- published: 16 Jul 2014
- views: 102921
In the social sciences a social group is two or more humans who interact with one another, share similar characteristics and collectively have a sense of unity, although the best way to define social group is a matter of conjecture. Regardless, a society can be viewed as a large group, though most social groups are considerably smaller. Society can also be viewed as people who interact with one another, sharing similarities pertaining to culture and territorial boundaries.
A social group exhibits some degree of social cohesion and is more than a simple collection or aggregate of individuals, such as people waiting at a bus stop, or people waiting in a line. Characteristics shared by members of a group may include interests, values, representations, ethnic or social background, and kinship ties. Kinship ties being a social bond based on common ancestry, marriage, or adoption. In a similar vein, some researchers consider the defining characteristic of a group as social interaction.
Renowned social psychologist Muzafer Sherif formulated a technical definition with the following elements: