group, informal control over the behavior of members.

The term "primary groups" was introduced into sociology by C. Cooley. A distinctive feature of these groups, according to Cooley, is the direct, interpersonal contact of their members, which is characterized by a high level of emotionality. These groups are "primary" in the sense that it is through them that individuals get their first experience of social unity. An example of primary social groups is a family, a school class, a student group, a group of friends, etc. Through the primary group, the initial socialization of individuals is carried out, they master patterns of behavior, social norms, values and ideals. We can say that it is she who plays the role of the primary link between the individual and society. It is through it that a person realizes his belonging to certain social communities, through it he participates in the life of the whole society.

The secondary social group is a social community, social connection and interaction in which are impersonal, utilitarian and functional. The primary group is always oriented towards the relationships between its members, while the secondary group is goal oriented. In these groups, individually unique personality traits are not of particular importance, but the ability to perform certain functions is more valued. Without a doubt, the secondary group can function in conditions of close emotional ties, friendships, but the main principle of its existence is the performance of specific functions, it is focused on achieving a specific goal. To understand the differences between primary and secondary social groups, consider the example of football teams. An example of a primary group is the so-called "yard team". It consists of people whose goal is to spend their leisure time, stretch, communicate, etc. Such teams can participate in certain championships, tournaments, but achieving high sports results, especially making money, is not their main task. An example of a secondary social group is football players, whose activities and everything connected with it (values, norms, etc.) are focused on obtaining a high sports result.

Primary groups are a kind of small social groups. A small social group is a small group whose members are united by common activities, interests, goals and are in direct stable communication with each other. The minimum size of a small group is two people (dyad). The maximum size of a small group can be up to 2-4 dozen people.

Small groups, most often, are the same primary groups: family, circle of friends, sports team, primary production team - brigade, etc. They are characterized by close, emotionally colored, informal relationships. In small groups as primary groups, group opinion is of great importance for the implementation of joint activities and relationships. Personal contacts allow all members of the group to participate in the development of group opinion and control the behavior of its members.

The size of the group significantly affects the quality of social interaction. With an increase in the number of people in a group, the possibility of constant personal contacts between all its members disappears. Due to the lack of personal contacts, the ability to develop a common group opinion is reduced, group self-identification is weakened. People are no longer aware of their belonging to a single community. To reflect the uniqueness of interaction depending on the quantitative composition, along with the concept of small social groups in sociology, there is the concept of a large social group. Large social groups or communities are a stable set of a significant number of people acting together, in solidarity in socially significant situations. Large groups include dozens, hundreds and even millions of members. These are classes, social strata, professional groups, national-ethnic communities (nationality, nation, race), demographic associations (men, women, youth, pensioners), etc. Due to their large number, members of these groups can be separated in time and space and not engage in direct communication with each other. Nevertheless, due to a number of factors that unite them, they constitute a certain group community. Belonging to one or another large social group is determined on the basis of a set of socially significant features. As noted earlier, a small social group can be both primary and secondary, a large social group can only be secondary.

Depending on the presence or absence of an official legal status and the nature of relations associated with this, social groups are divided into formal and informal. In a formal group, the position and behavior of individual members are regulated by normative documents (legal norms, charters, rules, service instructions, etc.). Formal groups are created to fulfill special goals, a certain range of tasks, in the solution of which this or that community is interested. Thus, a school is created for the purpose of educating and socializing the younger generation, an army for the defense of the country, an enterprise for the production of certain products and generating income, etc. A formal group is a secondary group. It can be either a large or a small group according to the number of participants.

Informal groups are a kind of small groups, they arise most often spontaneously. They are characterized by friendly trusting relationships between their members. In these groups, there is no rigid fixing of a place in the division of labor, roles and social positions with their inherent rights and obligations. The contacts of the members of an informal group are of a pronounced personal nature; the sympathies, habits, and interests of its members act as a rallying factor. Order is based on tradition, respect, authority. Social control is carried out with the help of informal norms, customs and traditions, the content of which depends on the level of cohesion of the group, the degree of its closeness to members of other social groups.

Reference groups are a special kind of social groups. A reference group is considered to be a group that, by virtue of its authority for an individual, is capable of exerting a strong influence on him. Otherwise, this group can be called a reference group. An individual may aspire to become a member of this group, and his activity is usually directed towards being more like its members. This phenomenon is called anticipatory socialization. In the usual case, socialization proceeds in the process of direct interaction within the framework of the primary group. In this case, the individual adopts the characteristics and modes of action characteristic of groups even before he has entered into interaction with its members.

Objective and subjective social groups are distinguished according to the given position: objective groups are groups that unite people regardless of their desire and will, for example, socio-demographic communities: children, women, etc. Subjective groups are groups of people that arise on based on their conscious choice. If a person decides to go to college, then naturally he voluntarily and consciously joins the student group.

Long-lived and fleeting social groups. By the time of existence, social groups are divided into durable groups - groups that exist for a long time, and transient - groups that exist for a short period of time.

The whole variety of social groups can be classified into the following types:

By type of main activity and main function - production and labor, socio-political, educational, executive-compulsory, family, military, sports, gaming;
by social orientation - socially useful, socially unsafe;
in terms of organization - unorganized, random groups, target, externally organized, internally organized;
according to the type of degree of order and regulation of relations - formal, informal;
by the level of direct impact on the personality - primary-secondary, main-non-main, reference;
as far as openness, communication with other groups - open, closed;
according to the level of strength and stability of internal ties - united, little united, disconnected;
according to the duration of existence - short-term, long-term.

Thus, society in its concrete life reality acts as a set of many social groups. The whole life of a person from birth to death takes place in these groups. A social group is a kind of intermediary between an individual and society.

The group is very important for a person. First of all, it is the group that provides a connection between a person and society. A person learns values due to the fact that his life is connected with other people - members of those groups in which he is a member. Even if a person opposes himself to society, this usually happens because he has adopted the values of his group.

In addition, the group also influences the personal qualities of a person, character, speech, thinking, interests, which, it would seem, are purely individual and have nothing to do with the social dimension of human existence. The child forms these qualities by communicating with parents, friends, relatives.

At the same time, a specific person, of course, cannot be reduced to membership in one group, since he certainly belongs to a sufficiently large number of groups at once. And indeed, we can distribute people into groups in many ways: by belonging to a confession; by income level; in terms of their attitude to sports, art, etc.

Belonging to a group implies that a person has some characteristics that, from the point of view of the group, are valuable and significant. The "core" of the group is formed by those members who have these characteristics to the greatest extent. The remaining members of the group form its periphery.

In a group, norms, rules, customs, traditions, rituals, ceremonies are born, in other words, the foundation of social life is laid. Man needs and depends on the group, perhaps more so than monkeys, rhinos, wolves, or mollusks. People survive only together.

Thus, the isolated individual is the exception rather than the rule. A person does not think of himself outside the group. He is a member of the family, student class, youth party, production team, sports team, etc.

Social groups are a kind of “engines” of social development; no changes in society can take place without their efforts. The quality of the functioning of all social institutions at a given historical moment also depends on the nature of social groups.

The type of society, its socio-political and state structure depends on which groups a society consists of, which of them occupy a leading position, which subordinates.

Average social group

In the social sciences, the concept of "organization" is used in two ways. On the one hand, organization is one of the processes of managing a social system. On the other hand, the organization is one of the types of social system. In general terms, an organization can be defined as an association of people aimed at achieving socio-economic goals and satisfying interests through joint labor activity and having a legal status determined by the laws of society. The criterion that distinguishes a social organization from all other types of social groups is a certain structure of relations and a system of interrelated interests that motivate labor activity. According to A. L. Sventsitsky, the organization can be defined in the most general way as a group with differentiation of roles.

The first classification is based on such a criterion (attribute) as the number, i.e. the number of people who are members of the group. Accordingly, there are three types of groups:

1) small group - a small community of people who are in direct personal contact and interaction with each other;
2) the middle group - a relatively large community of people who are in a mediated functional interaction;
3) a large group - a large community of people who are in social and structural dependence on each other. In table. presents the main differences between small, medium and large groups. The second classification is associated with such a criterion as the time of existence of the group. There are short-term and long-term groups. Small, medium and large groups can be both short-term and long-term. For example, an ethnic community is always a long-term group, while political parties can exist for centuries, or they can disappear very quickly from the historical stage. Such a small group, such as, for example, a team of workers, can be either short-term people unite to perform one production task and, having completed it, leave, or long-term - people work their entire working lives at the same enterprise in the same team.

The third classification is based on such a criterion as the structural integrity of the group. On this basis, primary and secondary groups are distinguished. The primary group is a structural subdivision of an official organization that is not further decomposable into its constituent parts, for example: a brigade, department, laboratory, department, etc. The primary group is always a small formal group. The secondary group is a set of primary small groups. An enterprise with several thousand employees, such as a factory, is called a secondary (or main) enterprise, since it consists of smaller structural divisions - workshops, departments. The secondary group is almost always the middle group.

Main differences between the groups:

	small group	middle group	large group
population	Dozens of people	Hundreds of people	Thousands and millions of people
	Personal: getting to know each other on a personal level	Status-role: acquaintance at the status level	Lack of contact
Membership	real behavioral	functional	Conditional socio-structural
Structure	Developed internal informal	Legally formalized (lack of a developed informal structure)	Lack of internal structure
Connections in the process of work	Direct labor	Labor, mediated by the official structure of the organization	Labor, mediated by the social structure of society
	A team of workers, a classroom, a group of students, employees of the department	Organization of all employees of an enterprise, university, firm	Ethnic community, socio-demographic group, professional community, political party

Thus, the organization of an industrial enterprise, firm, corporation, etc. is an average, secondary, most often long-term group. In social psychology, it has been established that the patterns of formation of the development of a group are largely determined by its size, the time of interaction between people and structural and functional unity. Consider the socio-psychological characteristics of the organization as a middle group.

