Groups

To which groups do you belong? How important are groups to you? Sociologists have long recognized that the theme of social relations entails more than the study of networks. The study of social relations also includes examination of group formation and intergroup relations. People belong to groups; they have group affiliations and identities. Groups may unite people and serve common interests, but they may also divide societies and create conflicts (8.1). I will review literature which suggests that the groups to which we belong affect who we befriend and marry, that social ties are segregated by group affiliations. Individuals who belong to the same groups (e.g., religion, race, ethnicity) tend to associate with each other more frequently, creating group segregation in societies (8.2). I then review several causes that give rise to this phenomenon of group segregation in friendship ties and marriages (8.3). Subsequently, I will show that group segregation is part of a broader pattern. Whether you study friendship ties, attitudes or cooperation, you’ll see that people have more positive relations to in-group members than out-group members, a pattern called in-group favoritism (8.4). Beyond this baseline universal tendency of intergroup relations, however, there are also deviations. Sometimes, intergroup relations erode and conflicts emerge and yet other groups appear to be more cooperative towards each other. Research findings reveal that intergroup cohesion is contingent on social conditions (8.5). In order to understand why intergroup cooperation and conflict depends on contextual conditions, I will discuss group threat theory (8.6).