Groups and Networks Chapter Summary

Chapter Summary: Groups and Networks

How Social Networks are Formed and What In Groups Mean

The chapter looks at the basic theories regarding group interaction and how groups shape the social environment in which people live. It looks at the size and shape of a group, what difference role players make, and how the power of a group differs from individual power or institutional power. It explains the difference between a dyad and a triad—a dyad being a group of two, which is more of a symmetrical relationship; a triad being a group of three or more in which the group has more power as a group than any one individual. In a group, roles are unequal and important. There is the mediator, the rejoicer, and the one who divides and conquers. Size matters in groups. Small groups are good for face to face interaction and grassroots level activity. Large groups are more formal and structured. Primary groups are elite. Secondary groups are less personal and more instrumental (like unions). Group inclusion is important to most people. The in-group is powerful, whereas the out-group is marginalized. Networks are about ties that link one to a social environment. A network is essentially a set of dyads. Out of these sets of dyads one spins a narrative that represents one’s life. Networking is about embedding oneself with strong ties—building deep connections.

An interesting quote I found was in relation to teenage sex: “Hooking up has replaced going steady on campus” and another good one was “friends with benefits are preferred over girlfriends and boyfriends” even though a third of college students (only) do not take part in this libertine sexual campus culture.

A question I would ask the group is: Has anyone read Tom Wolfe’s I Am Charlotte Simmons? What has happened in the culture of America that two-thirds of college students on campus are engaged in “hooking up” just like in that book, and what does it say about where we are heading?