assignment on reference group

Reference Group: Types, Functions, Characteristics, Importance

The term reference group, originally coined by Hebert Hyman in his book The Psychology of Status (1942), is used to describe any group that an individual uses as a point of comparison in the process of self-appraisal. The points of comparison (or reference) that an individual looks at could be the norms, attitudes, and values of the reference group members. For example, when a child joins a new school, they will look at the other older students of the school for reference so that they know how to dress, speak and behave in a manner accepted by the social group that is their new school. In this case, the older students of the school become the reference group. Thus, individuals get to choose from several existing social groups, which one they look at as a reference group. Therefore, reference groups provide individuals with a framework for social comparison.

It is not necessary that an individual only subscribes to a single reference group at any given point in time. Individuals may look up to several reference groups simultaneously, which can sometimes cause anomalies in their behaviour. Furthermore, reference groups do not have a set size and do not require individuals to identify with that group explicitly.

Most reference groups tend to be informal, i.e., they are unstructured and do not work towards achieving specific goals. Instead, group membership is primarily based on shared interests and values. Families and peer groups are examples of reference groups that are typically informal. Conversely, there are also formal reference groups wherein, unlike informal reference groups, the members of the collective are working towards certain goals and also have a rigid structure and hierarchy in place in order to achieve those goals. For example, labour unions and religious groups.

Functions of Reference Groups

Reference groups provide individuals with a basis for reference and evaluation of their attitudes and beliefs.
Setting a benchmark of measure allows people to determine their self-identity and their conduct in a social environment.
Additionally, they act as a source of inspiration or aspirations for people to live up to and work towards.
Reference groups also help shape our values in terms of what we think is right or wrong. This distinction is made when we decide which values we want to emulate and which ones we want to reject.
Finally, they allow us to immerse ourselves in a new environment by providing us with a standard to follow so that we may fit in better.

Types of Reference Groups

Harold Kelley (1952) recognised two distinct types of reference groups based on the functions that they perform –

Normative Reference Groups –

Normative reference groups serve as a source of an individual’s norms, values and attitudes. These are groups that people look up to so that they may understand how to conduct themselves in any given environment. For example, a new employee in an organisation will look to older employees to understand what the acceptable code of conduct is in that organisation.

Comparative Reference Groups –

Comparative reference groups are those which individuals use as a standard against which they compare themselves during the process of self-appraisal. For example, in a football team, junior players may compare themselves to their more experienced counterparts in terms of skill, technique and performance.

American social psychologist Theodore Newcomb further distinguished between two primary types of reference groups based on the nature of comparison –

Positive Reference Groups –

A positive reference group is one of which individuals aspire to become members. Individuals typically admire the socialisation and behaviour patterns and attitudes of this group and wish to emulate them.

Negative Reference Groups –

A negative reference group is one that individuals disapprove of and use their patterns of behaviour and opinions, and attitudes as a standard to avoid.

Characteristics of Reference Groups

Reference groups set ideals of behaviour and attitudes, values and ideologies for those who refer to them.
They are not organised groups of people who consciously or deliberately stand to represent specific social values. Instead, they may be understood as conceptual groups because they are non-membership groups.
In order to become a member of a reference group, individuals must adopt the lifestyle and values of the group. For example, immigrants in Western countries learn to incorporate Western culture into their own lifestyle so that they can cultivate a sense of acceptance and belonging.
An individual’s reference group is in a constant state of flux. As we enter into novel social environments or new phases of life, we change the reference groups that we look up to for self-appraisal.

Pragati Kalive

Pragati is an undergraduate student currently pursuing her BA/BSc in Psychology at Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, Pune. She displays a keen interest in the social sciences and is passionate about writing. She wishes to apply her education in the domain of social work in the future. Reading, swimming and travelling are some activities that keep her going.

What Is a Reference Group?

Understanding One of Sociology's Basic Concepts

Key Concepts
Major Sociologists
News & Issues
Research, Samples, and Statistics
Recommended Reading
Archaeology

A reference group is a collection of people that we use as a standard of comparison for ourselves regardless of whether we are part of that group. We rely on reference groups to understand social norms , which then shape our values, ideas, behavior, and appearance. This means that we also use them to evaluate the relative worth, desirability, or appropriateness of these things.

How We Relate to and Embrace Norms

The concept of a reference group is one of the most basic of sociology. Sociologists believe that our relationship to groups and to society at large shapes our individual thoughts and behaviors. How we relate to reference groups is central to how social groups and society exert social force on us as individuals. By looking to reference groups — be they those of race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, region, ethnicity, age, or localized groups defined by neighborhood or school, among others-- we see norms and dominant values , and we choose to either embrace and reproduce them in our own thoughts, behavior, and interactions with others; or, we reject and refute them by thinking and acting in ways that break from them.

Embracing the norms of a reference group and expressing them ourselves is how we achieve important connections with others that lead to social acceptance —doing so is how we "fit in" and achieve a sense of belonging. Conversely, those of us who either can't or choose not to embrace and express the norms of reference groups that are expected of us might be seen as outcasts, criminals, or in other cases, revolutionaries or trendsetters.

Specific Types of Reference Group Norms

Expressing reference group norms and behavior through consumption is one of the most easily visible examples of this phenomenon. In choosing what clothing to buy and wear, for example, we typically refer to those around us, like friends or peer groups, colleagues, or to stylistic reference groups, like "preppy", "hipster", or "ratchet", among others. We gauge what is normal and expected by paying attention to our reference group, and then we reproduce those norms in our own consumer choices and appearance. In this way, the collective influences our values (of what is cool, nice, or appropriate) and our behavior (what we purchase and how we dress).

Gender norms are another clear example of how reference groups shape our thoughts and behavior. From a young age, boys and girls receive both explicit and implicit messages from those around them and from media that dictate norms of behavior and appearance. As we grow up, reference groups shape our grooming habits on the basis of gender (shaving and other hair-removal practices, hairstyle, etc.), how we interact with others based on their gender, how we physically carry ourselves and comport our bodies, and what roles we inhabit in our personal relationships with others (how to be a "good" wife or husband, or son or daughter, for example).

Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are looking to multiple reference groups which shape our thoughts and behavior on a daily basis.

What is a Norm? Why Does it Matter?
The Sociology of Gender
How Gender Differs From Sex
Introduction to Discourse in Sociology
How Do Sociologists Define Consumption?
Folkways, Mores, Taboos, and Laws
How Emile Durkheim Made His Mark on Sociology
How Our Aligning Behavior Shapes Everyday Life
Units of Analysis as Related to Sociology
Understanding Socialization in Sociology
Why We Selfie
Understanding the Sociological Perspective
Four Things That Set Americans Apart and Why They Matter
Definition of Ritualism in Sociology
Using Ethnomethodology to Understand Social Order
Goffman's Front Stage and Back Stage Behavior

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Social Groups

Learning objectives.

Describe how a social group differs from a social category or social aggregate.
Distinguish a primary group from a secondary group.
Define a reference group and provide one example of such a group.
Explain the importance of networks in a modern society.

Most of us feel comfortable using the word “group” without giving it much thought. In everyday use, it can be a generic term, although it carries important clinical and scientific meanings. Moreover, the concept of a group is central to much of how we think about society and human interaction. Often, we might mean different things by using that word. We might say that a group of kids all saw the dog, and it could mean 250 students in a lecture hall or four siblings playing on a front lawn. In everyday conversation, there isn’t a clear distinguishing use. So how can we hone the meaning more precisely for sociological purposes?

