Reference Groups

Examples of Reference Groups in the following topics:

• Reference Groups

  • Reference groups are groups that consumers will look to for help in making purchasing decisions.
  • Reference groups are groups that consumers compare themselves to or associate with.
  • Reference groups are considered a social influence in consumer purchasing.
  • Reference groups can be either formal or informal.
  • Additionally, celebrities can be used as a reference group.

• Reference Groups

  • Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior a reference group.
  • One important concept in this theory is the reference group.
  • A reference group refers to a group to which an individual or another group is compared.
  • A reference group can either be from a membership group or non-membership group.
  • An example of a reference group is a group of people who have a certain level of affluence.

• Functional Groups

  • Functional groups refer to specific atoms bonded in a certain arrangement that give a compound certain physical and chemical properties.
  • The first carbon atom that attaches to the functional group is referred to as the alpha carbon; the second, the beta carbon; the third, the gamma carbon, etc.
  • Similarly, a functional group can be referred to as primary, secondary, or tertiary, depending on if it is attached to one, two, or three carbon atoms .
  • Functionalization refers to the addition of functional groups to a compound by chemical synthesis.
  • Alcohols are a common functional group (-OH).

• By Functional Group

  • Functional groups are atoms or small groups of atoms (usually two to four) that exhibit a characteristic reactivity when treated with certain reagents.
  • Because of this, the discussion of organic reactions is often organized according to functional groups.
  • The following table summarizes the general chemical behavior of the common functional groups.
  • For reference, the alkanes provide a background of behavior in the absence of more localized functional groups.
  • This table does not include any reference to rearrangement, due to the fact that such reactions are found in all functional classes, and are highly dependent on the structure of the reactant.

• Organized Crime

  • Organized crime refers to transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals.
  • Organized crime refers to transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit.
  • An organized gang or criminal set can also be referred to as a mob.
  • Bureaucratic and corporate organized crime groups are defined by the general rigidity of their internal structures.
  • The term "street gang" is commonly used interchangeably with "youth gang", referring to neighborhood or street-based youth groups that meet "gang" criteria.

• Ethnic Groups

  • An ethnic group is a group of people who share a common heritage, culture, and/or language; in the U.S., ethnicity often refers to race.
  • An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with each other through a common heritage, which generally consists of a common culture and shared language or dialect.
  • The group's ethos or ideology may also stress common ancestry, religion, or race.
  • Ethnicity in U.S. therefore usually refers to collectives of related groups, having more to do with physical appearance, specifically skin color, rather than political boundaries.
  • The many previously designated "Oriental" ethnic groups are now classified as the "Asian" racial group for the census.

• Effects of Group Size on Attitude and Behavior

  • This makes sense if the size of the group has consequences for the way group members relate with each other.
  • Individual behavior deviates substantially in a group setting; therefore, it is difficult to determine group behavior by looking solely at the individuals that comprise the group.
  • Group attitudes and behavior depend upon several variables: size, structure, the purpose that the group serves, group development and various influences upon a group.
  • Group dynamics refers to a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group or between social groups.
  • Sociologists study interactions within groups, and between both groups and individuals.

• The Nature of Groups

  • A society can be viewed as a large group, though most social groups are considerably smaller.
  • One way of determining if a collection of people can be considered a group is if individuals who belong to that collection use the self-referent pronoun "we;" using "we" to refer to a collection of people often implies that the collection thinks of itself as a group.
  • accepted norms and values with reference to matters relevant to the group; and
  • " the social identity perspective expects group members to simply ask "who am I?
  • A law enforcement official is a social category, not a group.

• In-Groups and Out-Groups

  • In-groups are social groups to which an individual feels he or she belongs, while an individual doesn't identify with the out-group.
  • In-group favoritism refers to a preference and affinity for one's in-group over the out-group or anyone viewed as outside the in-group.
  • "they are alike; we are diverse. " The out-group homogeneity effect has been found using a wide variety of different social groups, from political and racial groups to age and gender groups.
  • Prejudice primarily refers to a negative attitude about others, although one can also have a positive prejudice in favor of something.
  • Recall two of the key features of in-group biases toward out-groups

• Social Identity Theory

  • We define appropriate behaviour by reference to the norms of groups we belong to, but you can only do this if you can tell who belongs to your group.
  • The first is referred to as social identity, the latter is referred to as personal identity.
  • In other words, people in groups choose to compare their groups with other groups in ways that reflect positively on themselves.
  • Inversely, people in a group may minimize differences between their group and another, slightly more prestigious group so one's own group tends to be seen more favorably (i.e., negative distinctiveness).Groups choose dimensions for comparison in order to maximize the positivity of their own group.
  • Thus, members of higher status groups work harder when competing against lower status groups.