Understanding the organization as an average social group makes it possible to identify the socio-psychological specifics of this type of group. Organizations that unite workers into one structure play an important role in the economic, political, and ideological life of society.

Their role is manifested mainly in the following:

In organizations, the majority of members of society are included in joint socially significant activities.
In organizations, a person gets the opportunity to work on modern means of production, for example, on complex machine tools with numerical control.
In the process of mastering a specialty, acquiring professional knowledge, skills and abilities, a subject of socially significant activity is formed.
In the process of communication in the organization, the goals and values of the individual are formed, aimed at meeting the needs of society.
In the process of joint labor activity, conditions are created for the development of the creative activity of the individual.

Socially organized activity implies the possibility of collective discussion and joint resolution of issues related to the activities of the enterprise, evaluation of the work of officials, the use of publicity, awareness, and control over their activities.

In social psychology, when studying organizations, structural-functional analysis is used. Under the structure of the organization is understood as a relatively constant system of relationships between employees and their connections as a whole. The functions of the organization are understood as various standardized actions regulated by social and legal norms and controlled by social institutions.

Social work group

Social work with a group or group social work is defined as a method of psychosocial work and as a form of social work if the number of objects of socio-psychological influence is taken as a criterion. In foreign scientific literature, social work with a group is traditionally defined as a method of social work. A group of clients who are included in the group process is considered as an object of social work. A group of specialists and professionals who participate in the work of interdisciplinary groups is the subject of social work.

The development of psychological approaches, techniques, activities of such groups took place within the framework of psychotherapy and practical psychology. The group process is built in accordance with psychoanalysis, behaviorism, cognitive psychology, humanistic psychology and other psychological theories and trends. Clients of group social work are people with problems of social adaptation and integration, victims of adverse conditions of socialization, those who have problems of psychological and emotional state as a result of life crises of different ages and social status.

American scientists K. Pappel and B. Rotman are considered to be the founders of the theoretical directions of group social work. They own the development of scientific approaches based on ego psychology, cognitive theory and social learning theory, relationship theory, role theory of personality, communication theory.

Ego psychology offers the social worker the opportunity to understand the behavior of the client as an individual and as a member of a group, to observe how his individual adaptation to reality, to other people, how he reacts to external pressure and internal anxiety. This allows us to explain the internal self-organization of the individual and his relationship with the outside world. When studying a personality, special attention is paid to the issues of development and adaptation, autonomy, freedom, and the peculiarities of the functioning of one's own self. The social worker, in the process of group work, tries to update the skills of psychological protection of clients, helps to develop them with the help of a group, to find various options for functioning. In his psychology, resistance is seen not as a conflict, but as a dialogue between the individual and the environment. According to the concepts of ego psychology, the main purpose of working with a group is to support the mental health of an individual, his identity, and the development of self-realization.

Cognitive theories and theories of social learning enable social workers to interpret and analyze the motives of the behavior of individuals in group interaction, determine the value orientations of clients, help them understand how they "feel each other", how their knowledge of the world and life situations are formed. The experience of group interaction forms value orientations, positive expectations, competence and skills of social interaction.

Relationship theory considers relationships in a group as certain stable connections that help the client understand their responsibilities in intergroup interaction, learn to coexist with other members of the group in changing circumstances, and form the necessary skills to "build" psychological distance in group interaction.

The role theory of personality is based on knowledge of role expectations, role conflicts, relationships that are formed in the process of group work. For a social worker, it is important to create conditions for the personal growth of the client, to improve his social functioning in society.

Communication theory creates an idea of the dynamic exchange of information between group members. Communication acts as a role-based exchange of information aimed at achieving a certain result. In this context, communication is a certain tool for solving problems of group work. The theory of communication allows a social worker to observe specific obstacles in the process of group dynamics that impede the social functioning of a person, develop programs to overcome them, and develop the skills to identify individual feelings and ideas in group communication.

The concept of group activity determines the formation of relations not only in the group space, but also outside it. The external social environment is included in the process of social work, when individual members of the group need to learn how to change the situation, influence its environment. Each member of the group can extrapolate individual concepts of competence, they can be accepted by the group or rejected by it. A feature of group social work is also its concept to cause the development of the group in the situation "group as a whole *". This means that over time, the group creates a structure of autonomous development, in which leaders appear who take on the functions of leadership, coordination of group processes.

It is believed that the main dominants of group work are spontaneity and planning. Actions unfold on the principle of "here and now", give customers the opportunity to gain experience that they can update in the future.

The following stages of the therapeutic process are distinguished:

1. Orientation stage - clients realize themselves as members of a group, roles are selected, orientation in a situation, fears of unknown events appear.
2. Stage of power - roles in the group are formed, there is a struggle for leadership, resistance increases, aggression directed at one or another member of the group can spread, norms and values are formed with the direct participation of the group.
3. Stage of negotiations - the group is structuring, group positive cohesion is formed, the goals, roles and tasks of the group are jointly determined, similar problems and emotional experiences are clarified.
4. Functional stage - the group actively works, showing an interest in solving problems, clients support each other, outlining the openness and spontaneity that characterize the features of this stage, at which decisions are made.
5. Group breakup stage - a situation when individual members of the group and the group as a whole come to a solution to their problems, clients formulate conclusions about the need to stop joint group activities.

Goals of the therapeutic process:

Change the perception of group members by studying group experience;
Change behavior that complicates the social functioning of the individual, through group relationships and the use of feedback mechanisms;
Recognize and change norms, values and attitudes for effective social functioning;
Achieve emotional stability that maintains the strength and vitality of the individual.

In social work, there are different targeted approaches to social group work:

Individual assessment (admission groups, work with images of older people, etc.).
Individual support and service (support for clients who are not capable of self-service and who experience difficulties in social adaptation).

Individual changes and social control (preventive work with groups of sexual aggression):

Socialization (work with groups on the formation of social skills for functioning in a micro-society);
- Interpersonal behavior (personal growth groups);
- Individual orientations and values (group work aimed at changing value orientations);
- Material circumstances (group work with the unemployed, those who receive material assistance);
- Personal protection (group work with minorities);
- Personal growth and development (T-groups).

Education, informing, training (legal groups, educational groups).

Leisure / compensation (development groups, permissive groups).

Mediation between individuals and social systems (mediation between groups, agencies, services).

Group changes and support (family work groups, communicative competence groups).

Changes in the environment (group work to change the surrounding living space).

Social change (group goals are related to the social and political interaction of the group and other social institutions).

Small social groups

A small group is a fairly stable association of people connected by mutual contacts.

A small social group is a small group of people (from 3 to 15 people) who are united by a common social activity, are in direct communication, and contribute to the emergence of emotional relationships.

With more people, the group is usually divided into subgroups.

Distinctive features of a small group:

Spatial and temporal co-presence of people. This co-presence of people enables personal contacts.
The presence of a permanent goal of joint activity.
The presence of an organizing principle in the group. It may or may not be personified in one of the members of the group (leader, manager), but this does not mean that there is no organizing principle. Simply in this case, the leadership function is distributed among the members of the group.
Separation and differentiation of personal roles (division and cooperation of labor, power division, i.e., the activity of group members is not homogeneous, they make their own, different contribution to joint activities, play different roles).
The presence of emotional relationships between members of the group that affect group activity, can lead to the division of the group into subgroups, form the internal structure of interpersonal relations in the group.
Development of a specific group culture - norms, rules, standards of life, behavior that determine the expectations of group members in relation to each other.

CLASSIFICATION OF SMALL SOCIAL GROUPS

Small groups are divided into formal and informal.

Formal groups are united by official goals and have a regulated structure necessary to achieve these goals.

Informal groups do not have a formally established structure. The interaction of members of an informal group is spontaneous, determined by their personal relationships, the commonality of the system of values. However, there is also a group hierarchy within it. Reference (from lat. referentis - reporting), or reference group - a group whose norms are recognized by the individual as the most valuable. So, a specialist focuses on a certain group of respected colleagues, an athlete - on the norms of known champions. Hardened criminals are not upset by the disapproval of most people, but they are sensitive to the position of their criminal group.

Different groups can be referential in different ways. A teenager may highly appreciate the norms of behavior of his comrades and parents. Many actions of a person in the microenvironment are explained by his desire for self-assertion in the reference group.

A socially positive group has a powerful impact on the socio-psychological development of the individual. Being included in these groups already from birth, the child draws from them all the components of social experience and human culture that he needs. In social groups, various abilities of the individual are realized. In them, he recognizes his own worth, realizes his strengths and weaknesses.

However, a social group can not only enhance, but also suppress the capabilities of an individual (the effect of group suppression is called inhibition). An asocial community can have a fatal impact on the fate of a person who has not undergone socialization. Random, situationally emerging asocial communities are especially dangerous for the emerging personality. In such communities, the individual is deindividualized, depersonalized. Entering the path of thoughtless obedience to a criminalized leader, a person leaves the path of social development, falls into the trap of primitive dependencies and duties, and its formation begins to be carried out according to the standards of ersatz culture.

The most effective development of an individual is determined by its orientation towards elite social groups - socially high-status groups that have received universal recognition as priority groups in society (table below).

Social groups may take different positions regarding basic social values. Their activities can be socially oriented (industrial, educational, socio-cultural, etc. associations), and social - oriented to meet the needs of only members of this group (hippies, rockers, breakers, etc.) and anti-social (criminal groups ).

The vital activity of the antisocial group is carried out according to strict canons, the rules of rank correspondence, the law of force, mutual responsibility, the persecution of the weak, etc. Criminal, antisocial groups have a fundamentally different organization that differs from socially positive groups.

Along with the socially developed, primitive groups stand out (yard associations, a company of drinking buddies, etc.).

In prisons, in the army, some informal groups acquire special power based on merciless cruelty to those who find themselves at the bottom of this micro social pyramid. The behavior of the ringleaders is characterized by extreme egoism, self-affirmation through unlimited power, ecstasy of permissiveness. Here, power is based on brute physical force - the most aggressive types are at the top, those who impose conflicts and are able to prevail in conflict confrontation. Assertion in power leads to further deformations - the ground for arrogance, arrogance and tyranny is created.

