Socialization (Mod3Case) - Essay Example

Social interactions within groups help to define the character of an individual. In most cases, people of the same group often interact together. This tends to illustrate how they operate to the rest of the society even when outside their groups (Browne, 2011). In groups, people are always categorized in social classes, which help them get into social interactions to the rest of the community without having to keep on disclosing their identity all the time. Henri Tajfel, a sociologist, in his theory ‘social identity theory’, stated that, groups are considered very important since they give sense of social identity.

The theory further clarifies that each and every group will try its best to enhance their social image to outrage other groups. He came up with three basic process of evaluating groups. The first process was categorization. This explains that the same way people categorize objects for easier clarification so does it happen to groups. Often, people will tend to identify groups according to their social environment (Browne, 2011). This helps in identifying an appropriate behavior of such a group.

For instance, business, Religion or trade will help us much to identify the social environment of such kind of persons. Another category was social identification (Browne, 2011). People adopt the identity of groups’ where they feel perception of belonging. Members of a specified group see themselves as having unique characteristic. This makes same share inbound behavior, treating each member equally and controlled by the same norms. In this case, they see other groups as distinct and this enables them to tackle pressure of the other groups.

The last process was social comparison. Members of a group having considered themselves unique will have to compare their group with the other groups, which they consider rivals. This enables them to gain self esteem, especially if a group is able to claim superiority. In most cases, people tend to highlight comparisons, which give them due advantage against other groups. The notion that the lower ranked groups will work harder to outdo the superior groups is empathized. In this case, superior groups often work even harder to avert the shame that may befall them if defeated by a group of a lower class.

Types of groups Primary group is considered as a small social group whose members share very close social ties. A primary group is always associated with each member having a personal touch with each other and having a mutual acceptance of enduring the relationships together. The main objectives of primary groups are basically to enhance the relationship amongst the group members other than achieving other objectives. One of the primary groups of such nature is the family group (Browne, 2011).

The family group has existed for since the earliest days of social organizations amongst mankind. Educational, religion or community groups are just, but modern forms, which have been derived from family grouping. Family is basically meant for exchange of ideas and relations such as love, care for each member and support in case of problems. The goals founded within family groups are always meant to last for a longer duration while instilling