MYP Individuals & Societies Social Group Types Notes

Why Do Humans Form Social Groups?

1. Across time and place, humans have tended to organize themselves into social groups (families, clans, communities, cities, and modern online networks) rather than living entirely alone.
2. An important move in this course is to go beyond noticing that groups exist and to ask: What types of groups exist, how are they structured, and how does structure shape individual participation?

What Are The Hierarchy Of Needs?

1. One useful starting point is to connect groups to human needs.
2. Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological model suggesting humans are motivated by needs that include basic survival (food, water, shelter, and safety) and higher, psychological needs (belonging, esteem, and longer-term fulfilment).
3. Living in groups can help individuals meet many of these needs more effectively, for example through cooperation, protection, and shared identity.

How Are Social Group Types Classified by Size, Bonds, and Roles?

1. There is no single "perfect" classification, but in social science three practical lenses are used often:
   1. Size and scale (small groups to large populations)
   2. Type of social bonds (similarity-based vs interdependence-based)
   3. Role structure (generalist roles vs specialised roles)

Primary and secondary groups describe intimacy and frequency

1. Sociologists often distinguish between:
   1. Primary groups: small, long-lasting groups with strong emotional ties (for example, family and close friends).
   2. Secondary groups: larger, more impersonal groups formed around tasks or goals (for example, a workplace, sports club, or school cohort).

Formal and informal groups describe rules and organization

1. Groups also differ in how they manage membership and behaviour:
   1. Informal groups rely mostly on unwritten expectations (for example, friendship circles).
   2. Formal groups have defined roles and rules, often written down (for example, governments, courts, and many organisations).
2. To describe how groups operate, two key ideas are:

Who Is Durkheim And How Did He Explain How Societies Change from Similarity to Specialization?

1. A central explanation for different social group types comes from the early sociologist Émile Durkheim.