In socially positive informal groups, leaders are deeply respected, intelligent and highly moral individuals who care not about personal power, but about the development of the group, ensuring its success in intergroup selection.

Classification of social groups:

Basis of classification	Group Varieties
1. By way of education	spontaneously arisen - not official; specially organized - official; real; conditional
2. By the size of the group and the way its members interact	small; medium; large; contact (primary); remote (secondary)
3. By the nature of joint activities	practical (joint labor activity); gnostic (joint research activities); aesthetic (joint satisfaction of aesthetic needs); hedonic (leisure, entertaining and gaming); directly communicative; ideological; socio-political
4. By personal importance	reference; elite
5. By social importance	socially positive; asocial - socially destructive; antisocial - criminal, criminal

A significant part of the formal medium and small groups are production groups, labor collectives. These are groups of an open type - they are open to wide social ties, are constantly replenished with new members, and are integrated into broad professional associations. The activities of these groups are largely regulated: the order of their activities, the criteria for evaluating the results of their work are determined. The relevant social organizations are engaged in the formation of professional groups.

The society reproduces itself as an economically stable entity mainly through professional groups. However, the needs of society go far beyond professional activities. Along with professional and other formal groups, amateur social groups are constantly being formed in it, focused on the implementation of newly emerging social needs.

Major social groups

The concept of a social group summarizes the essential characteristics of the collective subjects of social ties, interactions and relationships, the main structural units of society. The Russian sociologist G. S. Antipova defines a social group as a set of people who have a common social attribute and perform a socially necessary function in the structure of the social division of labor and activity.

The American sociologist R. Merton defines a social group as a set of individuals interacting with each other in a certain way, aware of their belonging to this group and recognized as members of this group from the point of view of others. Thus, R. Merton distinguishes three main features in a social group: interaction, membership and unity.

Social groups, unlike mass communities, are characterized by:

1) stable interaction, which contributes to the strength and stability of their existence in space and time;
2) a relatively high degree of cohesion;
3) a distinctly expressed homogeneity of the composition, that is, the presence of signs inherent in all individuals included in the group;
4) entry into wider communities as structural formations.

Large and small, primary and secondary social groups differ depending on the density, the form of implementation of ties and their constituent members. The main object of sociological research are small social groups (from 2 to 15-20 people). A small social group is small in composition, its members are united by common activities and are in direct, stable, personal communication.

The characteristic features of a small social group are:

1) small staff;
2) spatial proximity of members; 3) duration of existence;
4) commonality of group values, norms and patterns of behavior;
5) voluntariness of joining the group;
6) informal control over the behavior of members.

A variety of small social groups are primary groups. The term "primary groups" was introduced into sociology by C. Cooley. A distinctive feature of these groups, according to Cooley, is the direct, intimate, interpersonal contact of its members, which is characterized by a high level of emotionality. These groups are "primary" in the sense that it is through them that individuals get their first experience of social unity. An example of primary social groups is a family, a school class, a student group, a group of friends, a sports team, etc.

Through the primary group, individuals are socialized, they master patterns of behavior, social norms, values and ideals. We can say that it plays the role of the primary link between society and the individual. Through it, a person realizes his belonging to certain social communities, through it he participates in the life of the whole society.

The secondary group is formed from people between whom only minor emotional relationships have developed. Their interaction is subordinated only to the achievement of certain goals. In these groups, individually unique personality traits do not matter, but the ability to perform certain functions is more valued. The main type of secondary social group is a large social group formed to achieve certain goals - an organization (political, productive, religious, etc.).

Socio-psychological group

In order to most generally characterize the conditions of activity of a particular group, its internal environment, the concepts of "socio-psychological climate", "moral-psychological climate", "psychological climate", "emotional climate" are often used. In relation to the labor collective, one sometimes speaks of a "production" or "organizational" climate. In most cases, these concepts are used in an approximately identical sense, which does not exclude significant variability in specific definitions. In the domestic literature, there are several dozen definitions of the socio-psychological climate and various research approaches to this problem (Volkov, Kuzmin, Parygin, Platonov, etc.).

The socio-psychological climate of the group is a state of the group psyche, due to the characteristics of the life of this group. This is a kind of fusion of the emotional and intellectual - attitudes, attitudes, moods, feelings, opinions of group members, all the individual elements of the socio-psychological climate. The mental states of the group are characterized by varying degrees of awareness. It is necessary to clearly distinguish between the elements of the socio-psychological climate and the factors influencing it. For example, the peculiarities of the organization of labor in any work collective are not elements of the socio-psychological climate, although the influence of the organization of labor on the formation of a particular climate is undoubted.

The socio-psychological climate is always a Reflected, subjective formation, in contrast to the Reflected - the Objective life of a given group and the conditions in which it takes place. Reflected and reflected in the sphere of public life are dialectically interconnected. The presence of a close interdependence between the socio-psychological climate of the group and the behavior of its members should not lead to their identification, although the peculiarities of this relationship cannot be ignored. Thus, the nature of relationships in the group (reflected) acts as a factor influencing the climate. At the same time, the perception of these relationships by its members (reflected) is an element of climate.

When addressing the problems of the socio-psychological climate of the group, one of the most important is the consideration of the factors that influence the climate. Having singled out the factors influencing the climate of the group, one can try to influence these factors and regulate their manifestation. Let's consider the problems of the socio-psychological climate on the example of the Primary labor group - a brigade, a link, a bureau, a laboratory. We are talking about elementary organizational units that do not have any official structural units. Their number can vary from 3-4 to 60 people or more. This is the “cell” of every enterprise and institution. The socio-psychological climate of such a cell is formed due to a variety of different influences. Let us conditionally divide them into factors of the macroenvironment and the microenvironment.

The macroenvironment means a large social space, a wide environment within which this or that organization is located and carries out its vital activity. First of all, this includes the cardinal features of the socio-economic structure of the country, and more specifically, the specifics of this stage of its development, which is appropriately manifested in the activities of various social institutions. The degree of democratization of society, the features of state regulation of the economy, the level of unemployment in the region, the probability of bankruptcy of an enterprise - these and other factors of the macro environment have a certain impact on all aspects of the organization's life. The macro environment also includes the level of development of material and spiritual production and the culture of society as a whole. The macroenvironment is also characterized by a certain social consciousness, reflecting the given social being in all its contradictions.

Thus, the members of each social group and organization are representatives of their era, of a particular historical period in the development of society. Ministries and departments, concerns, joint-stock companies, the system of which includes an enterprise or institution, carry out certain managerial influences in relation to the latter, which is also an important factor in the influence of the macro environment on the socio-psychological climate of the organization and all its constituent groups. As significant factors of the macro environment that affect the climate of the organization, it should be noted its diverse partnerships with other organizations and with consumers of their products. In a market economy, the influence of consumers on the climate of the organization increases. The microenvironment of an enterprise, institution is the "field" of people's daily activities, those specific material and spiritual conditions in which they work. At this level, the effects of the macro environment acquire certainty for each group, a connection with the reality of life practice.

The conditions of daily life activity form the attitude and mentality of the primary labor group, its socio-psychological climate. First of all, these are factors of the material environment: the nature of labor operations performed by people, the condition of equipment, the quality of workpieces or raw materials. Of great importance are also the features of the organization of labor - shifts, rhythm, the degree of interchangeability of workers, the level of operational and economic independence of the primary group (for example, teams). The role of sanitary and hygienic working conditions, such as temperature, humidity, illumination, noise, vibration, is essential. It is known that the rational organization of the labor process, taking into account the capabilities of the human body, ensuring normal working and resting conditions for people have a positive effect on the mental state of each employee and the group as a whole. And, on the contrary, certain malfunctions of equipment, imperfections in technology, organizational turmoil, irregularity of work, lack of fresh air, excessive noise, abnormal temperature in the room and other factors of the material environment negatively affect the climate of the group. Therefore, the first direction in improving the socio-psychological climate is to optimize the complex of the above factors. This task should be solved on the basis of the developments of specialists in occupational hygiene and physiology, ergonomics and engineering psychology.

Another, no less important group of microenvironment factors are impacts, which are group phenomena and processes at the level of the primary labor group. These factors deserve close attention due to the fact that they are a consequence of the socio-psychological reflection of the human microenvironment. For brevity, we will call these factors socio-psychological. Let's start with such a factor as the nature of the official organizational ties between the members of the primary labor group. These connections are enshrined in the formal structure of the unit.

The differences between the types of such a structure can be shown on the basis of the following “models of joint activity” identified by Umansky:

1. Joint-individual activity: each member of the group does his part of the common task independently of others (team of machine operators, spinners, weavers).
2. Joint-sequential activity: a common task is performed sequentially by each member of the group (team assembly line).
3. Joint-interacting activity: the task is performed with direct and simultaneous interaction of each member of the group with all its other members (team of installers).

There is a direct relationship between such models and the level of development of the group as a team. Thus, “cohesion in direction” (unity of value orientations, unity of goals and motives of activity) within the limits of a given group activity is achieved faster with the third model than with the second, and even more so with the first. By themselves, the features of one or another "model of joint activity" are ultimately reflected in the psychological traits of labor groups. The study of teams at a newly created enterprise showed that satisfaction with interpersonal relationships in these primary groups increases as the transition from the first "model of joint activity" to the third (Dontsov, Sarkisyan).

Along with the system of official interaction, the socio-psychological climate of the primary labor group is greatly influenced by its informal organizational structure. Of course, comradely contacts during work and at the end of it, cooperation and mutual assistance form a different climate than unfriendly relations, manifested in quarrels and conflicts. When discussing the important formative influence of informal contacts on the socio-psychological climate, it is necessary to take into account both the number of these contacts and their distribution. Within the same brigade, there may be two or more informal groups, and the members of each of them (with strong and benevolent intra-group ties) oppose members of "non-own" groups.