Defining a Group

The term group is an amorphous one and can refer to a wide variety of gatherings, from just two people (think about a “group project” in school when you partner with another student), a club, a regular gathering of friends, or people who work together or share a hobby. In short, the term refers to any collection of at least two people who interact with some frequency and who share a sense that their identity is somehow aligned with the group. Of course, every time people are gathered it is not necessarily a group. A rally is usually a one-time event, for instance, and belonging to a political party doesn’t imply interaction with others. People who exist in the same place at the same time but who do not interact or share a sense of identity—such as a bunch of people standing in line at Starbucks—are considered an aggregate , or a crowd. Another example of a nongroup is people who share similar characteristics but are not tied to one another in any way. These people are considered a category , and as an example all children born from approximately 1980–2000 are referred to as “Millennials.” Why are Millennials a category and not a group? Because while some of them may share a sense of identity, they do not, as a whole, interact frequently with each other.

Interestingly, people within an aggregate or category can become a group. During disasters, people in a neighborhood (an aggregate) who did not know each other might become friendly and depend on each other at the local shelter. After the disaster ends and the people go back to simply living near each other, the feeling of cohesiveness may last since they have all shared an experience. They might remain a group, practicing emergency readiness, coordinating supplies for next time, or taking turns caring for neighbors who need extra help. Similarly, there may be many groups within a single category. Consider teachers, for example. Within this category, groups may exist like teachers’ unions, teachers who coach, or staff members who are involved with the PTA.

Types of Groups

Sociologist Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929) suggested that groups can broadly be divided into two categories: primary groups and secondary groups (Cooley 1909). According to Cooley, primary groups play the most critical role in our lives. The primary group is usually fairly small and is made up of individuals who generally engage face-to-face in long-term emotional ways. This group serves emotional needs: expressive functions rather than pragmatic ones. The primary group is usually made up of significant others, those individuals who have the most impact on our socialization. The best example of a primary group is the family.

Secondary groups are often larger and impersonal. They may also be task-focused and time-limited. These groups serve an instrumental function rather than an expressive one, meaning that their role is more goal- or task-oriented than emotional. A classroom or office can be an example of a secondary group. Neither primary nor secondary groups are bound by strict definitions or set limits. In fact, people can move from one group to another. A graduate seminar, for example, can start as a secondary group focused on the class at hand, but as the students work together throughout their program, they may find common interests and strong ties that transform them into a primary group.

SOCIOLOGY IN THE REAL WORLD

Best friends she’s never met.

Writer Allison Levy worked alone. While she liked the freedom and flexibility of working from home, she sometimes missed having a community of coworkers, both for the practical purpose of brainstorming and the more social “water cooler” aspect. Levy did what many do in the Internet age: she found a group of other writers online through a web forum. Over time, a group of approximately twenty writers, who all wrote for a similar audience, broke off from the larger forum and started a private invitation-only forum. While writers in general represent all genders, ages, and interests, it ended up being a collection of twenty- and thirty-something women who comprised the new forum; they all wrote fiction for children and young adults.

At first, the writers’ forum was clearly a secondary group united by the members’ professions and work situations. As Levy explained, “On the Internet, you can be present or absent as often as you want. No one is expecting you to show up.” It was a useful place to research information about different publishers and about who had recently sold what and to track industry trends. But as time passed, Levy found it served a different purpose. Since the group shared other characteristics beyond their writing (such as age and gender), the online conversation naturally turned to matters such as child-rearing, aging parents, health, and exercise. Levy found it was a sympathetic place to talk about any number of subjects, not just writing. Further, when people didn’t post for several days, others expressed concern, asking whether anyone had heard from the missing writers. It reached a point where most members would tell the group if they were traveling or needed to be offline for awhile.

The group continued to share. One member on the site who was going through a difficult family illness wrote, “I don’t know where I’d be without you women. It is so great to have a place to vent that I know isn’t hurting anyone.” Others shared similar sentiments.

So is this a primary group? Most of these people have never met each other. They live in Hawaii, Australia, Minnesota, and across the world. They may never meet. Levy wrote recently to the group, saying, “Most of my ‘real-life’ friends and even my husband don’t really get the writing thing. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Despite the distance and the lack of physical contact, the group clearly fills an expressive need.

Students wearing bright orange and yellow construction vests are shown standing around an outdoor job site.

In-Groups and Out-Groups

One of the ways that groups can be powerful is through inclusion, and its inverse, exclusion. The feeling that we belong in an elite or select group is a heady one, while the feeling of not being allowed in, or of being in competition with a group, can be motivating in a different way. Sociologist William Sumner (1840–1910) developed the concepts of in-group and out-group to explain this phenomenon (Sumner 1906). In short, an in-group is the group that an individual feels she belongs to, and she believes it to be an integral part of who she is. An out-group , conversely, is a group someone doesn’t belong to; often we may feel disdain or competition in relationship to an out-group. Sports teams, unions, and sororities are examples of in-groups and out-groups; people may belong to, or be an outsider to, any of these. Primary groups consist of both in-groups and out-groups, as do secondary groups.

While group affiliations can be neutral or even positive, such as the case of a team sport competition, the concept of in-groups and out-groups can also explain some negative human behavior, such as white supremacist movements like the Ku Klux Klan, or the bullying of gay or lesbian students. By defining others as “not like us” and inferior, in-groups can end up practicing ethnocentrism, racism, sexism, ageism, and heterosexism—manners of judging others negatively based on their culture, race, sex, age, or sexuality. Often, in-groups can form within a secondary group. For instance, a workplace can have cliques of people, from senior executives who play golf together, to engineers who write code together, to young singles who socialize after hours. While these in-groups might show favoritism and affinity for other in-group members, the overall organization may be unable or unwilling to acknowledge it. Therefore, it pays to be wary of the politics of in-groups, since members may exclude others as a form of gaining status within the group.

BIG PICTURE

Bullying and cyberbullying: how technology has changed the game.

Most of us know that the old rhyme “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is inaccurate. Words can hurt, and never is that more apparent than in instances of bullying. Bullying has always existed and has often reached extreme levels of cruelty in children and young adults. People at these stages of life are especially vulnerable to others’ opinions of them, and they’re deeply invested in their peer groups. Today, technology has ushered in a new era of this dynamic. Cyberbullying is the use of interactive media by one person to torment another, and it is on the rise. Cyberbullying can mean sending threatening texts, harassing someone in a public forum (such as Facebook), hacking someone’s account and pretending to be him or her, posting embarrassing images online, and so on. A study by the Cyberbullying Research Center found that 20 percent of middle school students admitted to “seriously thinking about committing suicide” as a result of online bullying (Hinduja and Patchin 2010). Whereas bullying face-to-face requires willingness to interact with your victim, cyberbullying allows bullies to harass others from the privacy of their homes without witnessing the damage firsthand. This form of bullying is particularly dangerous because it’s widely accessible and therefore easier to accomplish.

Cyberbullying, and bullying in general, made international headlines in 2010 when a fifteen-year-old girl, Phoebe Prince, in South Hadley, Massachusetts, committed suicide after being relentlessly bullied by girls at her school. In the aftermath of her death, the bullies were prosecuted in the legal system and the state passed anti-bullying legislation. This marked a significant change in how bullying, including cyberbullying, is viewed in the United States. Now there are numerous resources for schools, families, and communities to provide education and prevention on this issue. The White House hosted a Bullying Prevention summit in March 2011, and President and First Lady Obama have used Facebook and other social media sites to discuss the importance of the issue.

Will legislation change the behavior of would-be cyberbullies? That remains to be seen. But we can hope communities will work to protect victims before they feel they must resort to extreme measures.

Reference Groups

This is a picture of the U.S. Naval Academy's football team in their locker room.

A reference group is a group that people compare themselves to—it provides a standard of measurement. In U.S. society, peer groups are common reference groups. Kids and adults pay attention to what their peers wear, what music they like, what they do with their free time—and they compare themselves to what they see. Most people have more than one reference group, so a middle school boy might look not just at his classmates but also at his older brother’s friends and see a different set of norms. And he might observe the antics of his favorite athletes for yet another set of behaviors.

