I. Find in the text “Primary and Secondary Groups” English equivalents for:
в большинстве случаев; полный отчет; личный интерес; прочные связи; благополучие; формирование установок; скорее чем; быть ограниченным; граница; достигнуть определенной цели; целевая ориентация; напротив; взаимовыгодное сотрудничество.
II. Make up word-combinations and translate them into Russian.
To display – genuine concern
sympathy
self-consciousness
To share – troubles
concern
work
duties
responsibilities
To shape – personal attitudes
social identity
personality
world outlook
knowledge
To be aware of – reality
social respect
relationships
cultural norms
mutually beneficial cooperation
Translate the following sentences into Russian.
Such considerations are not of crucial importance.
Personal concern in social interaction is of certain value in drawing a distinction between primary and secondary groups.
The family is of major significance in shaping personal attitudes and behaviour.
The problem of interpersonal relationships is of great interest for the social thinkers.
Secondary relationships are of definite importance in the study of social groups of people.
Human activity in social community is of deep concern for the sociologists.
IV. Make up your own sentences with — “to be of importance, to be of value” - and ask your partner to translate them.
V. Answer the following questions.
What is of great concern for the sociologists in the study of primary groups?
What is of chief significance for you in your subject of investigation?
What is of major interest for the sociologists dealing with the public opinion poll?
VI. Role-play:
You have just come back from the international conference devoted to some problems of social interaction. You think this conference was of great importance. You give your reasons to your friend who is also deeply concerned with the given problem
You see an advertisement in a newspaper which is of deep concern for you. Phone up and find out more about the flat to rent. If the flat sounds suitable, arrange to go round and see it.
Тема 11. Group Dynamics
I. Read and translate the text.
Because of the importance of groups, researchers – beginning with George Homans and his classic work The Human Group (1950) – have studied group dynamics, the patterns of social interaction among group members. Three factors – group size, group leadership, and group decision making – have received the most scholarly attention.
Group Leadership
Most groups, even many small informal ones, have leaders, although we do not always recognize them as such. For example, when three students plan to have coffee, one person usually suggests where and when to meet and the others tacitly follow the suggestion. Charles Palazzolo wrote that leadership is a group process in which an individual, in a given situation, “is able to direct and control group interaction more influentially than any other group member.”
It is often assumed that leaders possess special traits that distinguish them from followers, but this does not seem to be the case. This is because leadership is situational and task-specific, and leadership qualities and skills that are appropriate in one situation may be inappropriate in another. Moreover, leadership is a two-way street. Any understanding of leadership must include knowledge of how followers perceive their leaders, and how this perception affects group processes and the behavior of leaders as well.
Leadership can assume any one of three basic styles: authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire. Authoritarian leaders give orders and direct activities with minimal input from followers. In extreme cases, they may be said to rule with an iron fist that crushes all dissent. In cultures where it is customary for authoritarian leaders to make decisions in both the political and domestic spheres, this leadership style may be preferred. In egalitarian societies, authoritarian leaders may be tolerated, but members of small groups typically prefer democratic leaders, who attempt to involve others in the decision-making process. Laissez-faire leaders take a “hands-off” approach; they neither set the agenda nor try to direct followers in any obvious way. Instead, they allow group members the freedom to choose whatever direction they think is best.
No single style of leadership is effective in every social situation. Because they require neither agreement nor support, authoritarian leaders often fail to recognize conflicts and strains within the group that may reduce the group's effectiveness. But when a situation is unclear, authoritarian leaders can provide structure, and they can take immediate action in emergencies. Democratic leaders operate well under ordinary circumstances, when there is time for leaders to gain input from all group members and then take action. Laissez-faire leadership seems to be the least effective of the three, at least in lab experiments with American youngsters. It seems that laissez-faire leadership can be productive if group members are highly motivated, but when there is no direction, group members eventually work at cross-purposes and interpersonal tensions and conflicts threaten the group.
The Importance of Group Size
Group size has a particularly important impact on the nature of social interaction. Being the first person to arrive at a party affords the opportunity to observe a fascinating process in group dynamics. When fewer than about six people interact in one setting, a single conversation is usually maintained by everyone. But with the addition of more people, the discussion typically divides into two or more conversations. This example is a simple way of showing that size has important effects on the operation of social groups.
The basis for this dynamic lies in the mathematical connection between the number of people in a social group and the number of relationships among them as shown in Figure 2. Two people are joined in a single relationship; adding a third person results in three relationships (a triad – a three-member group); the nature of the interaction becomes less intimate but more flexible. One member of a triad can temporarily withdraw, daydream, or become silent without harming the group. Moreover, the members of a triad can form various coalitions that cannot be found in a two-person group. Even small increases in group size can have a dramatic impact on social interaction. In Figure 2, in a group of four people there are six possible relationships. As additional people are added one at a time - according to what mathematicians call an arithmetic increase the number of relationships increases very rapidly - in what is called a geometric increase.