Considering the factors influencing the climate of the group, one should take into account not only the specifics of formal and informal organizational structures, taken separately, but also their specific relationship. The higher the degree of unity of these structures, the more positive the impacts that shape the climate of the group.

The nature of leadership, manifested in a particular style of relationship between the immediate supervisor of the primary labor group and the rest of its members, also affects the socio-psychological climate. Workers who consider shop managers to be equally attentive to their production and personal affairs are usually more satisfied with their work than those who claim that they are neglected by managers. The democratic leadership style of the foremen of the teams, the common values and norms of the foremen and workers contribute to the formation of a favorable socio-psychological climate.

The next factor affecting the climate of the group is due to the individual psychological characteristics of its members. Each person is unique and unrepeatable. His mental warehouse is a combination of personality traits and properties that creates the originality of the character as a whole. Through the prism of personality traits, all the influences of the external environment are refracted. The relationship of a person to these influences, expressed in his personal opinions and moods, in behavior, represents his individual "contribution" to the formation of the climate of the group. The psyche of the group should not be understood only as the sum of the individual psychological characteristics of each of its members. This is a qualitatively new education. Thus, for the formation of this or that socio-psychological climate of a group, it is not so much the individual properties of its members that matter, but the effect of their combination. The level of psychological compatibility of group members is also a factor that largely determines its climate.

Summarizing what has been said, we single out the following main factors influencing the socio-psychological climate of the primary labor group.

Impacts from the macro environment: characteristic features of the current stage of the socio-economic and socio-political development of the country; the activities of higher structures that manage this organization, its own management and self-government bodies, public organizations, the relationship of this organization with other city and district organizations.

Influences from the microenvironment: the material and material sphere of activity of the primary group, purely socio-psychological factors (the specifics of formal and informal organizational ties in the group and the relationship between them, the style of group leadership, the level of psychological compatibility of workers).

When analyzing the socio-psychological climate of the primary labor group in a specific situation, it is impossible to attribute any influence to only the macro environment, or only the micro environment. The dependence of the climate of the primary group on the factors of its own microenvironment is always determined by the macroenvironment. However, when solving the problem of improving the climate in one or another primary group, one should pay priority attention to the factors of the microenvironment. It is here that the effect of purposeful influences is most clearly visible.

Relationships in social groups

It is unlikely that anyone will dispute the statement: "Man is connected with other people and society with thousands of invisible threads." The simplest element of any kind of social activity of people is social action. Social action must be necessarily conscious and focused on the behavior of other people. Not every human action is social. For example, fishing, making tools are not social activities if they do not correlate with the behavior of other people. Suicide will not be social if its consequences do not influence the behavior of acquaintances or relatives of the suicide.

Social actions can be divided into four types:

Physical action, such as slapping, handing over a book, writing on paper;
verbal, or verbal, for example, an insult, an expression of greeting with the word “hello”;
gestures as a kind of action: smile, handshake.

At the same time, even a simple observation shows that social action, considered as an attempt by one individual to change the behavior of another, rarely occurs in practice in a separate form. When someone tries to convince another that he is right, it is obvious that this is not communication with an inanimate object, a dumb being. This other may actively object or agree, but in one way or another he also performs social actions. Obviously, the first will experience the action of the second, i.e. there is an exchange of actions, or social interaction.

Social interaction is a systematic, fairly regular social actions of partners aimed at each other, with the goal of evoking a well-defined response from the partner; moreover, the response generates a new reaction of the influencer. Communicating with friends, colleagues, relatives, a person constantly carries out social interactions, which are even more diverse in forms of manifestation than social actions. First, like actions, social interactions are divided into physical, verbal, gestural.

Secondly, social interactions can be classified into areas:

The economic sphere, where individuals act as owners and employees, unemployed, entrepreneurs;
- professional sphere, where individuals act as drivers, miners, cooks, lawyers;
family-related sphere, where people act as fathers, mothers, sons, aunts, widows, newlyweds;
- demographic sphere, including contacts between representatives of different sexes, ages, etc.;
- the political sphere, where people oppose or cooperate as representatives of political parties;
- the religious sphere implies contacts between representatives of different religions, one religion, as well as believers and non-believers;
- territorial-settlement sphere - clashes, cooperation between local and newcomers, urban and rural, emigrants.

One of the special forms of manifestation of social interactions, which is characterized by duration, stability and systematic, their self-renewal, are social relations. These are, for example, interpersonal, intergroup, international and others. The peculiarity of social relations lies in the fact that they are not reducible to relations only economic, only political or spiritual, since the individual and his groups are the carriers of the totality of social relations.

Depending on the originality of the subjects, social relations are divided into social-group (social strata, classes, groups); socio-demographic (men, women, children, pensioners, etc.); socio-ethnic ("nations, nationalities, etc.); socio-professional (labor collectives, professional associations); interpersonal (personalities), etc.

Social group activities

Social psychology, exploring the patterns of behavior and activities of people, due to their inclusion in real social groups, emphasizes the importance of analyzing the specifics of the impact on the personality of a particular social group. This approach is justified from the point of view of the activity theory methodology. According to Yu. A. Sherkovin, it is important to understand the group as a community of interacting people acting as the subject of action.

For the individual, the group is significant, first of all, as a certain system of activity, the place of which is determined by its place in the social division of labor. In this case, the group itself acts as a subject of a certain activity and through it is included in the system of social relations.

The commonality of the content and forms of group activity also gives rise to the commonality of its psychological characteristics. Considering a group as a subject of activity, the following group formations are distinguished: group interests, group needs, group norms, group values, group goals, group opinion. The acceptance of these characteristics by a person indicates psychological closeness with other members of the group, the awareness of one's belonging to a new group - the social identification of the individual.

V. F. Porshnev found that the main psychological characteristic of a group is the presence of the concept “we are feelings”, which reflects the need to separate from another community and is an indicator of the awareness of a person’s belonging to this particular group. However, it must be remembered that this criterion is not absolute, since “we are a feeling” does not always arise in relation to the group in which the individual is actually included.

When solving certain specific issues of social psychology, it becomes necessary to expand the range of ideas about the group as a subject of activity. It's about social perception. In this context, the group can be both the object and the subject of perception. In practice, this happens when one speaks of the relationship of one group to another, i.e., one of the groups acts as a subject (hostile attitude, neutral, friendly, etc.).

The study of group norms, values and decisions helps to reveal the mechanism of communication between the individual and society. Social activity in its concrete manifestation is the main feature of a social group. It contributes to the formation of a psychological community between group members, which is why joint group activity becomes an object of study in social psychology.

Large social groups

A large social group is a social community whose members, having no direct contacts with each other, are indirectly connected by psychological mechanisms of group communication.

Signs of large social groups:

1) have a structural and functional organization;
2) socio-psychological regulators of the life of large groups are group consciousness, customs and traditions;
3) a certain mental warehouse, group psychology;
4) influence the formation of the corresponding type of personality - typical representatives of a class, party, nation, etc.;
5) a certain set of social norms governing interaction.

Types of large social groups:

1) by the nature of intergroup and intragroup social ties:
a) objective macrogroups - a group in which people are united by a community of objective ties that exist independently of the consciousness and will of these people;
b) subjective-psychological macrogroups - groups that arise as a result of a conscious association of people;
2) by time of existence:
a) long-existing groups (classes, nations);
b) temporarily existing groups (crowd, audience);
3) by organization-disorganization:
a) organized groups (parties, unions);
b) unorganized (crowd);
4) upon occurrence:
a) arising spontaneously (crowd);
b) deliberately organized (parties, associations);
5) according to the contact of group members:
a) conditional groups - groups created on a certain basis (gender, age, profession, etc.), in which people do not have direct contacts with each other;
b) real large groups - really existing groups in which people have close contacts with each other (rallies, meetings);
6) by openness:
a) open;
b) closed - membership is determined by the internal regulations of the groups.

Levels of development of large social groups:

1) typological - people united in groups of this level have common features that do not form the basis for creating a psychological community. Such groups do not have unity;
2) identification - characterized by the presence of group self-awareness; group members are aware of their belonging to this group, identify themselves with its members;
3) solidaristic - characterized by the awareness by the members of the group of the commonality of their interests, the readiness of the group for joint actions in the name of group goals.

Factors that determine the level of psychological commonality of groups:

1) the degree of identification of group members;
2) the degree of heterogeneity and homogeneity of the group;
3) the nature of intra-group communications and the openness of the group to inter-group communications, the influence of the mass media of public opinion, which sets;
4) social mobility - the ability to move from one social group to another;
5) social and historical experience of the group;
6) the ideology of uniting people.

Elements of social psychology depending on the spheres of the psyche:

1) elements of the motivational-need sphere:
a) general group needs;
b) common group interests;
c) motives of activity;
d) life values;
e) goals and social attitudes;
2) elements of the cognitive sphere are a reflection of social processes, the status of groups in the system of social relations, the level of development of the spiritual life of society:
a) group consciousness;
b) social perception and thinking;
c) collective representations;
d) public opinion;
e) mentality;
3) elements of the affective sphere:
a) social feelings;
b) public sentiment;
c) affects;
4) elements of the behavioral-volitional sphere:
a) stereotypes of group behavior;
b) group skills;
c) social customs;
d) group skills.

Social groups of the region

Types of migration movements:

External - the movement of people from one country to another. Distinguish between emigration and immigration.

In external migration, illegal migration is distinguished.

Internal - the movement of people within one country.

Irrevocable - not only with the siena of the place of residence, but also often with a change of citizenship.

Permanent - temporary - (according to the UN definition, permanent migrants are those who leave for 1 year or more).

Seasonal - repetitive movement of people at certain times of the year.

Pendulum - regular, sometimes daily, movement of people from the place of residence and the place of work, study, etc. located in another settlement.

Episodic in form: organized and unorganized.
Selective - migration of representatives of a certain category or group of people of one or one social. class or stratum, territorial and ethnic groups, national minorities, etc.

