Study guides › P/S › Sociology
Groups, Networks & Deviance
This chapter covers the kinds of groups people belong to, how social networks and formal organizations work, and how sociologists explain deviance and crime. You will match each deviance theory and theorist to a scenario.
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What this chapter covers
- Types of Groups & Group Structure. Group vocabulary is easy to confuse. Learn each pair as a contrast and practice applying it to a scenario.
- Social Networks, Social Capital & Formal Organizations. Weak ties, social capital, and Weber's bureaucracy are standard MCAT vocabulary, often tested through an example scenario.
- Theories of Deviance. Every deviance theory has a signature theorist and a signature mechanism. Learn them as pairs and apply them to one-sentence scenarios.
- Crime, Social Control & Sanctions. Questions here ask you to classify types of crime and social control, and to tell formal control from informal control.
Key points to know
- Primary (Cooley): intimate and lasting; secondary: impersonal and goal-oriented
- In-group and out-group (Sumner): us versus them
- Weak ties (Granovetter) supply new information such as job leads
- Social capital: benefits from networks; bonding vs bridging
- Merton: strain; Sutherland: differential association; Hirschi: control
- Labeling (Becker, Lemert): primary vs secondary deviance
- Folkways < mores < laws (Sumner)
- Informal control: peers and family; formal control: police, courts, employers
Try a practice question
Which group is best classified as a secondary group?
- A close-knit family
- A childhood friend group
- A university's student government committee
- A married couple
Show the answer
C. Secondary groups are formal, larger, and organized around a purpose. Families, friends, and couples are primary groups defined by personal ties.
Common questions
What does this chapter cover?
Groups, Networks & Deviance covers Types of Groups & Group Structure, Social Networks, Social Capital & Formal Organizations, Theories of Deviance, Crime, Social Control & Sanctions.
What should I know first?
Primary (Cooley): intimate and lasting; secondary: impersonal and goal-oriented In-group and out-group (Sumner): us versus them Weak ties (Granovetter) supply new information such as job leads
20 original practice questions accompany this chapter in the app. Spaced review brings missed ideas back at the right time; it helps memory but cannot promise you will not miss an idea again.