Some other examples of reference groups can be one’s cultural center, workplace, family gathering, and even parents. Often, reference groups convey competing messages. For instance, on television and in movies, young adults often have wonderful apartments and cars and lively social lives despite not holding a job. In music videos, young women might dance and sing in a sexually aggressive way that suggests experience beyond their years. At all ages, we use reference groups to help guide our behavior and show us social norms. So how important is it to surround yourself with positive reference groups? You may not recognize a reference group, but it still influences the way you act. Identifying your reference groups can help you understand the source of the social identities you aspire to or want to distance yourself from.

College: A World of In-Groups, Out-Groups, and Reference Groups

About a dozen young females are shown sitting in chairs at a sorority recruitment on campus.

For a student entering college, the sociological study of groups takes on an immediate and practical meaning. After all, when we arrive someplace new, most of us glance around to see how well we fit in or stand out in the ways we want. This is a natural response to a reference group, and on a large campus, there can be many competing groups. Say you are a strong athlete who wants to play intramural sports, and your favorite musicians are a local punk band. You may find yourself engaged with two very different reference groups.

These reference groups can also become your in-groups or out-groups. For instance, different groups on campus might solicit you to join. Are there fraternities and sororities at your school? If so, chances are they will try to convince students—that is, students they deem worthy—to join them. And if you love playing soccer and want to play on a campus team, but you’re wearing shredded jeans, combat boots, and a local band T-shirt, you might have a hard time convincing the soccer team to give you a chance. While most campus groups refrain from insulting competing groups, there is a definite sense of an in-group versus an out-group. “Them?” a member might say. “They’re all right, but their parties are nowhere near as cool as ours.” Or, “Only serious engineering geeks join that group.” This immediate categorization into in-groups and out-groups means that students must choose carefully, since whatever group they associate with won’t just define their friends—it may also define their enemies.

Social Networks

These days in the job world we often hear of “networking,” or taking advantage of your connections with people who have connections to other people who can help you land a job. You do not necessarily know these “other people” who ultimately can help you, but you do know the people who know them. Your ties to the other people are weak or nonexistent, but your involvement in this network may nonetheless help you find a job.

Modern life is increasingly characterized by such social networks , or the totality of relationships that link us to other people and groups and through them to still other people and groups. Some of these relationships involve strong bonds, while other relationships involve weak bonds (Granovetter, 1983). Facebook and other Web sites have made possible networks of a size unimaginable just a decade ago. Social networks are important for many things, including getting advice, borrowing small amounts of money, and finding a job. When you need advice or want to borrow $5 or $10, to whom do you turn? The answer is undoubtedly certain members of your social networks—your friends, family, and so forth.

The indirect links you have to people through your social networks can help you find a job or even receive better medical care. For example, if you come down with a serious condition such as cancer, you would probably first talk with your primary care physician, who would refer you to one or more specialists whom you do not know and who have no connections to you through other people you know. That is, they are not part of your social network. Because the specialists do not know you and do not know anyone else who knows you, they are likely to treat you very professionally, which means, for better or worse, impersonally.

Gavin Llewellyn – My social networks – CC BY 2.0.

Now suppose you have some nearby friends or relatives who are physicians. Because of their connections with other nearby physicians, they can recommend certain specialists to you and perhaps even get you an earlier appointment than your primary physician could. Because these specialists realize you know physicians they know, they may treat you more personally than otherwise. In the long run, you may well get better medical care from your network through the physicians you know. People lucky enough to have such connections may thus be better off medically than people who do not.

But let’s look at this last sentence. What kinds of people have such connections? What kinds of people have friends or relatives who are physicians? All other things being equal, if you had two people standing before you, one employed as a vice president in a large corporation and the other working part time at a fast-food restaurant, which person do you think would be more likely to know a physician or two personally? Your answer is probably the corporate vice president. The point is that factors such as our social class and occupational status, our race and ethnicity, and our gender affect how likely we are to have social networks that can help us get jobs, good medical care, and other advantages. As just one example, a study of three working-class neighborhoods in New York City—one white, one African American, and one Latino—found that white youths were more involved through their parents and peers in job-referral networks than youths in the other two neighborhoods and thus were better able to find jobs, even if they had been arrested for delinquency (Sullivan, 1989). This study suggests that even if we look at people of different races and ethnicities in roughly the same social class, whites have an advantage over people of color in the employment world.

Gender also matters in the employment world. In many businesses, there still exists an “old boys’ network,” in which male executives with job openings hear about male applicants from male colleagues and friends. Male employees already on the job tend to spend more social time with their male bosses than do their female counterparts. These related processes make it more difficult for females than for males to be hired and promoted (Barreto, Ryan, & Schmitt, 2009). To counter these effects and to help support each other, some women form networks where they meet, talk about mutual problems, and discuss ways of dealing with these problems. An example of such a network is The Links, Inc., a community service group of 12,000 professional African American women whose name underscores the importance of networking ( http://www.linksinc.org/index.shtml ). Its members participate in 270 chapters in 42 states; Washington, DC; and the Bahamas. Every two years, more than 2,000 Links members convene for a national assembly at which they network, discuss the problems they face as professional women of color, and consider fund-raising strategies for the causes they support.

Key Takeaways

Groups are a key building block of social life but can also have negative consequences.
Primary groups are generally small and include intimate relationships, while secondary groups are larger and more impersonal.
Reference groups provide a standard for guiding and evaluating our attitudes and behaviors.
Social networks are increasingly important in modern life, and involvement in such networks may have favorable consequences for many aspects of one’s life.

Barreto, M., Ryan, M. K., & Schmitt, M. T. (Eds.). (2009). The glass ceiling in the 21st century: Understanding barriers to gender equality . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Elsesser, K., & Peplau L. A. (2006). The glass partition: Obstacles to cross-sex friendships at work. Human Relations, 59 , 1077–1100.

Gosselin, D. K. (2010). Heavy hands: An introduction to the crimes of family violence (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Granovetter, M. (1983). The strength of weak ties: A network theory revisited. Sociological Theory, 1, 201–233.

Maimon, D., & Kuhl, D. C. (2008). Social control and youth suicidality: Situating Durkheim’s ideas in a multilevel framework. American Sociological Review, 73, 921–943.

Marks, S. R. (1994). Intimacy in the public realm: The case of co-workers. Social Forces, 72, 843–858.

Olzak, S. (1992). The dynamics of ethnic competition and conflict . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Stouffer, S. A., Suchman, E. A., DeVinney, L. C., Star, S. A., & Williams, R. M., Jr. (1949). The American soldier: Adjustment during army life (Studies in Social Psychology in World War II, Vol. 1). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Sullivan, M. (1989). Getting paid: Youth crime and work in the inner city . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Introduction to Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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6.1 Types of Groups

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you should be able to:

Differentiate between primary and secondary groups.
Recognize in-groups and out-groups as subtypes of primary and secondary groups
Define reference groups

Most of us feel comfortable using the word “group” without giving it much thought. Often, we mean different things when using that word. We might say that a group of kids all saw the dog, and it could mean 250 students in a lecture hall or four siblings playing on a front lawn. In everyday use, it can be a generic term, although it carries important clinical and scientific meanings. Moreover, the concept of a group is central to much of how we think about society and human interaction. So how can we hone the meaning more precisely for sociological purposes?

Defining a Group

Another example of a nongroup is people who share similar characteristics but are not tied to one another in any way. These people are considered a category , and as an example all children born from approximately 1980–2000 are referred to as “Millennials.” Why are Millennials a category and not a group? Because while some of them may share a sense of identity, they do not, as a whole, interact frequently with each other.