Reasons for migration: economic, social, cultural, political, religious, environmental, etc.

The migration process is divided into 3 stages:

1. making a decision to migrate;
2. directly moving;
3. adaptation, accommodation.

A social group is a collection of individuals who have common interests, group attitudes and orientations. It is characterized by the normative regulation of its activities. A social group means the joint activity of its members within the framework of its own space-time continuum (an inextricable link between activities, phenomena, processes in time and space).

Essential elements:

The central element is the activity of the group and each of its members, which is determined by their place in the system of social division of labor, connections and relations. Activity is determined by the nature of this group, in addition, it is decisive for interpersonal relationships;
- functional structure of group activity, around which activity is built: individual, intergroup.

There are three main classifications of real social groups:

1. according to the volume or number of individuals included in them: large and small;
2. by origin: primary and secondary;
3. by the nature of the organization: formal and informal.

A large group differs from a small group in three ways:

1) it includes a significant number of members;
2) is characterized by the absence of mandatory personal contacts;
3) Has a relatively lower degree of cohesion and organization.

Example: class, nation.

The origin of these groups can be a random and regular audience, public, crowd, social class, professional group, national-ethnic due to the historical development of society, division of labor.

Small group:

Few in composition;
- members are united by common social activities;
- are in direct personal communication, which is the basis for the emergence of emotional relationships, group norms and processes. Minimum - 2-3 people; The maximum is different for everyone, the maximum is determined by the need for joint group activity. MG, as well as social relations, act in the form of direct personal contacts.

The primary variety of a small group, the main difference is that it ensures the successful entry of an individual into other groups, their socialization.

Main functions:

1. The formation of moral standards that a person receives in childhood and carries through his whole life.
2. Act as a means of supporting people.

They arise due to direct personal contacts face to face and are characterized by the complete interconnectedness of the members of the group and the identification of members in it. Etc. family, friends, peers.

Secondary, in their essence, are a kind of large group (organization, social institution). In secondary groups there is no direct interaction of members. The main difference from the primary one is that it is focused on achieving goals, while the primary one is aimed at establishing relationships. Example, the group of students is primary, the institute is secondary.

Formal groups - they have a rule of organization, and they have prohibitions and permissions sanctioned by society. In this group, relations are formalized and the main function of the formal group is to ensure high orderliness and controllability of actions when achieving the goal. In a formal group, on the basis of accepted norms, all positions and roles of its members are clearly distributed and assigned. Example, the staff of the department.

Informal does not have a clear standardization. The behavior of members is not regulated (this does not mean a lack of order or organization). Under certain conditions, an informal group can become formal, since in the course of its activities it can acquire the features of a formal group (political parties). There is a feature in their interaction - the second can be formed inside the first. The role of an informal group can be both negative and positive; its appearance is associated with the appearance of an informal leader.

The reference group is a real or imaginary social group that acts as a standard for the individual, with which he compares his social position, behavior and attitudes, it may be a group that a person enters, and he tries to learn all subcultural features. If the reference group is imaginary, then it can be referred to a nominal group (conditional): a statistical nominal group does not imply mandatory direct ties between people (by age, by place of residence). If the selection is carried out by the researcher himself, then it is called artificial. A certain part of the nominal groups is close to real, that is, it may have the quality of cohesion and contact. According to the given position, social groups are distinguished: objective (their position is given, defined, independent of will, desire, consciousness or need), social class.

Quasigroups are spontaneous, unstable groups.

Kinds:

Lecture hall;
- crowd;
- social circles;
- ingroup - a group to which an individual belongs;
- outgroup is different.

Moreno's theory belongs to the category of socio-psychological direction. He introduced such concepts as social distance, social distance, which determined the psychological relations between groups. At the same time, the main component of social distance is the relationship, the relationship that is established between individuals and social groups.

In the late 1930s, the theory of group dynamics by K. Levin appeared:

1. Small groups can be considered as integral formations.
2. The laws that characterize processes in small groups can be projected onto society as a whole.

The second principle is debatable, since here there is an exaggeration of the role of a small group as a social phenomenon, since, as a result of this principle, it can be assumed that all social problems can be solved at the level of a small group.

In the 40s - the beginning of the Second World War - the army attracted great attention. Conducted sociological research. Stauffer drew attention to the study of social groups in the American army, and above all to the role of high morale in the formation of social groups. From this moment, the concept of a reference group is introduced, it can be real or imaginary and acts as a social standard for the individual. A person constantly compares himself with this group, his behavior.

In the 1950s and 1980s, special attention is paid to voluntary associations, a bureaucratic mechanism that compares social groups with social organizations. As a result, the independent theory of social groups ceases to exist. Everything is considered already in connection with the theory of social organizations. The social characterization of social groups cannot be separated from achievements in the field of social psychology.

Social group individual

A social individual, Schizophrenic wrote, is an individual, a group of people, an association of groups, and even an entire country. An elementary social individual (I will omit the word "social" for brevity) is not divided into two or more different individuals (an individual person). Complex consists of two or more individuals. A normal individual has an organ with which he reflects and evaluates the situation, determines what is better and what is worse for him and for others, foresees the immediate consequences of his actions and the actions of other people. In a person it is the brain, and in groups of people it is the managing persons and organizations consisting of people. The purpose of this body is to provide the most favorable conditions for the existence of the individual.

I proceed from the assumption that a normal individual (the vast majority of such individuals) correctly assesses his position in society, his possibilities, external circumstances, the immediate consequences of his actions, and so on. Precisely the closest ones, because this is enough for the operation of social rules. It is impossible to foresee the consequences of actions far (for a long time ahead) not so much because of the complexity of situations, but because of fundamentally unforeseen circumstances. Yes, this is not necessary. For social existence, it is enough to know the immediate consequences of people's actions, and individuals are capable of this. For example, A knows that if he denounces B, then B will be in trouble (they will remove him from the manager, not let him get a bonus, cancel his trip abroad, etc.), and this is enough for A. Individuals may find themselves in a bad position as a result of their actions, but this cannot be regarded as the result of errors in social behavior. Individuals, socially speaking, do not make mistakes. The concept of error does not apply here at all. If, for example, as a result of A's denunciation of B, there will eventually be trouble for A because of this, then A's denunciation is not a mistake. Here A acted in full accordance with some social law, and nothing more. And what it led to has nothing to do with the law as such. Just like a glass falling on the floor breaks. But this is not the fault of the glass. This is the result of the action of physical laws, and nothing more.

The social individual, further, has the ability to make volitional decisions, has freedom of will and choice, at least in relation to some actions. For example, an individual is free to vote for the acceptance of a given article for publication or against. Speaking of free will in relation to a given action, I mean here only the following: the implementation or non-performance of a given action depends solely on the consciousness and will of the individual himself. The social individual, furthermore, to some extent sufficient to be considered as a whole, dominates his body. If this is a group of people, then the specified sign means that the persons led by them are subordinate to the leading person or organization. Finally, the social individual has a striving for self-preservation, avoids worsening his situation, strives to improve his living conditions, and so on. and takes action to do so. The task of sociology is, first of all, to trace the rules by which these principles are realized in social life.

In other words, the social individual carries out his actions in accordance with the principles:

1) he voluntarily and knowingly does not do anything that is contrary to his interests;
2) if he can use his social position in his own interests with impunity (small punishment does not count), he uses it to the maximum.

So bribes, coercion of subordinates to cohabitation and complicity in fraud, fraud for profit, use of public funds for personal purposes, etc. - all this (as well as officially established privileges in the form of closed distributors, cars, dachas, reservations for all types of services, etc.) are natural phenomena of people's social life. And only the fear of exposure and punishment somehow keeps (and even then for the time being and on a small scale) from possible catastrophic consequences.

These features are included in the very definition of the term "social individual". The social individual also has other features. This is the position in society, the power of influence, the degree of security, the degree of harmfulness (danger) to others, the power of grasping (appropriation), the power of bestowal, the power of intellect, the level of morality, the degree of resourcefulness, conscience, etc. All these signs can be precisely determined, so that as a result some of them will be derived from others. All these signs are, in principle, measurable.

What the individual thinks of himself and what others think of him more or less coincide (in any case, there is a tendency to coincide). For himself, an individual can be arbitrarily complex and spiritually rich. From a social point of view, this plays a rather negative role for the individual if spiritual wealth goes beyond the usual or professional average. From a social point of view, the individual is presented as a blank without an internal structure with clearly fixed forms and functions. Social progress partly consists in the formation of individuals who perform more complex functions, but have a simpler internal (spiritual) structure. How the individual thinks does not matter at all. What matters is how he does it. And he acts according to social rules.

The social individual is neither evil nor kind. He simply possesses the mentioned qualities to one degree or another. The question of measuring these qualities is not fundamental. Here you can offer a variety of methods. The values of these qualities of individuals are enclosed within certain socially acceptable limits (the latter are historically transient, but are quite definite in each era). Going beyond this framework is dangerous both for the individual himself and for those with whom he has to deal. Excessive intelligence, for example, is just as dangerous from a social point of view as excessive stupidity.

Every social individual has a social position and an official position. The social position of an individual is a function of many parameters - the position held, the prestige of the profession, the opportunity to have various kinds of privileges, connections, influence, etc. The official position is determined by the position held and the official status of the latter. There is no complete coincidence of social and official position, and in a sufficiently large and differentiated society it cannot be achieved in practice. However, due to the tendency towards the coincidence of officiality and sociality, there is a tendency to establish a correspondence here as well. This is expressed, in particular, in the desire to establish such standards of life that income, honor, fame, etc. were determined solely by the official position of individuals (for a boss to have a better apartment than a subordinate, a higher salary, a better dacha; for an academician to be considered a greater scientist than a corresponding member, and the latter - than a simple doctor, etc.). The social individual seeks to improve his social position. From this point of view, all individuals are careerists, ambitious, money-grubbers, etc., but not everyone manages to achieve what they want, and the majority from the very beginning is aware of the hopelessness of efforts and resigns itself to acting as a virtue. And only a few of those who could successfully participate in the struggle for social success find the strength to consciously choose a different path. However, he, too, one way or another, is designed for some kind of success.

