Secondary social groups on the other hand are large and impersonal, and the life of the group is usually short. Persons in this group are goal orientated and leadership is very important in this type of group, as a leader is required to ensure that the goals or purpose of the group are met. Secondary social groups are characterized by weak emotional ties, limited interaction and members are valued for what they contribute to the attainment of the group’s goals and not because of whom they are. Secondary social group relationships are called instrumental relationships because behaviour in this group is a targeted towards goal attainment. Examples of secondary social groups are found in schools and offices (Hess, Markson and Stein, 1996 ).
Please note that the characteristics given for both primary and secondary social groups are given in ideal terms, and the actual groups we are apart of in our lives may contain characteristics of both groups (Macionis and Plummer, 1997 ). It is also true to say, that a group at any given time may move its status. That is, a primary social group can become a secondary one and a crowd can become a secondary social group, etc.
German Sociologist Ferdinand Tonnies (1853 – 1936) used the primary and secondary social group concept to define the gemeinshaft community and the gesellschaft society. The gemeinshaft community exists where primary social groups are dominant in the community and persons have known each other for generations. A gesellschaft society, like a secondary social group, is characterized by relationships that are of a business like nature and based on rational self-interest. It is argued that persons who live in a gemeinshaft community are usually healthier than persons who live in a gesellschaft society, because stress levels are usually lower as everyone shares a feeling of being important and each person can be relied on to assist his neighbour in times of need (Hess, Markson and Stein, 1996 ). Examples of gemeinshaft communities can be mostly found in the Caribbean while examples of gesellschaft societies are mostly found in a more industrial society. The gemeinshaft community and the gesellschaft society are similar in concept and meaning to Durkheim’s mechanistic and organic society.
Groups that can be chosen by individuals are so done according to their interests, goals and needs. For example a person may choose to join a Drama Club as he or she is interested in the goals of the group and likes the image the group portrays. These groups may be formal such as a professional club or informal such as friends. Boundaries exist for all groups and they are important as they distinguish between members and non-members. Boundaries are reinforced by the distinction between the ‘us’ group or the in-group and the ‘them’ group or the out-group (Macionis and Plummer, 1997).
An in-group then is a social group to which the member belongs that enjoys the member’s esteem and loyalty. An in-group always exists in opposition to an out-group, which is a social group towards which one feels intense competition or opposition. We can clearly see this played out in our political arena where members of the two major political parties, the Jamaica Labour Party and the People’s National Party often times behave hostile towards each other. There have been incidents where property has been damaged or lives have been lost mainly because of rivalry between both groups (Macionis and Plummer, 1997 ).
In order to look at the importance of groups, one must look at socialization. Socialization is the process by which we acquire the behaviours and attitudes that are appropriate for the members of our society; socialization is a life long process. Socialization is done in groups and any group that facilitates socialization is called an agent of socialization. There are two types of socialization, primary socialization and secondary socialization. Primary socialization occurs during the early years of infancy and it prepares the child for adult roles. Agents of primary socialization are the family and the peer group. Secondary socialization on the other hand, takes place during the latter years of an individual’s life. Agents of secondary socialization are the church, the media and schools (Haralambos and Holborn, 2000).
We can clearly see that groups are a vital part of the society as it is through groups that persons learn to become human, and to fit into society. It is the family, a primary agent of socialization that meets the needs a newborn babe and establishes a relationship that is very important for the child’s future development. Within the family, a child learns the appropriate roles and acquires the abilities and attitudes, that will enable him or her to successfully participate in the wider society (Steele and Osoba, 1998).
Another primary social group that is very important is the peer group. The peer group reinforces what is learnt from the family, through various sanctions the peer group members enforce on each other in order to ensure conformity to established norms. As the child grows up, the peer group becomes increasingly important, as it becomes a ‘stage’ where they can act out their adult roles, this is not only common with childhood peer groups as this also occurs within adult peer groups (Steele and Osoba, 1998).