Similarly, there may be many groups within a single category. Consider teachers, for example. Within this category, groups may exist like teachers’ unions, teachers who coach, or staff members who are involved with the PTA.

Types of Groups

Neither primary nor secondary groups are bound by strict definitions or set limits. In fact, people can move from one group to another. A group of coworkers, for example, can start as a secondary group, but as the employees work together over the years, they may find common interests and strong ties that transform them into a primary group. As we will discuss in the chapter on Media and Technology, even online networks of people with common interests can sometimes move from secondary to primary group status.

Sociology in the Real World

Best friends she’s never met.

Writer Allison Levy worked alone. While she liked the freedom and flexibility of working from home, she sometimes missed having a community of coworkers, both for the practical purpose of brainstorming and socializing. Levy did what many do in the Internet age: she found a group of other writers online through a web forum. Over time, a group of approximately twenty writers, who all wrote for a similar audience, broke off from the larger group and started a private invitation-only forum. While writers in general represent all genders, ages, and interests, this group ended up being a collection of twenty- and thirty-something women who all wrote fiction for children and young adults.

At first, the writers’ forum was clearly a secondary group united by the members’ professions and work situations. As Levy explained, “On the Internet, you can be present or absent as often as you want. No one is expecting you to show up.” It was a useful place to research information about publishers, recently-published books and authors, and industry trends. But as time passed, Levy found it served a different purpose. Since the group shared other characteristics beyond their writing (such as age and gender), their conversation naturally turned to matters such as child-rearing, aging parents, health, and exercise. Levy found it was a sympathetic place to talk about any number of subjects, not just writing. Further, when people didn’t post for several days, others expressed concern, asking whether anyone had heard from the missing writers. It reached a point where most members would tell the group if they were traveling or needed to be offline for awhile.

In-Groups and Out-Groups

One of the ways that groups can be powerful is through inclusion, and its inverse, exclusion. The feeling that we belong in an elite or select group is a heady one, while the feeling of not being allowed in, or of being in competition with a group, can be motivating in a different way. Sociologist William Sumner (1840–1910) developed the concepts of in-group and out-group to explain this phenomenon (Sumner 1906). In short, an in-group is the group that an individual feels she belongs to, and she believes it to be an integral part of who she is. An out-group, conversely, is a group someone doesn’t belong to; often we may feel disdain or competition in relationship to an out-group. Sports teams, unions, and sororities are examples of in-groups and out-groups. Primary groups consist of both in-groups and out-groups, as do secondary groups.

While group affiliations can be neutral or positive, the concept of in-groups and out-groups can also explain some negative human behavior, such as white supremacist movements. By defining others as “not like us” and inferior, in-groups can end up practicing ethnocentrism, racism, sexism, ageism, and heterosexism—manners of judging others negatively based on their culture, race, sex, age, or sexuality.

Often, in-groups can form within a secondary group. For instance, a workplace can have cliques of people, from senior executives who play golf together, to engineers who write code together, to young singles who socialize after hours. While these in-groups might show favoritism and affinity for other in-group members, the overall organization may be unable or unwilling to acknowledge it. Therefore, it pays to be wary of the politics of in-groups, since members may exclude others as a form of gaining status within the group.

Big Picture

Bullying and cyberbullying: how technology has changed the game.

Most of us know that the old rhyme “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is inaccurate. Words can hurt, and never is that more apparent than in instances of bullying. Bullying often reaches extreme levels of cruelty in children and young adults. People at these stages of life are especially vulnerable to opinions of others and deeply invested in their peer groups. Today, cyberbullying is on the rise. Cyberbullying can involve sending threatening texts, harassing someone in a public forum (such as social media), hacking someone’s account and pretending to be them, posting embarrassing images online, and so on. A study by the Cyberbullying Research Center found that 28 percent of teens have been a victim of cyberbullying (Hinduja and Patchin, 2019). Severe bullying can lead to suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts (John, 2018). Researchers noted that students who experienced in-person and online bullying were eleven times more likely to attempt suicide (Hinduja, 2018). Whereas bullying face-to-face requires willingness to interact with your victim, cyberbullying allows bullies to harass others from the privacy of their homes without witnessing the damage firsthand. This form of bullying is particularly dangerous because it’s widely accessible and therefore easier to carry out. Cyberbullying can create a feeling of powerlessness and inescapability because victimization is not constrained to physical locations. Many victims report being harassed across multiple platforms or formats at the same time.

Cyberbullying first made international headlines in 2010 when a fifteen-year-old girl, Phoebe Prince, in South Hadley, Massachusetts, died by suicide after being relentlessly bullied by girls at her school. In the aftermath of her death, the bullies were prosecuted and the state passed anti-bullying legislation. This marked a significant change in how bullying, including cyberbullying, is viewed in the United States. Now there are numerous resources for schools, families, and communities to provide education and prevention on this issue. Social media platforms and their parent companies are also taking steps (often under pressure from communities) to improve cyberbullying detection and reporting capabilities.

According to a report released in 2013 by the National Center for Educational Statistics, close to 1 in every 3 (27.8 percent) students report being bullied by their school peers. Seventeen percent of students reported being the victims of cyberbullying. Overall, LGBTQ youth are targeted at a higher rate than other youth, and members of minority populations overall are more likely to be cyberbullying victims (Hinjuda & Patchin, 2020). Finally, adults (particularly college students) are also frequent cyberbullying victims and perpetrators.

Reference Groups

A reference group is a group that people compare themselves to—it provides a standard of measurement. In U.S. society, peer groups are common reference groups. Kids and adults pay attention to what their peers wear, what music they like, what they do with their free time—and they compare themselves to what they see. Most people have more than one reference group, so a middle school boy might look not just at his classmates but also at his older brother’s friends and see a different set of norms. And he might observe the behaviors of his favorite athletes for yet another point of reference.

Some other examples of reference groups can be one’s cultural center, workplace, family gathering, and even parents. Often, reference groups convey competing messages. For instance, on television and in movies, young adults often have wonderful apartments and cars and lively social lives despite not holding a job. In music videos, young women might dance and sing in a sexually aggressive way that suggests experience beyond their years. At all ages, we use reference groups to help guide our behavior and establish our social norms. So how important is it to surround yourself with positive reference groups? You may not recognize a reference group, but it still influences the way you act. Identifying your reference groups can help you understand the source of the social identities you aspire to or want to distance yourself from.

College: A World of In-Groups, Out-Groups, and Reference Groups

These reference groups can also become your in-groups or out-groups. For instance, different groups on campus might solicit you to join. Are there fraternities and sororities at your school? If so, chances are they will try to convince students—that is, students they deem worthy—to join them. And if you love playing soccer and want to play on a campus team, but you’re wearing shredded jeans, combat boots, and a local band T-shirt, you might have a hard time convincing the soccer team to give you a chance. While most campus groups refrain from insulting competing groups, there is a definite sense of an in-group versus an out-group. “Them?” a member might say. “They’re all right, but their parties are nowhere near as cool as ours.” Or, “Only serious engineering geeks join that group.” This immediate categorization into in-groups and out-groups means that students must choose carefully, since whatever group they associate with might define their friends for several years to come.

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Home >> Socio Short Notes >> Primary Group and Reference Group

Subsequently this concept was elaborated and modified by sociologists like Turner; Merton.Reference group refers to any group accepted as model or guide for our judgements and actions. In some situations we conform not to the normal to which we actually belong but rather to those of the groups to which we would like to belong, those with which we would like to be identified.

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Reference groups: meaning, types and importance of reference groups.

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Reference Groups: Meaning, Types and Importance!

Sociologists use the term ‘reference group’ for such groups that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behaviour. These are the groups to which we psychologically identify with to which we may and may not belong but we may aspire to belong. People do not actually have to be members of the group to which they refer. Mustafa Sherif (1953) defined reference groups as “those groups to which the individual relates himself as a part or to which he aspires to relate himself psychologically”.