Signs of a social group

Under the social group it is necessary to understand any objectively existing stable set of people connected by a system of relations regulated by formal or informal social institutions. Society in sociology is considered not as a monolithic entity, but as a set of many social groups that interact and are in a certain dependence on each other. Each person during his life belongs to many such groups, among which are a family, a friendly team, a student group, a nation, and so on.

The creation of groups is facilitated by similar interests and goals of people, as well as the realization of the fact that when combining actions, you can achieve a significantly greater result than with individual action. At the same time, the social activity of each person is largely determined by the activities of the groups in which he is included, as well as the interaction within groups and between groups. It can be stated with full confidence that only in a group a person becomes a person and is able to find full self-expression.

Signs of a social group:

1. the presence of an internal organization;
2. general (group) goal of the activity;
3. group forms of social control;
4. samples (models) of group activity;
5. intense group interactions;
6. sense of group belonging or membership;
7. role coordinated with each other participation of group members in common activities or complicity;
8. role expectations of group members relative to each other.

1. The inclusion of the group in a wider social context, a system of general relations.
2. The presence of a significant reason for the members of the group to be in it together, and the reason must correspond to the interest of all members of the group.
3. The similarity of the fate of people in a group, if they share the events and conditions of group life.
4. The duration of the existence of the group is sufficient for the emergence of not only within group communication, but also a group subculture, tradition, history of the group.
5. The division between members of the group of functional roles, due to the nature of the group activity.
6. The presence of a group of special instances, planning, coordination and control over the implementation of group activities, individual behavior.
7. Awareness by members of the group of their belonging to it and the emergence on this basis of the feeling of "we" and the feeling of "they" with a tendency to overestimate the merits of the former and the shortcomings of the latter, especially in a situation of intergroup conflict.
8. Recognition of the group by its social environment.

The problem of the group as the most important form of bringing people together in the process of joint activity is one of the central ones in social psychology. The group itself is not a simple sum of people included in it, but represents an independent integral phenomenon from the moment of its inception, with its own characteristics, not reducible to the individual characteristics of its members, its own history of development and patterns of life.

A group is a real-life formation in which people are brought together, united by some common feature, a type of joint activity, or placed in some identical conditions, circumstances, in a certain way they are aware of their belonging to this formation.

The focus of analysis in social psychology is the content characteristics of groups, the identification of the specifics of the impact on the personality of a particular social group. The significance of the group for the individual, first of all, is that the group is a certain system of activity, given by its place in the system of social division of labor, and therefore itself acts as the subject of a certain type of activity and through it is included in the entire system of social relations.

The psychological characteristics of the group should include such group formations as group interests, group needs, group norms, group values, group opinion, group goals. And although the current level of development of social psychology has neither the tradition nor the necessary methodological equipment for the analysis of all these formations, it is important to talk about these aspects, since it is precisely in these characteristics that one group differs from another. For an individual entering a group, the awareness of belonging to it is carried out, first of all, through the acceptance of these characteristics, i.e. through the realization of the fact of some mental community with other members of this social group, which allows him to identify with the group.

Let us consider the main parameters by which a socio-psychological analysis of a group can be carried out. The whole set of these parameters can be divided into the group's own characteristics and characteristics that determine the position of a person in the group.

The former include: group composition, structure and group processes, group norms, values, system of sanctions.

The composition of a group, or its composition, is a set of characteristics of group members that are important from the point of view of analyzing the group as a whole. For example, the size of the group, its age or gender composition, etc. There are many such characteristics, the choice of the most significant is made taking into account the specific tasks that are set by the researcher.

The structure of the group is considered from the point of view of the analysis of the functions that individual members of the group perform, as well as from the point of view of interpersonal relations in it.

Group processes include, first of all, such indicators of the dynamics of the group as the process of development and cohesion of the group, the process of group pressure, and the development of decisions.

The second set of indicators includes the system of group expectations, the system of statuses and roles of group members. The position of the individual in the system of group relations is characterized, first of all, by his status and the roles he performs. Status (or position) is the sum or set of psychological characteristics given to a person that determines his place in the group and how he will be perceived by other members of the group. Status is implemented through a system of roles. That is, the various functions that a person must perform in accordance with his position in the group. It is impossible to present a role as something immutable: its dynamism lies in the fact that while maintaining the status, the set of roles will change.

In relation to each member of the group, the group has a system of expectations regarding his behavior. Behavior that conforms to the model is rewarded, and inappropriate behavior is punished by the group. That is, the system of expectations is built on the basis of group norms and rules and is controlled through group sanctions.

All group norms are social norms, that is, they are "establishments, models, standards of due, from the point of view of society as a whole and social groups and their members." Norms perform a regulatory function. Group norms are associated with values, because any rules can be formulated only on the basis of acceptance or rejection of some socially significant phenomena.

Let us turn to the classification of groups. All classifications of groups available in the literature have a common feature: the forms of life activity of groups.

Group social behavior

Social behavior is a qualitative characteristic of social action and interaction. For example, 450 deputies simultaneously participate in the work of the State Duma, that is, they are engaged in political activities. However, the behavior of these political subjects is ambiguous: some doze off in their deputy chairs, others shout something from their seats, others rush to the microphone installed on the podium, others start a brawl with their colleagues.

Participants of mass events also behave differently. Thus, some demonstrators peacefully march along the declared route, others seek to organize riots, and others provoke bloody clashes. All these differences in the actions of the subjects of social interaction fall under the definition of "social behavior". In other words, all the described actors are engaged in political activity or participate in a mass event, but their behavior is different. Consequently, social behavior is a way for a social actor to display his preferences, motives, attitudes, capabilities and abilities in social action or interaction.

The social behavior of an individual (group) may depend on many factors. We list some of them:

Individual emotional and psychological qualities of the subject of social interaction. For example, the behavior of VV Zhirinovsky is characterized by emotional richness, unpredictability, outrageousness; V.V. Putin - prudence, balance in words and deeds, outward calmness;
personal (group) interest of the subject in the ongoing events. For example, a deputy strongly lobbies a draft law that interests him, although he is rather passive when discussing other issues;
adaptive behavior, i.e., behavior associated with the need to adapt to the objective conditions of life. For example, it is difficult to imagine a daredevil who, in a crowd praising some political leader (Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong), would shout out slogans denouncing this leader;
situational behavior, i.e., behavior conditioned by real conditions that have arisen, when the social subject in his actions is forced to take into account the situation that has arisen;
behavior determined by the moral principles and moral values of the actor. For example, Jan Hus, J. Bruno and many other great thinkers could not compromise their principles and became victims of the Inquisition;
the competence of an actor in a particular political situation or political actions. The essence of "competence" is how well the subject controls the situation, understands the essence of what is happening, knows the "rules of the game" and is able to adequately use them;
behavior due to various kinds of manipulation. For example, lies, deceit, populist promises force people to behave in one way or another. Thus, a candidate for president (governors, deputies) in his election program promises, if he is elected, to fulfill certain orders of his voters, but, having become president, he does not even think of fulfilling the promise;
forcible coercion to a certain type of behavior. Such methods of influencing behavior are usually characteristic of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes of power. For example, under the communist regime in the USSR, people were forced to participate in mass political actions (subbotniks, rallies, elections, demonstrations) and at the same time behave in a certain way.

The nature of behavior is influenced by the motivation and degree of involvement of the actor in a particular event or process. For example, for some, participation in political events is a random episode, for others, politics is a profession, for others, it is a calling and the meaning of life, for others, it is a way to earn a living. Mass behavior can be determined by the socio-psychological properties of the crowd, when individual motivation is suppressed and dissolved in the not quite conscious (sometimes spontaneous) actions of the crowd.

There are four levels of social behavior of the subject:

1) the reaction of the subject to the current situation, to certain successive events;
2) habitual actions or deeds that act as elements of behavior, in which the stable attitude of the subject to other subjects is expressed;
3) a purposeful sequence of social actions and actions in a particular area of life to achieve the subject of more distant goals (for example, entering a university, obtaining a profession, creating and arranging a family, etc.);
4) implementation of strategic life goals.

social control

The most important condition for social interaction and the effective functioning of the social system is predictability in the actions and behavior of people. Lack of predictability leads society (social community) to disorganization and disintegration. Therefore, society creates various mechanisms of social control in order to coordinate the behavior of its members.

Various social institutions act as mechanisms of social control. For example, the institution of the family exercises primary social control and regulates the behavior of people in the marriage and family sphere of society; political institutions regulate social control by political methods, etc.

In order for people's behavior to meet social expectations, certain standards of behavior are created (formed) in society - social norms.

Social norms are socially approved and / or legally fixed rules, patterns, standards that regulate people's behavior.

They (norms) can be divided into two main types:

1) legal norms - norms formally enshrined in various kinds of legislative acts, for example, the Constitution, the Criminal Code, the Rules of the Road, etc. Violation of legal norms involves legal, administrative and other types of punishment;
2) moral norms - informal norms that function in the form of public opinion. The main tool in the system of moral norms is public censure (condemnation) or public approval.

In order for people to always behave in accordance with the norms existing in society, it is necessary, firstly, to teach them appropriate behavior, and secondly, to monitor compliance with the norms.

Let's look at these conditions in more detail:

1. Certain standards of social behavior are instilled in an individual in early childhood. During the period of primary socialization in the family and preschool institutions, the child receives the first ideas about how to behave in certain situations. In the course of further socialization, the individual learns various social roles, learns to distinguish in which social environment which behavior is most preferable, determines his attitude to certain social expectations and norms of behavior, strives to behave in accordance with existing norms or, on the contrary, violates them.
2. Society in the course of its functioning not only forms social norms, but also creates mechanisms for monitoring their implementation, such as public opinion, the media, internal affairs bodies, courts, etc. It also determines in advance the basic typology of social roles and ensures their proper implementation. An individual who performs his role qualitatively, as a rule, is awarded a certain reward, and the "violator" is punished. Social structure, social relations and impersonal social status prescribe certain standards of social behavior to individuals. For example, a popular entertainer, having won the gubernatorial election and received the status of governor, is forced to abandon his former role and play the role of a solid political leader; yesterday's cadet, having received the rank and status of an officer, must play the role of a strict commander.

