The social cohesion approach

Examples of The social cohesion approach in the following topics:

• The Nature of Groups

  • 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.
  • Explicitly contrasted with a social cohesion-based definition for social groups is the social identity perspective, which draws on insights made in social identity theory.
  • The social identity approach posits that the necessary and sufficient conditions for the formation of social groups is "awareness of a common category membership" and that a social group can be "usefully conceptualized as a number of individuals who have internalized the same social category membership as a component of their self concept. " Stated otherwise, while the social cohesion approach expects group members to ask "who am I attracted to?
  • " the social identity perspective expects group members to simply ask "who am I?
  • Contrast the social cohesion-based concept of a social group with the social identity concept

• Functions of Religion

  • Given this approach, Durkheim proposed that religion has three major functions in society: it provides social cohesion to help maintain social solidarity through shared rituals and beliefs, social control to enforce religious-based morals and norms to help maintain conformity and control in society, and it offers meaning and purpose to answer any existential questions.
  • Religion, he argued, was an expression of social cohesion.
  • The primary criticism of the structural-functional approach to religion is that it overlooks religion's dysfunctions.
  • In one sense, this still fits the structural-functional approach as it provides social cohesion among the members of one party in a conflict.
  • For instance, the social cohesion among the members of a terrorist group is high, but in a broader sense, religion is obviously resulting in conflict without questioning its actions against other members of society.

• Team Cohesiveness

  • A group is in a state of cohesion when its members possess bonds linking them to one another and to the group as a whole.
  • Team cohesion is the degree to which individual members want to contribute to the group's ability to continue as a functioning work unit.
  • Members of cohesive teams have emotional and social bonds that link them to one another and to the group as a whole.
  • Social scientists have explained the phenomenon of group cohesiveness in different ways.
  • For example, cohesion can intensify social pressure to conform or limit individual expression.

• The Functionalist Perspective

  • According to the functionalist perspective, race and ethnicity are two of the various parts of a cohesive society.
  • This approach was notably in evidence in respect to the sociology of race" (Coulhan 2007, Sociology in America, p.559).
  • It also allows for the micro-analyses that much of modern sociology is oriented around, such as identity formation and the socially constructed nature of race.
  • During the turbulent 1960s, functionalism was often called "consensus theory," criticized for being unable to account for social change or structural contradictions and conflict, including inequalities related to race, gender, class, and other social factors that are a source of oppression and conflict.
  • Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a functionalist approach to race

• Mechanical and Organic Solidarity

  • Mechanical and organic solidarity are concepts referring to different modes of establishing and maintaining social order and cohesion.
  • Although individuals perform very different roles in an organization, and often have different values and interests, there is a cohesion that arises from the compartmentalization and specialization woven into "modern" life.
  • For example, farmers produce the food to feed the factory workers who produce the tractors that allow the farmer to produce the food.
  • In The Division of Labor in Society, Emile Durkheim outlined two theories that attempt to explain how social order and solidarity is established and maintained.
  • Solidarity describes connections between individuals that allow them to form a cohesive social network.

• Transitivity

  • Small group theorists argue that many of the most interesting and basic questions of social structure arise with regard to triads.
  • Thus, small group researchers suggest, all of the really fundamental forms of social relationships can be observed in triads.
  • Nonetheless, the Network>Cohesion>Transitivity algorithms in UCINET offer some interesting and flexible approaches to characterizing the transitivity of triads in populations.
  • "Adjacency") is a reasonable approach.
  • One approach is to divide the number of transitive triads by the total number of triads of all kinds (720).

• Effects of Group Size on Stability and Intimacy

  • A group is said to be in a state of cohesion when its members possess bonds linking them to one another and to the group as a whole.
  • According to Festinger, Schachter, and Back (1950), group cohesion develops from a field of binding social forces that act on members to stay in the group.
  • Group cohesiveness may suffer, though, if the group lacks enough members to perform its tasks well.
  • This is the suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships.
  • The concept is based on studies of social animals, which have shown a correlation between the typical frontal brain capacity the members of a species has and the maximum size of the groups in which they live.

• The Functionalist Perspective on Deviance

  • While this us-versus-them mentality solidified social identities and solidarities within the two categories, there was nevertheless an overarching social schism.
  • A structural functionalist approach emphasizes social solidarity, divided into organic and mechanical typologies, and stability in social structures.
  • For the structural functionalist, deviance serves two primary roles in creating social stability.
  • Conversely, being marked as deviant can actual bolster solidarity within the marked community, as members take pride and ownership in their stigmatized identity and create cohesive units of their own (for example, members of the LGBT community unifying around Pride).
  • While this us-versus-them mentality solidified social identities and solidarities within the two categories, there was an overarching social schism.

• Introduction

  • This time, though, our focus is the social structure, rather than the individual.
  • The extent to which a population is characterized by "reciprocated" ties (those where each directs a tie to the other) may tell us about the degree of cohesion, trust, and social capital that is present.
  • The smallest social structure that has the true character of a "society" is the triad - any "triple" {A, B, C} of actors.
  • There are many approaches to characterizing the extent and form of "embedding" of actors in populations.
  • There are, however, some very interesting and often useful approaches that you may wish to explore.

• The Functions of Deviance

  • While this us-versus-them mentality solidified social identities and solidarities within the two categories, there was nevertheless an overarching social schism.
  • A structural functionalist approach emphasizes social solidarity and stability in social structures.
  • For the structural functionalist, deviance serves two primary roles in creating social stability.
  • Conversely, being marked as deviant can actually bolster solidarity within the marked community as members take pride and ownership in their stigmatized identity, creating cohesive units of their own.
  • Describe how structural functionalism views the relation between deviance and social change