This definition points clearly to the importance of defining the groups with which an individual identifies, whether or not he belongs to them. These are the groups whose values, standards and beliefs guide the person in carrying out his actions and in evaluating himself.

It is not uncommon to orient ourselves to more than one reference group at a time. One’s family members, teachers, neighbourhood and co-workers shape different aspects of our self- evaluation. In addition, certain reference group attachments change during the life cycle. We shift reference groups as we take on different statuses during our lives. A reference group may be an actual group, a collectivity or an aggregate, a person or personification of an abstraction.

The term ‘reference group’ was coined by Herbert Hyman in Archives of Psychology (1942) to refer to the group against which individual evaluates his or her own situation or conduct. Hyman distinguished between a membership group to which people actually belong, and a reference group which is used as a basis for comparison and evaluation.

A reference group may or may not be a membership group. Later on Robert Merton and Alice Kitt (1950) refined the concept and provided a functionalist formulation of it. Their work was stimulated by Samuel Stouffer’s. The American Soldier (1949) in which the concept of relative deprivation was developed.

Merton and Kitt point out that feeling of deprivation were less related to the actual degree of hardship they experienced, than to the living standards of the group to which they compared themselves. Thus, relative deprivation is a special case of comparative reference group behaviour. Merton later distinguished reference groups and interaction groups (in Social Theory and Social Structure, 1957).

The originator of this concept, Hyman found in his study of social class that people thought of as their status could not be predicted solely from such factors as income or level of education. To a certain extent, an individual’s self-evaluation of status depended on the group used as a framework for judgment. In many cases, people model their behaviour after groups to which they do not belong.

Quite often, an individual is torn between the demands of a membership group to which he belongs but with which he does not identify and the motivational dictates of a reference group of which he is not a member. Social psychologists have termed this position as marginality.

A familiar example is that of a principal of a private college who is officially a member of the management group but who identifies with the teachers on the college floor. This is a classic dilemma of the marginal man (principal) who seeks to join a reference group to which he is excluded and in doing so, he is rejected by the group to which he already belongs.

Sociologists have identified two types of reference groups as described below:

(i) Positive Reference Groups :

These are the ones we want to be accepted by. Thus, if we want to be a film actor, we might carefully observe and imitate the behaviour of film actors. These are the groups, collectivities or persons that provide the person with a guide to action by explicitly setting norms and espousing values.

(ii) Negative Reference Groups :

These groups we do not want to be identified with, also serve as sources of self-evaluation. A person might, for example, try to avoid resembling members of a particular religious group or a circus group. A group rejected by or in opposition to ego’s own group, it is ‘the enemy’ or the negative group.

Importance and Functions :

The concept of reference group is important for understanding socialisation, conformity, and how people perceive and evaluate themselves, especially in relation to the self.

Reference groups perform three basic functions:

(1) They serve a normative function by setting and enforcing standards of conduct and belief.

T. Newcomb (1953) writes:

“The significant thing about a reference group is, in fact, that its norms provide frames of reference which actually influence the attitude and behaviour of a person.”

(2) They also perform a comparison function by serving as a standard against which people can measure themselves and others.

(3) They serve not only as sources of current evaluation but also as sources of aspiration and goal attainment (as a means of anticipatory socialisation). A person who chooses to become a professor or a lawyer begins to identify with that group and becomes socialised to have certain goals and expectations.

Social Groups: Meaning and Characteristics of Social Groups (1215 Words)
Groups Found in an Organisation (4 Types)

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8.16: Assignment- Society and Groups

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STEP 1 : Make a list of all of the different groups in your social world. Then label each group making sure you have at least one example of a primary group, secondary group, in-group, out-group, and a reference group. Now write the instrumental and expressive functions of each group next to the group. You may choose to copy and paste the table below to use during the assignment. Share either the table or your list in your assignment submission.

STEP 2 : In a response between 300-500 words, write an essay that explains some of your own experience with types of groups. Analyze your table or list, and reflect on which groups you feel play a large role in your life, and why.

Assignment: Society and Groups. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
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Unpacking Reference Groups and Socialization: A Study of Merton’s Sociological Theories

“The light of truth burns without a flicker in the depths of a house that is shaken with storms of passion and fear.”

Table of Contents

Reference Group

Relevant for sociology paper-1 (unit-4).

A reference group serves as a point of comparison for evaluating one’s achievements, role performance, aspirations, and ambitions. It is through the feedback and judgment of a reference group that individuals can determine whether their actions are deemed right or wrong, and whether they are performing poorly or well.

Therefore, it can be argued that the membership groups to which an individual belongs can function as their reference groups.

Even groups to which you do not belong, known as non-membership groups , can function as reference groups. This is not surprising since life is dynamic, and you often become aware of the lives and ways of those outside your own group. This can lead to feelings of curiosity and questioning why others seem to possess more power or prestige than you do.
Through this comparison, a sense of deprivation can arise. You may aspire to join a group that is more powerful or prestigious than your current one. Consequently, you may refer to a non-membership group to evaluate your achievements, performance, and progress. Hence, not only membership groups but also non-membership groups can act as reference groups. Humans perceive themselves not solely through the perspective of their own group members but also through the eyes of those belonging to other groups.
Merton’s understanding of relative deprivation is closely connected to his examination of reference group behavior. In his analysis of “The American Soldier,” published in 1949, Merton explores how American soldiers viewed themselves and assessed their role performance and career accomplishments. For example, comparing himself to unmarried soldiers in the army, a married soldier may perceive that the induction into the army demanded greater sacrifices. Conversely, comparing himself to married soldiers, he may feel that he has been called upon to make sacrifices that unmarried soldiers have entirely avoided. This forms the essence of what Merton refers to as relative deprivation.
This is not surprising as happiness or deprivation are not absolute concepts; they depend on the scale of measurement and the frame of reference. The married soldier is not focused on what he and other married soldiers receive; rather, he considers what he is deprived of. In comparison, his unmarried associates in the army enjoy relative freedom as they do not have the responsibilities that married soldiers cannot escape. In other words, married soldiers experience deprivation in terms of the freedom that their unmarried counterparts enjoy. Similarly, the married soldier may feel deprived when comparing himself to a civilian married friend who can live with their spouse and children, fulfilling their responsibilities. The married soldier feels deprived because, as a soldier, they cannot experience the everyday family life of a civilian.
The sense of deprivation that the married soldier experiences is precisely due to the reference group against which he measures his own circumstances. Similarly, another finding indicates that overseas soldiers, compared to those stationed at home, face a greater disruption in their ties to home and the amenities of life they were accustomed to.

Concept of Group Membership & group Non-Membership

Merton discusses three key characteristics of groups and group memberships:
Firstly, there is an objective criterion, which is the frequency of interaction. In other words, a sociological understanding of a group refers to a collection of individuals who interact with each other on a regular basis.
The second criterion is that the individuals involved define themselves as members. They perceive themselves as part of the group and adhere to shared expectations and norms of interaction that they consider morally binding for themselves and other members.
The third criterion is that these individuals are recognized by others as belonging to the group. This recognition can come from both fellow members and non-members .
Membership in a group significantly influences an individual’s day-to-day behavior in a clear and tangible manner. Group members are aware of their roles and responsibilities, and they understand the expectations placed upon them. Consequently, group norms hold moral significance for them.
At this point, Merton wants us to recognize the dynamics of non-membership . While non-members do not meet the criteria of interaction and identification as members, Merton emphasizes that all non-members are not the same. Broadly speaking, non-members can be categorized into three groups:
Some individuals aspire to gain membership in the group, indicating a desire for affiliation. Others may be indifferent to such group membership, displaying no particular inclination towards joining. There are also those who actively choose to remain unaffiliated with the group, expressing motivation to stay separate from its influence.