Control methods are very diverse and their application varies depending on the specific conditions and goals. Thus, the manifestation of cowardice in ordinary conditions can be punished by the contemptuous attitude of others; a similar act committed by a soldier in wartime is often equated with betrayal and punished by public execution.

The oldest and simplest form of social control is physical violence. It can be used as one of the methods of education in the family, as a way to combat crime, as one of the means to restore order in public places, etc.

Political control is the prerogative of state authorities and socio-political institutions of civil society. However, the society itself, if it has a sufficient civil culture, can use the mechanisms of political control to protect its interests. Political methods of social control are the most effective, since they rely on state power and can use legitimate violence for their own purposes.

Economic methods of social control are no less effective. Their essence lies in the economic pressure (economic benefit or coercion) exerted on an individual or social groups. For example, an employee who is loyal to his employers may be encouraged by additional material rewards, and an employee who does not show due loyalty may lose part of his earnings and even his place of work.

There are other methods of social control, such as ideological, religious, socio-cultural, moral and ethical, etc.

A significant place in social control is occupied by such a phenomenon as self-control. This is the mechanism of internal self-regulation of the individual, formed in the process of socialization and internal mental processes. The key concept in the formation of self-control mechanisms is internalization. This is the process of forming the internal structures of the human psyche due to the assimilation of the social realities of the external world. By interiorizing the social world, the individual acquires his identity with a certain social group, ethnic group, culture. Social values and norms become their own internal norms, and social control turns into self-control. The main elements of self-control are consciousness, conscience and will.

Consciousness makes it possible to evaluate a particular situation in terms of sensory and mental images.

Conscience does not allow an individual to violate his established attitudes, principles, beliefs.

The will helps the individual to overcome his inner subconscious desires and needs and act in accordance with his beliefs.

Deviant behavior

Deviation (from lat. deviatio - deviation) - behavior, act, social phenomenon that does not correspond to social norms established in a given society. This is any behavior that violates the legal norms accepted in society; does not meet social expectations, stereotypes, attitudes, values, patterns of behavior; is not approved (condemned) by public opinion and / or the legislation existing in society.

Sociology studies deviation as a social phenomenon, that is, a phenomenon characterized by prevalence, a certain stability, and repetition. For example, such phenomena as crime, prostitution, drug addiction, corruption, violation of ethical standards are widespread in modern society. All of them fall under the concept of "social deviation".

Phenomena that are considered single, unique, are not social. So, a resident of Germany, a certain Brandes, himself, having voluntarily come to the cannibal Meiwes, offered himself as a victim and was eaten. The entire world community was shocked by the uniqueness of this event! Brandeis' behavior is certainly deviant, but is not the subject of sociological analysis.

The deviation is evaluative. Society forms certain standards of behavior and orders people to behave in accordance with them. At the same time, each society (social group) can have its own “subjective” assessments. Therefore, the same behavior in one society can be considered a deviation, and in another - the norm. For example, cannibalism in primitive cultures is considered the norm, in modern cultures it is a deviation. In addition, the assessment of behavior depends largely on the specific social conditions in which this behavior is considered. Thus, murder under the normal conditions of our daily life is assessed as a grave crime; murder committed in self-defense or protection of other people can be justified, i.e. the person who committed the murder will not be punished; murder committed in the course of hostilities in a war is also not considered a crime.

The difficulty in determining deviation lies in the fact that the same act (phenomenon) in different social groups (classes) can be evaluated differently. For example, the peasant war led by E. I. Pugachev (1773-1775) from the point of view of the tsarist autocracy was considered a crime against the legitimate government, and from the point of view of the common people, it was regarded as a legitimate struggle against the oppressors; privatization of state property carried out by the ruling elite in the 90s. 20th century in Russia, according to this elite, it is considered a necessary condition for the transition to a market economy, and from the point of view of the majority of Russian citizens, it is the plunder of public property.

The norms created and approved by society are of a general nature and cannot take into account the diversity of real life. In addition, many people are unable or unwilling to comply with certain social norms.

Consider some of the reasons that contribute to the violation of social norms:

Norms contradict the cultural or religious traditions of certain social groups. So, in Russia polygamy is prohibited, but in accordance with the cultural and religious traditions of some ethnic groups, it is considered legitimate.
Norms contradict (do not fully correspond to) personal beliefs and value orientations of an individual (group). For example, a person becomes an outcast, goes to a monastery, becomes a member of a criminal group, because in everyday life he does not find a real meaning to his existence. So, the famous traveler F. Konyukhov, in one of his interviews, when asked why he was already planning the next trip before completing his next trip, answered that under normal conditions his life loses all meaning.
The contradictory nature of the existing regulatory and legal system, when the implementation of some norms inevitably leads to the violation of others. This situation was largely characteristic of the Russian legal system in the 1990s. XX century, when the country essentially lived in a legal vacuum, because the old legal norms were no longer in effect, and the new ones were not yet in effect.
Uncertainty in behavioral expectations when the rules are not entirely clear. For example, the rules of the road prescribe to cross the road only in the places established for this, but there are no such “places” on large hauls. Thus, a situation of uncertainty arises.
Disagreements regarding the legitimacy of the adoption of certain norms (legal acts). For example, in the USSR a law was passed restricting the production, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, which literally “split” society into supporters and opponents of this law; the law on compulsory auto insurance also caused an uproar among Russian car owners and other citizens.
Forced deviation. Limited social opportunities that have developed in society force entire social strata to violate existing norms due to the fact that, within the legal framework, they are not able to satisfy their needs for food, housing, etc. For example, some people who do not have legal income, at risk for lives cut off high-voltage wires and hand them over to recycling centers in order to have at least some means to meet their needs; a person sells his kidney in order to improve the financial situation of his family; a hungry child takes a bun from a neighbor's boy.
Deviation as a way to change existing social norms. For example, revolutions are made in order to fundamentally change established social norms and relations. The ruling elites evaluate revolutionary actions, as a rule, as deviant behavior, and by radical citizens - as a natural process aimed at changing outdated social norms.

Group social systems

The social system is one of the most complex systems of living nature, which is a collection of people, relationships between them, their knowledge, skills, and abilities. The main generic feature of a social system is their human nature and essence, since it is formed by people, is the sphere of their activity, the object of their influence. This is both the strength and vulnerability of social management, its creative nature and the possibility of manifestations of subjectivism and voluntarism.

The concept of a social system is based on a systematic approach to the study of ourselves and the world around us, and therefore this definition can be considered both in a broad and narrow sense. In accordance with this, a social system can be understood as either a human society as a whole, or its individual components - groups of people (societies), united according to some sign (territorial, temporary, professional, etc.). At the same time, it should be taken into account that the essential features of any systems are: the plurality of elements (at least two); the existence of connections; the holistic nature of this education.

Social systems, unlike others that have received a program of their behavior from outside, are self-regulating, which is inherent in society at any stage of its development. As an integral set, the social system has specific stable qualities that make it possible to distinguish social systems from each other. These characteristics are called systemic features.

The concept of system features should be distinguished from the concept of system features. The first characterizes the main features of the system, i.e. those features of a society, social group, collective, which give us reason to call a given social formation a system. The second is the qualitative characteristics inherent in a particular system and distinguishing it from another.

Signs of a social system or, in other words, society, can be divided into two groups, the first of which characterizes the external conditions of the life of a social organism, the second reveals the internal, most important moments of its existence.

External signs. The first sign of a society is usually called the territory on which the development of various social relations takes place. In this case, the territory can be called a social space.

The second sign of a society is the chronological framework of its existence. Any society exists as long as there is an expediency to continue the social ties that make it up, or as long as there are no external causes that can liquidate this society.

The third sign of a society is its relative isolation, which makes it possible to consider it as a system. Consistency makes it possible to divide all individuals into members and non-members of a given society. This leads to the identification of a person with a certain society and the consideration of other people as strangers. Unlike the animal herd, where identification with society occurs on the basis of instinct, in a human collective, the correlation of oneself with a given society is built primarily on the basis of reason.

internal signs. The first sign of a society lies in its relative stability, achieved through the constant development and modification of the social ties that exist in it. Society, as a social system, can exist only through the constant development and modification of the social ties that exist in it. The stability of a social system is thus closely related to its ability to develop.

The second sign is the presence of internal public structures. In this case, the structure is understood as stable social formations (institutions), connections, relations that exist on the basis of any principles and norms defined for this society.

The third sign of a society is its ability to be a self-sufficient self-regulating mechanism. In any society, its own specialization and infrastructure are created, which allow it to have everything necessary for a normal existence. Any society is multifunctional. Various social institutions and relations ensure the satisfaction of the needs of members of society and the development of society as a whole.

Finally, the ability to integrate is the seventh sign of society. This sign lies in the ability of a society (social system) to include new generations (systems, subsystems), modify the forms and principles of some of its institutions and connections on the basic principles that determine one or another character of social consciousness.

I would like to especially note that the main distinguishing feature of social systems, arising from their nature, is the presence of goal setting. Social systems always strive to achieve certain goals. Here nothing is done without a conscious intention, without a desired goal. People unite in various kinds of organizations, communities, classes, social groups and other kinds of systems, which necessarily have certain interests and common goals. Between the concepts of "goal" and "interest" there is a close relationship. Where there is no commonality of interests, there can be no unity of goals, since the unity of goals based on common interests creates the necessary prerequisites for the development and improvement of such a supersystem as society as a whole.

One and the same object (including the social system), depending on the objectives of the study, can be considered both in statics and in dynamics. At the same time, in the first case, we are talking about the structure of the object of study, and in the second - about its functions.

