406 | English for Psychologists and Sociologists

II. Make up word-combinations and translate them into Russian:

To display — genuine concern

sympathy

self-consciousness To share - troubles

concern

work

duties

responsibilities

То shape —

personal attitudes

social identity

personality

world outlook

knowledge

То be aware of -

reality

social respect

relationships

cultural norms

mutually beneficial cooperation

Sociology. Unit VIII I ⁴⁰⁷

V. Answer the following questions:

1. What is of great concern for the sociologists in the study of primary groups?

2. What is of chief significance for you in your subject of investigation?

3. What is of major interest for the sociologists dealing with the public opinion poll?

VI. Role-play:

1. You have just come back from the international conference devoted to some problems of social interaction. You think this conference was of great importance. You give your reasons to your friend who is also deeply concerned with the given problem.

2. You see an advertisement in a newspaper which is of deep concern for you. Phone up and find out more about the flat to rent. If the flat sounds suitable, arrange to go round and see it.

III. Translate the following sentences into Russian:

1. Such considerations are not of crucial importance.

2. Personal concern in social interaction is of certain value in drawing a distinction between primary and secondary groups.

3. The family is of major significance in shaping personal attitudes and behaviour.

4. The problem of interpersonal relationships is of great interest for the social thinkers.

5. Secondary relationships are of definite importance in the study of social groups of people.

6. Human activity in social community is of deep concern. for the sociologists.

IV. Make up your own sentences with - «to be of importance, to be of value» — and ask your partner to translate them.

Unit IX

I. Read and translate the text:

Group Dynamics

Sociologists describe the operation of social groups as group dynamics. As members of social groups, people are likely to interact according to a number of distinctive patterns.

Group Leadership

Social groups vary in the extent to which they designate one or more members as leaders, with responsibility to direct the activities of all members. Some friendship groups grant no one the clear status of leader, while others do. Within families, parents generally share leadership responsibilities, although husband and wife sometimes disagree about who is really in charge. In many secondary groups, such as a business office, leadership is likely to involve an established status with clearly defined roles.

There are several different ways in which a person may become recognized as the leader of a social group. In the family, traditional cultural patterns confer leadership on the parents, though more often on the male as head of the household if two spouses are present. In other cases, such as friendship groups, one or more persons may gradually emerge as leaders, although there is no formal process of selection. In larger secondary groups, leaders are usually formally chosen through election or recruitment.

Although leaders are often thought to be people with unusual personal ability, decades of research have failed to produce consistent evidence that there is any category of «natural leaders». It seems that there is no set of

Sociology. Unit IX I ⁴⁰⁹

personal qualities that all leaders have in common; rather, virtually any person may be recognized as a leader depending on the particular needs of the group.

Furthermore, although we commonly think of social groups as having a single leader, research suggests that there are typically two different leaderships that are held by different individuals. Instrumental leadership is leadership that emphasizes the completion of tasks by a social group. Group members look at instrumental leaders to «get things done». Expressive leadership, on the other hand, is leadership that emphasizes the collective well-being of a social group's members. Expressive leaders are less concerned with the overall goals of the group than providing emotional support to group members and attempting to minimize tension and conflict among them. Group members expect expressive leaders to maintain stable relationships within the group and provide support to individual members.

The Importance of Group Size

Being the first person to arrive at a party affords the opportunity to observe a fascinating process in group dynamics. When fewer than about six people interact in one setting, a single conversation is usually maintained by everyone. But with the addition of more people, the discussion typically divides into two or more conversations. This example is a simple way of showing that size has important effects on the operation of social groups.

The basis for this dynamic lies in the mathematical connection between the number of people in a social group and the number of relationships among them as shown in Figure 3. Two people are joined in a single relationship; adding a third person results in three relationships, a fourth person yields six. As additional people are added one at a time - according to what mathematicians call an arithmetic increase the number of relationships increases

English for Psychologists and Sociologists

В

v ery rapidly — in what is called a geometric increase. By the time six people have joined one conversation, there are fifteen different relationships among them, which explains why the conversation usually divides by this point.

В

Three people (three relationships)

Four people (six relationships)

В

Two people (one relationship)

Five people (ten relationships)

Six people (fifteen relationships)

F igure 3. Group Size and Relationships

Social groups with more than three members tend to be more stable because the lack of interest on the part of one or even several members does not directly threaten the group's existence. Furthermore, larger social groups tend to develop more formal social structure - with a variety of statuses and roles - which stabilize their operation. However, larger social groups inevitably lack the increase of personal relationships that are possible in the smallest groups.

Is there an ideal size for a social group? The answer, of course, depends on the group's purpose.

Sociology. UnitIX I ^4//

II. Find in the text the definitions of:

1. group dynamics;

2. instrumental leadership;

3. expressive leadership;

4. an arithmetic increase;

E) a geometric increase.