Anticipatory Socialization:

Merton discusses the concept of anticipatory socialization in relation to non-membership reference groups. This refers to the process of preparing oneself for a group that one aspires to join but is not currently a part of. It involves adopting the values and lifestyles associated with the desired non-membership reference group. According to Merton, anticipatory socialization can serve two functions for an individual: aiding their ascent into the desired group and facilitating their adjustment after becoming a member.
For instance, let’s consider a village boy from a lower middle-class background who sees the boys from Indus World School as his reference group. Through anticipatory socialization, he begins to imitate the smartness and behavior of these boys. If he successfully gains entry into Indus World School, his anticipatory socialization would prove beneficial as it would ease his adaptation to his new role.
However, Merton acknowledges that anticipatory socialization can also have negative consequences. If the system is highly closed, the lower middle-class village boy may never have the opportunity to enter a prestigious school like Doon School. In such a case, anticipatory socialization would be detrimental to him. There are two reasons for this: firstly, he would fail to become a member of the desired group, and secondly, due to his imitation of the values of a non-membership group, he may be disliked by members of his own group. Merton refers to this situation as being reduced to a “marginal man.” Therefore, anticipatory socialization is only functional for individuals within a relatively open social structure that allows for mobility. In contrast, it becomes dysfunctional in a relatively closed social structure.
Merton also highlights an interesting point. In a closed system, individuals are less likely to choose a non-membership group as their reference group. In such a system, where the rights, privileges, and obligations of each social stratum are considered morally right, even individuals with unfavorable objective conditions may feel less deprived. This is observed among groups like untouchables, scheduled castes, and tribes in India. However, in an open system, where individuals constantly compare themselves with relatively better-off and more privileged non-membership reference groups, they may experience perpetual unhappiness and discontent.

Positive and Negative Reference

According to Merton, reference groups can be categorized into two types. Firstly, there is the positive reference group, which is admired and taken seriously to shape behavior and assess personal achievements and performance. Secondly, there is the negative reference group, which is disliked and rejected, and instead of providing norms to follow, it inspires the creation of counter-norms.
Merton explains that the positive reference group involves willingly adopting the group’s norms or standards as a basis for self-evaluation. On the other hand, the negative reference group involves actively rejecting the norms and forming opposing norms.
An example that comes to mind is the reaction of the colonized people towards their colonial masters. Some individuals may become enthralled by the success of the colonizers and start emulating their lifestyle, language, and even dietary habits. For them, the colonizers serve as a positive reference group.
Conversely, there are those who despise the colonizers for their exploitation, arrogance, and brutality. Rather than imitating their norms, these individuals develop counter-norms to distinguish themselves from the colonizers. The colonizers act as a negative reference group for them.

Additionally, Merton introduces the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy. He defines it as a false understanding of a situation that is believed to be accurate. Despite its inaccuracy, individuals behave as if the false definition is true. As a result, their behavior elicits responses that confirm the false definition. Merton suggests that this cycle of self-fulfilling prophecies can be broken by abandoning the initial definition that set it in motion. By questioning and introducing a new definition, the situation can be rectified.

To master these intricacies and fare well in the Sociology Optional Syllabus , aspiring sociologists might benefit from guidance by the Best Sociology Optional Teacher and participation in the Best Sociology Optional Coaching . These avenues provide comprehensive assistance, ensuring a solid understanding of sociology’s diverse methodologies and techniques

Reference groups, Membership groups, Non-membership groups, Anticipatory socialization, Positive reference group, Negative reference group, Self-fulfilling prophecy, Robert K. Merton, Social structure, Group norms, Relative deprivation, Social behavior

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Characteristics of Reference Group

Certain norms, rules & regulations – we follow these of our own group and also that of the reference group. This gives emotional satisfaction. Sanskritisation is an example (the lower castes follow rules and regulations of higher casters).
Ideal Person – Example of Mahatma Gandhi – when you read about the Mahatma you want to be like him. He is the ideal person in your view.
Every person or group may have different reference group. One may like or dislike a particular group. If you like you imitate and if you don't you don't imitate.
Reference group changes with time, situation etc. For a particular time you may have one reference group and at another time you may not like that group and do don't make it your reference group.
When he is not satisfied with the group to which he belongs he wants to join another group and so you imitate. This gives rise to 'Marginal Man'.
Mahatma Gandhi and reference group may vary from time to time therefore sometimes the reference group could become your Mahatma Gandhi.
Social adjustment – when we follow the norms etc. of the reference group we are actually adjusting to that group and this leads to us adjust more easily to our society.
Social control –
Social transformation – development a betterment of society.
Relative or comparative depreciation
Visibility of norms of acceptability
When you feel you are being ignored in your group you make another group your reference group so that you may be paid attention to.
Following the norms of your reference group like Adivasis try to follow norms of higher classes to be like them.
When you don't like the standard of living in your group you try to live like the reference group which you prefer like Indians live in a ionized manner.
What is the use of reference group? Is it impact one never refers to a group ranking lower than his own group.
Social Groups
Definitions of group
Characteristics of the Group
Classification of Social Group
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Harvard Style Guide: Group or individual assignments

Introduction
Harvard Tutorial
In-text citations
Book with one author
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Book with four or more authors
Book with a corporate author
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Chapter in an edited book
Translated book
Translated ancient texts
Print journal article, one author
Print journal article, two or three authors
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Journal article ePublication (ahead of print)
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Generative AI
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YouTube Film or Talk
Music/ audio
Encyclopaedia and dictionaries
Email communication
Conferences
Official publications
Book reviews
Case studies

Group or individual assignments

Legal Cases (Law Reports)
No date of publication
Personal communications
Repository item
Citing same author, multiple works, same year

Back to Academic Integrity guide

Reference : Student(s) Last name, Initial (s). (Year of submission) ‘Title of essay/project/assignment’, Module Code: module title . Institution. Unpublished essay/project/assignment.

Example : Woods, M., Mulcahy, W.D., Halpin, L., and O’Shea, R.W. (2014) ‘A model code of ethics for corporate governance in the Irish non-profit and charity sector’, BMGT3019D: Corporate Responsibilities and Business Ethics . University College Dublin. Unpublished group project.

In-Text-Citation :

Author(s) Last name et al. (Year)
(Author(s) Last name et al., Year)
Woods et al. (2014) detailed a model for corporate governance…..
There have been complete models for corporate governance in the Irish non-profit and charity sector (Woods et al., 2014).

Note : use the “et al.” for three or more authors just like for a book/journal etc.

Still unsure what in-text citation and referencing mean? Check here .

Still unsure why you need to reference all this information? Check here .

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Referencing in your assignments

In academic work of any kind, effective referencing of your sources will ensure that you:

show that you are writing from a position of understanding of your topic.
demonstrate that you have read widely and deeply.
enable the reader to locate the source of each quote, idea or work/evidence (that was not your own).
avoid plagiarism and uphold academic honesty.

In order to cite sources correctly in your assignments, you need to understand the essentials of how to reference and follow guidelines for the referencing style you are required to use.

Referencing styles

Citing your sources can help you avoid plagiarism. You may need to submit your assignments through Turnitin, plagiarism detection software. Find out more about Turnitin and how you can use it to check your work before submitting it:

What is plagiarism?

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Teaching in Higher Education cover image

Referencing and empowerment

Karen Gravett & Ian M. Kinchin (2020) Referencing and empowerment: exploring barriers to agency in the higher education student experience, Teaching in Higher Education, 25:1, 84-97

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Plagiarism: what is it, whom does it offend, and how does one deal with it?