All the variety of social relations are grouped into certain areas, allowing in the social system to single out separate subsystems, each of which performs its own functional purpose. Relationships within each subsystem are functionally dependent, i.e. collectively acquire properties that they do not possess individually.

A social system can effectively implement its tasks when performing the following functions:

1) it must have the ability to adapt, adapt to changing conditions, be able to rationally organize and distribute internal resources;
2) it must be goal-oriented, capable of setting the main goals, objectives and supporting the process of achieving them;
3) it must remain stable on the basis of common norms and values that are assimilated by individuals and relieve tension in the system;
4) it must have the ability to integrate, to be included in the system of new generations.

As you can see, the above is not only a set of functions, but also distinguishing features of social systems from others (biological, technical, etc.).

In the structure of society, the following main subsystems (spheres) are usually distinguished:

- economic - includes social relations of ownership, production, exchange, distribution and consumption of material and spiritual goods;
- political - a set of social relations regarding the functioning of political power in society;
- social - a set of social relations (in the narrow sense of the term) between groups of people and individuals who occupy a certain position in society, have an appropriate status and social roles;
- spiritual and cultural - includes the relationship between individuals, groups of individuals about spiritual and cultural benefits.

When studying any phenomenon, it is important to highlight not only its characteristic features that distinguish it from other social formations, but also to show the diversity of its manifestation and development in real life. Even a superficial glance allows one to capture the multicolored picture of the social systems that exist in the modern world. Chronological, territorial, economic, etc. are used as criteria for differentiating the types of social systems. factors, depending on the goals and objectives of the study.

The most common and generalized is the differentiation of social systems in accordance with the structure of social activity and social relations, for example, in such spheres of social life as material production, social (in the narrow sense), political, spiritual, family and household. The listed main spheres of public life are subdivided into private areas and their corresponding systems. All of them form a multi-level hierarchy, the diversity of which is due to the complexity of society itself. Society itself is a social system of the highest complexity, which is in constant development.

Without dwelling in detail on the types of social systems and their characteristics (since this is not part of the objectives of this course), we only note that the system of internal affairs bodies is also one of the varieties of social systems.

Interests of a social group

Social interest (from Latin socialis - public and interest - important) is the interest of any social subject (individual, social group, class, nation) associated with its position in a certain system of social relations. These are conscious needs, the real causes of actions, events, accomplishments, behind the immediate internal motives (motives, thoughts, ideas, etc.) of individuals, social groups, classes participating in these actions. According to A. Adler, social interest is an element of the motivational-requirement sphere, it acts as the basis for integration into society and the elimination of feelings of inferiority. It is characterized by a willingness to be imperfect, to contribute to the general welfare, to show trust, care, compassion, a willingness to make responsible choices, to be creative, close, collaborative and inclusive.

Of paramount importance are class interests, which are determined by the position of classes in the system of production relations. However, any social interests, incl. and class, are not limited to the sphere of production relations. They cover the entire system of social relations and are associated with various aspects of the position of their subject. The generalized expression of all the interests of the social subject becomes his political interest, which expresses the attitude of this subject to political power in society. A social group, seeking to realize its interest, may come into conflict with other groups. Therefore, often private interest takes the form of public or even universal. Then it takes the form of a legitimate, legitimate interest and is not subject to discussion. Any social transformation of society is accompanied by a sharp change in the balance of interests. The conflict of class, national, state interests underlies social revolutions, wars and other upheavals in world history.

Socio-economic interests - a system of socio-economic needs of the subject (individual, team, social group, society, state).

Interest expresses the integrity of the system of socio-economic needs and in this capacity is a stimulus for the activity of the subject, determining his behavior. Awareness of one's own socio-economic interests by the subject is a historical process. Thus, the awareness of commodity producers of their interests leads to their implementation and, accordingly, is the basis of the mechanism of a market economy. The realization of socio-economic interests by the working class contributes to the creation of a system of social guarantees for the entire society.

In society, there is a complex dialectic of interaction between private, collective and common interests. Thus, private socio-economic interests, being an incentive to the action of individuals, thereby ensure the realization of the general interest.

The interdependence and interdependence of interests is even more evident in the dialectic of collective and common interests, the interests of social groups and the national interest. However, in such a complex social organism as society as a whole, by no means always and not in everything the collective, and even more so, private interest coincides with the general interest. The state, in the interests of all social groups and strata, as well as individuals, regulates and controls both private and group (collective) interests, forming and protecting state interests.

The purpose of any legal norm comes from the social interest. In this sense, it is the main component of the state will. Social interest belongs to the fundamental categories of sociology. It can be represented as a concept that characterizes the objectively significant, necessary for the individual, family, team, class, nation, society as a whole. Interest and need are not the same. Objective socio-economic needs act as incentives for people's volitional activity, but they determine it only when they manifest themselves in social interests. Society is characterized by a meaningful nature of all the actions of its members. Interest is what binds members of civil society together. Social interests determine the goals of people's activities.

As a result, certain relations are established, a certain social system, political and legal organization of society, culture, morality, etc., which, in the final analysis, correspond to the economic conditions of society. Consequently, social interest is the starting point for the purposeful activity of people and the determinant of its social significance. This property of the category of interest determines its role in the formation of law as the main criterion for identifying the objective basis of the content of law, its social essence. Social interest, being conscious and enshrined in the rules of law, predetermines the operation of law.

The relationship between social interests as an objective reality and interest in law is explained by the relationship between the objective and the subjective in the interest itself. There are three points of view on this issue in the legal literature. Some authors consider interest to be an objective phenomenon; others - subjective; the third - the unity of the objective and the subjective. Depending on the bases of classification, economic, political, spiritual, class, national, group, personal interests are distinguished. In turn, each sphere of the life of society has its own subgroups of the most important social interests.

Man is part of society. Therefore, throughout his life he contacts or is a member of many groups. But despite their huge number, social ...

By Masterweb

11.04.2018 21:00

Man is part of society. Therefore, throughout his life he contacts or is a member of many groups. But despite their huge number, sociologists distinguish several main types of social groups, which will be discussed in this article.

Definition of social group

First of all, you need to have a clear understanding of the meaning of this term. Social group - a set of people who have one or more unifying features that have social significance. Participation in any activity becomes another factor of unification. It must be understood that society is not seen as an indivisible whole, but as an association of social groups that constantly interact and influence each other. Any person is a member of at least several of them: family, work team, etc.

The reasons for creating such groups may be the similarity of interests or goals pursued, as well as the understanding that when creating such a group, you can achieve more results in less time than one by one.

One of the important concepts when considering the main types of social groups is the reference group. This is a really existing or imaginary association of people, which is an ideal for a person. The term was first used by the American sociologist Hyman. The reference group is so important because it influences the individual:

Regulatory. The reference group is an example of the norms of an individual's behavior, social attitudes and values.
Comparative. It helps a person to determine what place he occupies in society, to evaluate his own and other people's activities.

Social groups and quasi-groups

Quasi-groups are randomly formed and short-lived communities. Another name is mass communities. Accordingly, several differences can be identified:

There is regular interaction in social groups that leads to their sustainability.
A high percentage of cohesion of people.
Members of a group share at least one characteristic in common.
Small social groups can be a structural unit of larger groups.

Types of social groups in society

Man as a social being interacts with a large number of social groups. Moreover, they are completely diverse in composition, organization and pursued goals. Therefore, it became necessary to identify which types of social groups belong to the main ones:

Primary and secondary - selection depends on how a person interacts with group members emotionally.
Formal and informal - the allocation depends on how the group is organized and how relationships are regulated.
Ingroup and outgroup - the definition of which depends on the degree of belonging to them a person.
Small and large - allocation depending on the number of participants.
Real and nominal - the selection depends on the signs that are significant in the social aspect.

All these types of social groups of people will be considered in detail separately.

Primary and secondary groups

The primary group is the one in which communication between people is of a high emotional nature. Usually it consists of a small number of participants. It is the link that connects the individual directly with society. For example, family, friends.

A secondary group is one in which there are many more participants than the previous group, and where interactions between people are needed to achieve a certain task. Relations here, as a rule, are impersonal in nature, since the main emphasis is on the ability to perform the necessary actions, and not on character traits and emotional ties. For example, a political party, a work collective.

Formal and informal groups

A formal group is one that has a certain legal status. Relations between people are regulated by a certain system of norms and rules. There is a clearly fixed goal and there is a hierarchical structure. Any actions are performed in accordance with the established procedure. For example, the scientific community, a sports group.

An informal group, as a rule, arises spontaneously. The reason may be a commonality of interests or views. Compared to a formal group, it has no official rules and no legal status in society. Also, there is no formal leader among the participants. For example, a friendly company, lovers of classical music.

Ingroup and outgroup

Ingroup - a person feels a direct belonging to this group and perceives it as his own. For example, "my family", "my friends".

An outgroup is a group to which a person is not related, respectively, there is an identification as “foreign”, “other”. Absolutely every person has their own outgroup evaluation system: from a neutral attitude to an aggressive-hostile one. Most sociologists prefer to use an assessment system - the scale of social distance, created by the American sociologist Emory Bogardus. Examples: "someone else's family", "not my friends".

Small and large groups

A small group is a small group of people that comes together to achieve some result. For example, a student group, a school class.

The fundamental forms of this group are the forms "diad" and "triad". They can be called bricks of this group. A dyad is an association in which 2 people participate, and a triad consists of three people. The latter is considered more stable than the dyad.

Features of a small group:

A small number of participants (up to 30 people) and their permanent composition.
Close relationships between people.
Similar ideas about values, norms and patterns of behavior in society.
Identify the group as "mine".
Control is not governed by administrative rules.

A large group is one that has a large number of members. The purpose of the association and interaction of people, as a rule, is clearly fixed and clear to each member of the group. It is not limited by the number of people included in it. Also, there is no constant personal contact and mutual influence between individuals. For example, the peasant class, the working class.