CHAPTER 5
Social Groups: Conceptual Framework
Society is a complicated web of social relationships that are both formal and informal. These relationships exist between (i) two or more individuals, (ii) between individuals and groups, and (iii) between different groups.
The entire community, or even society as a whole, is a group; in fact, these entities can be seen as a ‘group of groups’. A society’s interactional field consists of groups—formal and informal, of alliances and coalitions, and social networks. They form the structure of a society.
Groups exist as relatively permanent entities. Individual members come and go. The arrival of new members or the departure of old ones changes the demography and actual composition of the group, but ...
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