Secondary Groups: Characteristics, Functions And Examples
Our family, friends and partner are fundamental groups of people for our emotional well-being and personality formation. They constitute the main groups of people with whom we interact, but this does not mean that they are the only ones.
Our coworkers or classmates with whom we have to do a job are also groups of people to which we belong, although what they think and what they may say about us does not affect us as much as our beings would. dear ones.
Here we are going to talk about secondary groups, groups of people created for a specific purpose whether work, academic or any other nature, that are not as intimate and warm as our families or friends can be.
The secondary groups are groups of more or less stable people whose members relate to each other to achieve a common goal, whether work, academic or of any other nature, or because the situation in which they find themselves forces them to establish interaction. As a general rule, the relationships between its members are superficial and not very intimate, disappearing once the common goal has been reached or the situation that forced them to relate has passed.
Although they are not as important to our lives as the primary groups, that is, family, friends or partners, they are. can influence our social relationships, psychological well-being and life success It is for this reason that sociology and other social sciences have delved into the study of these groups that, although their life may be especially short and may not be very warm or pleasant emotionally, it can have a greater or lesser impact on our lives.
Generally, secondary groups are formed when their members have to achieve a common goal or experience the same situation and, To overcome it, they have to live together and collaborate
A clear example of this type of group would be the offices of any company, whose workers must collaborate and coexist harmoniously to achieve the objectives. The group has been formed because it so happens that they all work in the same place and must coordinate to keep the company afloat.
In the same way that the formation of a secondary group can occur relatively suddenly, so can its dissolution In most cases, secondary groups cease to exist when they have managed to achieve common objectives, or the situation that formed them has ceased to exist. A clear example is university group work, which quickly dissolves as soon as the work is handed in or the grade is received, especially if the group has been formed by the professor.
Characteristics of secondary groups
Next we will see the main characteristics of secondary groups.
1. Formal and impersonal relationships
Primary groups, such as family or friends, members usually establish deep and lasting bonds Its members have influence with each other. This, however, does not occur in secondary groups, where relationships between members tend to be quite impersonal, formal in nature and without exerting great influence.
It is not common to find warmth and emotional support in secondary groups such as academic group work or a company office given that interactions between members are based on achieving common tasks, not providing psychological support.
Relationships can become so formal and impersonal that, in fact, sometimes their members do not know each other. This can perfectly happen in a large company, in which its departments work in a coordinated manner but it is very difficult for its workers to know all the employees personally.
2. High membership
And speaking of large companies, we enter into the following characteristic of secondary groups: they usually have a high number of members. This contrasts with primary groups, where it is normal to have a few people as members which facilitates warmer and more personal relationships.
It is not that they always have many members, as can be seen in academic groups that can have 4 or 5 people. However, it is normal to see that these groups are quite extensive, such as a large company, a political party or all the officials of a state, groups that can have thousands of people.
3. Goal-oriented
As we have already seen, secondary groups are formed either because the situation requires it or, as is often the case, because a goal must be met. So that They are oriented towards a specific objective that all their members hope will be met Once that goal is met and, if no more appear, it is normal for the group to end up dissolving relatively quickly.
4. Optional membership
The normal thing in primary groups, such as family, friends or partners, is that their membership is not optional. Yes, it is true that we can stop talking to our family, break up with our partner and find a new one or change groups of friends, however, in most cases it is a set of circumstances and coincidences that cause us to form part of them, situations that we cannot choose.
In secondary groups there is more freedom of belonging It is not that it is entirely optional to belong to these groups, but its choice is motivated by conscious decisions of the individual, who knows that he is not going to join a group of friends nor that it is expected that he will have intimate relationships of any kind with its members. An example of optional membership in a secondary group would be joining a company.
While it is true that the employer is the one who ultimately decides whether to hire us or not, we have been the ones who have wanted to belong to that company, something that cannot be decided with our family.
Though not always, It is quite common to see formal and explicit rules in secondary groups that regulate the relationships between their members, especially in the professional field. These rules are responsible for maintaining the stability of the group, and promoting the development of the best possible conditions to achieve common objectives.
6. Different levels of activity between members
As they tend to be large in size, it is common to see different levels of activity among members of secondary groups. Its members tend to fulfill very different roles and act differently depending on their interests, roles to fulfill, motivation and objectives.
Taking the example of a large company again, it is expected that it is organized into different departments with different functions and members who fulfill different roles. So that, On many occasions, secondary groups are like matrioshkas, formed from other secondary groups specialized in fulfilling a specific function within them
7. Position dependent status
Normally in primary groups all members have a similar social position, without there being a marked hierarchy. It is true that there may be a leader in the group of friends or the figure of the patriarch or matriarch in the family, but as a general rule, they tend to have the same status.
In secondary groups, status is dependent on position, since there is a hierarchy Each member has a different status that comes directly from the social position they hold within the group, this being especially visible in companies with the figure of the director, head of the section or department, president…