Although our political groups are not usually primary social groups, characteristics of a primary social group, with respect to peer groups can sometimes be seen. For example, members of the Jamaica Labour Party have their own sanctions to deal with persons who choose to oppose the group’s leadership. An example that readily comes to mind is the Gang of Five incident where five members of the group tried to take over the leadership of the group. This in-group conflict though seemingly negative, served as an evaluation for the group, which revisited its values and beliefs. This event and others caused the group to be more appealing to the younger generation and younger persons sought to become a member of this political group. Bruce Golding was also able to act out his role as a leader within the group and emerged to be the founder and leader of another political party, the National Democratic Movement.
Our society is a great example of a secondary social group and we can see from the definition that this type of grouping is necessary for the survival of all citizens. This goal-orientated group of persons work together, for example, to produce food for each other so that persons will have no need to starve.
Since leadership is very important to the success of any secondary social group, we will now look at the very important concept of power that enhances leadership. Power refers to the degree to which persons or groups can impose their will on others with or without the consent of the others. Power is an aspect of all social relationships and politically speaking, power is to have control of certain resources, which would enable you to get things done (Haralambos and Holborn, 2000). We can see that played out in our political campaign as supporters of both the Jamaica Labour Party and the People National’s Party are made to believe that they must leave their homes for example during a rainy season to attend political meetings across the country just because the leaders of these parties wish to enter a competition to see which party would have larger political meetings. On the positive side, political leaders can use their power to influence supporters, who are members of the society, to change their views on a wide range of topics. This year for example, the leaders of the major political parties used their power to somewhat successfully convince their supporters to have a peaceful election. Thus the citizens of Jamaica enjoyed their most peaceful election in many years.
We see here that groups, in the form of political parties played an important role in steering what usually is a violent election campaign to a somewhat peaceful one. On the other hand, these same groups are also responsible for creating an atmosphere of rivalry and competition which often times lead to violence by the norms and beliefs passed on to supporters from the leadership of the party. Groups are then being portrayed as both important and evil.
Lets look at another example that illustrates groups as being a necessary evil to society. Schools, a secondary agent of socialization teaches young people to have protected sexual intercourse, while the general society would prefer these young persons to abstain from sexual activities until they are mature both emotionally and financially to handle such a relationship. Should we then say that schools are evil and misleading, should we then say that all schools should be closed? No, we cannot do this because, even though schools may teach its students values and beliefs that the general society may not agree with, it also teaches a lot of things that are needed for the continuity and development of the society as we know it.
In conclusion, our society is divided into groups, they are primary or secondary; formal or informal; large or small. These groups are very important as we learn the accepted norms, values and beliefs of our society in our earlier years and as we become older, groups are used as agents of re-socialization to assist us to fit in our rapidly changing society. We must be reminded however, that not all groups are positive or seen as such. Political groups for example are necessary in our democratic society, as they facilitate in their claim of offering a better way of life, opportunities for discussion of tabooed topics or events which may lead to change, be it positive or negative. These groups have however been the cause of much pain in Jamaica as during our recent political campaign, supporters or followers of the two main political parties have been abused both verbally and physically or have been even killed because of the choice of their in-group.
We cannot however say that we must revert to the life of hermit where each person decides to live isolated away from ‘the evils of this world,’ as we would soon realize that we need each other to survive in our capitalist society. We need the persons who drive the bus, the persons who work in the factories to make the cars, the persons in the food industry, the teachers, the policemen, we need each other! We must then accept the reality that groups are a necessary evil for society.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Haralambos and Holborn, 2000, Sociology, Themes and Perspectives; London: Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.
Hess, Beth, Markson, Elizabeth and Stein, Peter, 1996, Sociology; London, Allyn & Bacon
Macionis, John and Plummer, Ken, 1997, Sociology; A Global Introduction; London: Prentice Hall Inc
Steele, Beverly A, and Osoba, Dr. Ermina, 1998, Introduction to Sociology: Social Sciences (SY14G), Study Guide; Distant Education Centre, University of the West Indies