J D Armstrong, 2nd (1993) Plagiarism: what is it, whom does it offend, and how does one deal with it?, American Journal of Roentgenology, 161:3, 479-484

Teaching Referencing as an Introduction to Epistemological Empowerment

Monica Hendricks & Lynn Quinn (2000) Teaching Referencing as an Introduction to Epistemological Empowerment, Teaching in Higher Education, 5:4, 447-457

Academic honesty and conduct

UCL guide to Academic Integrity What is Academic Integrity, why is it important, and what happens if you breach it?
Understanding Academic Integrity course UCL's online and self-paced course to help you understand academic integrity, designed to help students to develop good academic practice for completing assessments.
Engaging with AI in your education and assessment UCL student guidance on how you might engage with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in your assessments, effectively and ethically.
Referencing and avoiding plagiarism tutorial

Referencing and avoiding plagiarism tutorial

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Senators urge $32 billion in emergency spending on AI after finishing yearlong review

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, Calif., Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

FILE - OpenAI’s ChatGPT app is displayed on an iPhone in New York, May 18, 2023. The rate of businesses in the U.S. using AI is still relatively small but growing rapidly, with firms in information technology and professional services, and in locations like Colorado and the District of Columbia, leading the way, according to a new paper from U.S. Census Bureau researchers. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during a conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Microsoft will invest $2.2 billion over the next four years in Malaysia’s new cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure as well as partnering with the government to establish a national AI center, Nadella said Thursday. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of four senators led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is recommending that Congress spend at least $32 billion over the next three years to develop artificial intelligence and place safeguards around it, writing in a report released Wednesday that the U.S. needs to “harness the opportunities and address the risks” of the quickly developing technology.

The group of two Democrats and two Republicans said in an interview Tuesday that while they sometimes disagreed on the best paths forward, they felt it was imperative to find consensus with the technology taking off and other countries like China investing heavily in its development. They settled on a raft of broad policy recommendations that were included in their 33-page report.

While any legislation related to AI will be difficult to pass, especially in an election year and in a divided Congress, the senators said that regulation and incentives for innovation are urgently needed.

“It’s complicated, it’s difficult, but we can’t afford to put our head in the sand,” said Schumer, D-N.Y., who convened the group last year after AI chatbot ChatGPT entered the marketplace and showed that it could in many ways mimic human behavior.

FILE -President Joe Biden, right, greets China's President President Xi Jinping, left, at the Filoli Estate in Woodside, USA, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023. The National Security Council says high-level U.S. government envoys raised concerns about “the misuse of AI” by China and others in closed-door talks with Chinese officials in Geneva. NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the countries exchanged perspectives on AI safety and risk management in “candid and constructive” discussions a day earlier. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)

The group recommends in the report that Congress draft emergency spending legislation to boost U.S. investments in artificial intelligence, including new research and development and new testing standards to try to understand the potential harms of the technology. The group also recommended new requirements for transparency as artificial intelligence products are rolled out and that studies be conducted into the potential impact of AI on jobs and the U.S. workforce .

Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, a member of the group, said the money would be well spent not only to compete with other countries who are racing into the AI space but also to improve Americans’ quality of life — supporting technology that could help cure some cancers or chronic illnesses, he said, or improvements in weapons systems could help the country avoid a war.

“This is a time in which the dollars we put into this particular investment will pay dividends for the taxpayers of this country long term,” he said.

The group came together a year ago after Schumer made the issue a priority — an unusual posture for a majority leader — and brought in Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana and Rounds of South Dakota.

As the four senators began meeting with tech executives and experts, Schumer said in a speech over the summer that the rapid growth of artificial intelligence tools was a “moment of revolution” and that the government must act quickly to regulate companies that are developing it.

Young said the development of ChatGPT, along with other similar models, made them realize that “we’re going to have to figure out collectively as an institution” how to deal with the technology.

“In the same breath that people marveled at the possibilities of just that one generative AI platform, they began to hypothesize about future risks that might be associated with future developments of artificial intelligence,” Young said.

While passing legislation will be tough, the group’s recommendations lay out the first comprehensive road map on an issue that is complex and has little precedent for consideration in Congress. The group spent almost a year compiling the list of policy suggestions after talking privately and publicly to a range of technology companies and other stakeholders, including in eight forums to which the entire Senate was invited.

The first forum in September included X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Schumer said after the private meeting that he had asked everyone in the room — including almost two dozen tech executives, advocates and skeptics — whether government should have a role in the oversight of artificial intelligence, and “every single person raised their hand.”

Still, there are diverse views in the tech industry about the future of AI. Musk has voiced dire concerns evoking popular science fiction about the possibility of humanity losing control to advanced AI systems if the right safeguards are not in place. Others are more concerned about the details of how proposed regulations could affect their business, from possible government oversight over the most capable AI systems to tracking of highly sought-after AI computer chips for national security.

The four senators are pitching their recommendations to Senate committees, which are then tasked with reviewing them and trying to figure out what is possible. The Senate Rules Committee is already moving forward with legislation, on Wednesday approving three bills that would ban deceptive AI content used to influence federal elections, require AI disclaimers on political ads and create voluntary guidelines for state election offices that oversee candidates.

Schumer, who controls the Senate’s schedule, said those election bills were among the chamber’s “highest priorities” this year. He also said he planned to sit down with House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has expressed interest in looking at AI policy but has not said how he would do that.

Still, winning enough votes on the legislation may be not be easy. The bills that would ban deceptive AI election content and require AI disclaimers on political ads were approved by the Rules panel on party line votes, with no GOP support. Republicans argued that the legislation would usurp states that are already acting on the issue and potentially violate political candidates’ rights to free speech.

Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, said that the rapid development of AI is a “hair on fire” moment for elections. And while states may be passing similar bills, she said the country is “unguarded on the federal level.”

Some experts warn that the U.S. is behind many other countries on the issue, including the EU which took the lead in March when they gave final approval to a sweeping new law governing artificial intelligence in the 27-nation bloc. Europe’s AI Act sets tighter rules for the AI products and services deemed to pose the highest risks, such as in medicine, critical infrastructure or policing. But it also includes provisions regulating the new class of generative AI systems like ChatGPT that have rapidly advanced in recent years.

“It’s time for Congress to act,” said Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology. “It’s not enough to focus on investment and innovation. We need guardrails to ensure the responsible development of AI.”

Others said the senators’ road map wasn’t tough enough on tech companies. Some groups calling for tighter AI safeguards and civil rights protections said it showed too much deference to industry priorities.

Alix Dunn is a senior adviser at AI Now, a policy research center that pushes for more accountability around AI technology. She criticized the closed door sessions with tech CEOs. “I don’t see how it got us even an inch closer to meaningful government action on AI,” she said.

The senators emphasized balance between innovation and safeguards, and also the urgency of action.

“We have the lead at this moment in time on this issue, and it will define the relationship between the United States and our allies and other competing powers in the world for a long time to come,” Heinrich said.

O’Brien reported from Providence, R.I. Associated Press writer Dan Merica in Washington contributed to this report.

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Energy Standards Review – Scottish Passivhaus Equivalent: Working Group - terms of reference

Terms of reference for the working group.

Following the introduction of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 and our new system of building standards in May 2005, energy standards within section 6 of the Building Standards Technical Handbooks were reviewed and improved in 2007, 2010, 2015 and 2023.

In December 2022, a further review of the energy standards was announced to make regulation by December 2024 to deliver “a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus Standard”.

This was in response to Mr Rowley MSP’s final members’ bill proposal, lodged on 16 November 2022, seeking to set “new minimum environmental design standards for all new-build housing to meet a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard, in order to improve energy efficiency and thermal performance”.

This review also responds to the commitment within the Shared Policy Programme on “explicit support for passivhaus and equivalent standards” and the recommendation from our Climate Assembly “to ensure that, within the next five years, all new housing is built to Passivhaus standards (or an agreed Scottish equivalent)”.

