Introduction Social groups are a fundamental part of the human experience. Everyone belongs to at least one group. What is a group? Kassin, Fein, and Markus (2014) define a group as "a set of individuals who interact over time and have shared fate, goals, or identity" (p. 297). Primary groups are those groups who are based on primary relationships where there are ties of love and loyalty (Mondal, 2015, para. 1). Primary groups were first described by Charles Cooley who stated that they were "fundamental in forming the social nature and ideals of the individual" (Mondal, 2015, para. 4). A family is one example of a primary social group. This paper will discuss why and how families form, socialization within the family, roles and norms
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In this forming process, they get to know each other, find common interests and beliefs, and build a base for their family unit (Ritchie, 2013, p. 175). After they are married and live together, they adjust to the creation of the new family unit. Together they begin define the norms and roles of their family. Norms are the rules of conduct for members of the group (Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2014, p. 300). In a family, some examples of norms would be whether or not they attend church, holiday traditions, what kinds of activities they do together, how often they spend time together, and what their values and beliefs are. Roles are the expected set of behaviors each person has that may be designated based on title of their position (Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2014, p. 299). When a man and woman marry, they accept the titles of "husband" and "wife". Together they define what the expectations of these positions are. One possible expectation for these roles might be that the husband works outside the home and the wife takes care of the household. The acceptance of these new roles leads to an adjustment of their individual identities (Mondal, 2015, …show more content…
Groupthink, the tendency to prioritize agreement over the need for accuracy and appropriate decisions, can occur because of the pressure to be cohesive (Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2014, p. 316). In a family this can manifest as a child participating in a sport because their parents want them to, even though they have no interest in athletics. Forced compliance, also born of the pressure for cohesion, can cause cognitive dissonance (Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959, p. 203). Cognitive dissonance is feeling uncomfortable as the result of being forced to say or do something in opposition to one 's personal beliefs. In some cases, cognitive dissonance can cause a change in attitude, however, if the pressure to conform is too great the attitude will not change (Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959, p. 210). In a family, a situation where this might arise could be parents trying to force their children to accept their religious beliefs. The right amount of pressure on the child could result in the child adopting their parents ' beliefs as their own. Conversely, if the parents exert too much pressure, the child will not likely change their attitude and may actually rebel more against their parents ' beliefs.
Conclusion Families are primary social groups that all human beings belong to. They are formed because of the need for protection and reproduction and provide a sense of social identity and self-worth. Families,
In this forming process, they get to know each other, find common interests and beliefs, and build a base for their family unit (Ritchie, 2013, p. 175). After they are married and live together, they adjust to the creation of the new family unit. Together they begin define the norms and roles of their family. Norms are the rules of conduct for members of the group (Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2014, p. 300). In a family, some examples of norms would be whether or not they attend church, holiday traditions, what kinds of activities they do together, how often they spend time together, and what their values and beliefs are. Roles are the expected set of behaviors each person has that may be designated based on title of their position (Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2014, p. 299). When a man and woman marry, they accept the titles of "husband" and "wife". Together they define what the expectations of these positions are. One possible expectation for these roles might be that the husband works outside the home and the wife takes care of the household. The acceptance of these new roles leads to an adjustment of their individual identities (Mondal, 2015, …show more content…
Groupthink, the tendency to prioritize agreement over the need for accuracy and appropriate decisions, can occur because of the pressure to be cohesive (Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2014, p. 316). In a family this can manifest as a child participating in a sport because their parents want them to, even though they have no interest in athletics. Forced compliance, also born of the pressure for cohesion, can cause cognitive dissonance (Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959, p. 203). Cognitive dissonance is feeling uncomfortable as the result of being forced to say or do something in opposition to one 's personal beliefs. In some cases, cognitive dissonance can cause a change in attitude, however, if the pressure to conform is too great the attitude will not change (Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959, p. 210). In a family, a situation where this might arise could be parents trying to force their children to accept their religious beliefs. The right amount of pressure on the child could result in the child adopting their parents ' beliefs as their own. Conversely, if the parents exert too much pressure, the child will not likely change their attitude and may actually rebel more against their parents ' beliefs.
Conclusion Families are primary social groups that all human beings belong to. They are formed because of the need for protection and reproduction and provide a sense of social identity and self-worth. Families,