Every person, regardless of their age and occupation, is in several small groups - this is a family, a school class, a sports team. The relationship of the individual with other members of the team plays a key role in shaping his personality. The variety of types of associations is demonstrated by the classification of small groups. Psychology attaches particular importance to the study of the characteristics of small teams and their role in society.
What is a small social group
On the basis of small teams, it is possible to study in detail the connection of the individual with his environment, the influence of society on its members. Therefore, in sociological research, the concepts of "group", "small group", "classification of groups" occupy an important place. The fact is that a person spends most of his life in small groups that have a strong influence on the formation of his values.
A social group is an association of peopleassociated with joint activities and a system of interpersonal relationships. Such groups are classified by size, that is, by the number of participants.
Small group - a small association of people connected by joint activities and in direct communication with each other. A feature of such a team is that the number of its members does not exceed twenty, and therefore they can freely contact each other and establish an emotional connection.
Signs
There are a number of provisions, the presence of which may indicate that the association is a small social group:
- co-presence of people in the same area at a certain time;
- emotional contact between team members, stable relationships;
- joint activities aimed at achieving a common goal;
- separation between members of group roles;
- presence of an organizational and management structure;
- shaping your own norms and values.
The concept and classification of small groups are built on these features and the nature of their manifestation. Establishing emotional relationships between individual members can lead to subblocks and internal structure.
Types of associations
There are several aspects regarding which the classification of small groups is formed. The table below shows the types of small social associations.
| Sign | Types |
| Rise | Formal (consciously organized) and informal. |
| Method of interaction | Primary (high level of cohesion) and secondary (lack of strong relationships, working together). |
| Survival | Temporary (designed to achieve a single purpose) and stable (designed to work for a long time). |
| Nature of activity | Labor, research, entertainment, ideological, aesthetic, communicative, political. |
| Personal significance | Elite and reference. |
Nature of internal ties
Determining is the classification of small social groups in relation to the way it arises. Formal associations are created by management and have legal status. Their activities are regulated by certain documentation. The management of such a group is top-down, and the interpersonal relationships of its members are determined by the organization.
Informal groups arise spontaneously based on the emotional connections of the participants. Such societies do not have an official status, and its activities are directed "from the bottom up". Nevertheless, they also form some norms and values shared by all members of the group and predetermining their behavior. If in formalWhile in organizations the leader has official authority, in contact organizations he acts through the recognition of other participants.
Reference team
A different classification of social groups is based on the factor of significance of association for an individual. A small group, the norms of which play an important role for a person, is called a reference (reference). A member of the team sorts through its value system, forms the appropriate standards. Such a group is divided into two subspecies:
- Perfect. The individual does not belong to the association, but in his behavior he is guided by its norms.
- Presence group. The person is a member of this collective and shares values.
Small communities play a crucial role in shaping a person's personality. The child sees the norms accepted in the family and among friends. At the same time, small social groups can also have a negative impact on the individual - suppress his personal qualities (inhibition), impose incorrect ideals.
Social importance
Small organizations can play different roles in society, depending on the values and goals pursued by the small group. The classification of small groups, based on the criterion of social significance, suggests the existence of three types of associations: socially oriented, asocial and antisocial. Accordingly, they play a positive, neutral and negative role. To socially oriented small groupsinclude educational, public, productive organizations. Various criminal associations are not accepted by people, which nevertheless retain authority for their members.
Team Leadership
Management includes a number of actions necessary to organize the activities of the association. This concept includes decision-making, goal setting, development of plans, control, coordination, and so on. There is a conditional classification of small groups regarding the method of management. There are such types of relationships:
- subordination (top);
- coordination (horizontal system);
- reordination (bottom).
Successful organization of activities is based on the combination of these principles, the search for the best option for building internal relationships.
Team Leader
A feature of the organization of small groups is the selection of a leader. This is a member of the association, which has a strong influence on its activities. He is respected among the other members due to his personality and plays an important role in the management of the group. The activity of the leader extends to both internal and external communication. He ensures the involvement of team members in joint activities, exercises control over decision-making. There is a classification of small groups based on the level of the leader's intervention in the activities of the association and the degree of involvement of eachmember in the community management process. The most successful organizations (both contact and formal) strike a balance between the two extremes.
Management styles
The conditional classification of small groups, based on the involvement of members of the association in the process of its management, includes three positions presented in the table below.
| Name | Nature of relationship | Control process |
| Authoritarian | From top to bottom | Decisions are made by the leader, increased control. |
| Democratic | Horizonality, equality | A group discussion where everyone can express their opinion. |
| Liberal | From the bottom up | The initiative is in the hands of the ruled. |
There is also a theory of X and Y. In the first case, a person initially avoids work and prefers to be led. Theory Y suggests that the individual has a high level of self-control and strives for responsibility. Accordingly, two different methods of management are applicable here.
Collective Pressure
The norms adopted in the association have an impact on the way of life of its individual member. Everyone knows an experiment conducted with a group of children, where prearranged participants incorrectly answered the question posed, and the last subject repeated the words of his peers. Suchthe phenomenon is called conformism. The opinion of the majority of members of a small group exerts psychological pressure on an individual. The opposite of this phenomenon can be independence, that is, the independence of a person’s attitudes from the opinions of the environment.
At the same time, the classification of small groups regarding the role it plays for an individual is important. The higher the reference of the union, the stronger the conformism.
Formation of a small social group
Each team goes through several stages of development. Psychologists G. Stanford and A. Roark developed a theory that includes 7 stages of the formation of a social group. The study is based on a two-factor model of team development, where there are contradictions between business and emotional activity.
- Introduction, first attempts at interpersonal interaction.
- Create group norms.
- Conflict stage.
- The state of balance, the emergence of a sense of unity.
- Formation of unity - increased business activity, set common goals.
- Domination not of workers, but of interpersonal relations of individual members of the association.
- Actualization, balance of business and emotional activity.
Social roles in a small group
Members of an association may be assigned certain behaviors related to solving problems or communicating with other members. Roles are manifested in both business and emotional activity.groups. For example, in the process of solving problems, the "initiator" offers new ideas, and the "critic" evaluates the work of the entire group and finds its weaknesses. Roles are also manifested in the sphere of interpersonal relations of the team. So, the inspirer actively supports the ideas of other members, and the mediator renounces his opinion and settles conflict situations.