To support this commitment, the Scottish Government will work with the construction industry (and other key stakeholders) to identify and support good practice which will help to inform the development of this standard.

The Scottish Government’s approach to this work will, initially, comprise the following:

initial stakeholder engagement sessions have been held
set up working group for the energy review, the Passivhaus Equivalent Standard
commission research
agree and confirm energy standards and assurance improvement options
public consultation
cnsultation analysis
deadline to lay enabling regulations for the Passivhaus Equivalent Standards, 15 December 2024
note: implementation timetable beyond December 2024 will be determined during the review

Working group remit and governance

The group will offer advice and expertise as necessary to support the Scottish Government in developing the next energy standards review. The group will act as a “critical friend” as the Scottish Government continues towards understanding how an equivalent to the Passivhaus standard will look in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has already held a number of informal stakeholder sessions at the start of 2023 and these will continue alongside the working group to help inform the content of the energy standards review consultation.

During the review process, you will have access to confidential policy documents (marked ‘OFFICIAL’) and be involved in discussions that may lead to the Division developing recommendations to ministers. Material generated by the working group should remain confidential while these discussions are ongoing, until the publication of a consultation document.

It should be highlighted that information and the notes of proceedings will fall subject to the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 and Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Therefore, it may be appropriate to release notes of meetings. These meetings however are conducted under the 'Chatham House Rule'. Records of meetings will not attribute comments or advice to particular members. This is to encourage openness and the free exchange of information amongst participants.

Should you find that a conflict of interest arises between your business/work interests and your role on the working group, we would advise that it is incumbent on you to identify such to Building Standards Division. Officials can provide further guidance if required. Otherwise, we would simply reiterate the need to maintain confidentiality on relevant matters.

Should members wish to contact the Scottish Government regarding aspects of the review they should email Daniel Foulds or Steven Scott in the first instance. Contact details are provided.

The working group will make recommendations to assist the Building Standards Division in providing advice to Scottish ministers on what changes should be considered for inclusion in consultation the energy standards, the Passivhaus Equivalent Standard.

A public consultation is planned to take place in the spring of 2024.

Membership is at the invitation of the Scottish Government.

Members will approve and communicate regular feedback from their organisations.

Members will ensure regular communication with the working group and other relevant stakeholders.

Members may co-opt other colleagues where necessary to provide representation, informing the Scottish Government in advance of any working group meeting.

A public sector group, comprising relevant Scottish Government policy leads, will also be established to oversee the alignment of various existing policy and delivery interests on energy and environmental standards.

Working group members are encouraged to convene a small group of experts within their own organisation to discuss and feedback comments on review proposals. As with the main working group, papers and output must be treated as ‘in confidence’ and communicated only within each group and to the main working group until the review moves to public consultation stage.

Meeting papers are issued to building regulations policy colleagues in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with an invitation to attend meetings as observers where there are areas of shared interest.

Working group membership

Built Environment – Smarter Transformation
The University of Edinburgh
Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
Offsite Solutions Scotland
Homes for Scotland
Chartered Institute of Building
Construction Scotland
Scottish Futures Trust
The Passivhaus Trust
Wheatley Group
Rural and Islands Housing Association Forum
The Building Alliance
Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers
Local Authority Building Standards Scotland
Scottish Property Federation
Building Research Establishment
Structural Timber Association
Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland
Federation of Master Builders
The University of Strathclyde
Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
Construction Products Association
Scottish and Southern Energy Networks
Scottish Power Energy Networks
Welsh Government
Northern Ireland Executive
UK Government
Health and Safety Executive

This energy standards review will respond to Mr Rowley’s final members’ bill proposal and the Scottish Government announcement to deliver “a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus Standard”.

Recognising the level of standards already delivered by the energy standards and work on compliance within Building Standards, the current programme of work is seeking to focus on two key themes:

Key theme one

A package of measures that use reliable solutions to optimise building fabric and service performance, reduce delivered energy demand and provide a healthy indoor environment.

One of the key outcomes sought by Mr Rowley MSP during the Members’ Bill process was assurance that new homes do not contribute further to the levels of fuel poverty experienced in Scotland. We must continue to develop standards which are effective in reducing the amount of energy drawn from utilities, with a focus on building performance and optimising insulation levels from day one.

Key theme two

The design and construction of new buildings must be supported by quality (compliance) assurance and verification processes that result in buildings which meet the high standards set.

This is needed to improve assurance of compliance with regulations and to deliver better performance in practice. This should align with our broader ‘Compliance Plan’ approach and build on the best practice already being implemented by the construction sector. This will require action by the construction sector in response to a more evidence-led building standard process, delivered via informed designers and contractors and effective project communication.

The following tenets will be taken into consideration:

the level of ambition must consider the scale of implementation
verification though the building standards system without the need for third-party certification
development of options based on a clear understanding of what the 2023 energy standards deliver in reported outcomes compared to other best practice standards
agreement of the means by which we define targets and measure success and on the level of prescription or flexibility which will support successful building outcomes
recognition of the need for early identification of risks and interdependencies

The working group will help to identify any potential unintended consequences as the energy standards review develops. It is possible that these could sit out with the scope of this review and will be discussed when identified. An example is a concern over a potential increase in embodied carbon as lower energy building targets are approached.

Work is ongoing within Scottish Government to consider how regulating for reporting of embodied carbon might sit within the Building Standards system, however, this will fall outside the current scope of this review.

There may be consequential changes required to the Sustainability Standard (Standard 7.1), significant review to that standard and its scope is not planned as part of this current programme.

Secretariat

The Scottish Government will provide the secretariat support at working group meetings.

Building Standards Division 20 June 2023

Energy Standards Review – Scottish Passivhaus Equivalent: Working Group

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Reference Group: Types, Functions, Characteristics, Importance

Functions of Reference Groups

Types of Reference Groups

Characteristics of Reference Groups

Pragati Kalive

What Is a Reference Group?

How We Relate to and Embrace Norms

Specific Types of Reference Group Norms

Social Groups

Defining a Group

Types of Groups

SOCIOLOGY IN THE REAL WORLD

In-Groups and Out-Groups

BIG PICTURE

Reference Groups

College: A World of In-Groups, Out-Groups, and Reference Groups

Social Networks

Key Takeaways

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6.1 Types of Groups

Defining a Group

Types of Groups

Sociology in the Real World

In-Groups and Out-Groups

Big Picture

Reference Groups

College: A World of In-Groups, Out-Groups, and Reference Groups

Sociology App

Primary Group and Reference Group

Your Article Library

Importance and Functions :

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Margin Size

8.16: Assignment- Society and Groups

Faculty Resources

Unpacking Reference Groups and Socialization: A Study of Merton’s Sociological Theories

Reference Group

Concept of Group Membership & group Non-Membership

Anticipatory Socialization:

Positive and Negative Reference

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Characteristics of Reference Group

Civil Service Essay Contest May - June 2024

Civil Service Essay Contest (March 2024)

Top Civil Service Coaching Centers

Current Affairs Analysis

About Civil Service India

Harvard Style Guide: Group or individual assignments

Group or individual assignments

UCL LIBRARY SERVICES

References, citations and avoiding plagiarism

Avoiding plagiarism

Referencing in your assignments

Why do I need to reference? Find out more

Referencing and empowerment

Plagiarism: what is it, whom does it offend, and how does one deal with it?

Teaching Referencing as an Introduction to Epistemological Empowerment

Academic honesty and conduct

Referencing style guides

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Information

Energy Standards Review – Scottish Passivhaus Equivalent: Working Group - terms of reference

Working group remit and governance

Working group membership

Key theme one

Key theme two

Secretariat

There is a problem

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