What is a word for a large group

Table of Contents

  1. What do you call a lot of people together?
  2. What is a rainstorm called?
  3. What is another word for not many?
  4. What can I say besides congratulations?
  5. What do you say to graduates?
  6. How do you congratulate your team for success?
  7. How do you say kudos to a team?

What is another word for large group?

What do you call a lot of people together?

assemblage. noun. formal a group of things or people gathered together.

herd crowd
horde mob
throng swarm
host flock
mass multitude

What is a rainstorm called?

downpour

What is another word for not many?

handful few
a small number a small quantity
one or two small amount
small quantity a bit
hardly any not much

What can I say besides congratulations?

Synonyms for congratulations

  • Another words for congratulations. Best/good wishes. Compliments. Cheers. Greetings. Hats off! Good/nice work.
  • Useful words for congratulations. Salutations. Bravo! Hip! Hooray! Nice one.
  • Synonyms for congratulations. Commendations. Felicitations! Regards. Respects. Good one mate!

What do you say to graduates?

More formal

  • “Congratulations on your well-deserved success.”
  • “Warmest congratulations on your graduation.”
  • “Congratulations on your graduation and best wishes for your next adventure!”
  • “So happy to share in the excitement of your graduation day, and so very proud of you, too!”
  • “With love and pride today and always,”

How do you congratulate your team for success?

Congratulations to each member of the team for the fantastic results. We are really happy with the huge success. Well done each of you! The project turned out to be a great success because of your teamwork.

How do you say kudos to a team?

For work completed fairly, accurately, and on time

  1. Thank you!
  2. Good work, as always.
  3. Thanks for getting this done.
  4. You are a lifesaver.
  5. Thank you for pulling everyone/everything together on such short notice.
  6. I appreciate you getting this to me so quickly so I have time to review it.
  7. Thanks for your help today.

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another word for large group is clan.

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I’m trying to remember an uncommon word. It defines an exaggeration of language to include a large group of people when speaking about a smaller group. Like “All of Chicago turned out for the game last night”.

I thought it started with an O… I just can’t remember.

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Justin

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asked Jan 2, 2022 at 3:16

Jeremy's user avatar

3

You might be looking for ‘overstatement‘:

Overstatement

: the act of describing or explaining something in a way that makes it seem more important or more serious than it really is;
exaggerate

(Cambridge)


Synecdoche‘ doesn’t start with an O, but it seems to be the best fit for your given example.

Synecdoche is a type of figurative language that uses one part to refer to the whole, or the whole to refer to the part.

In your case, a whole is being referred to a part.

answered Jan 2, 2022 at 5:18

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What is another word for a large group?

Some common synonyms of crowd are crush, horde, mob, and throng.

What’s a fancy word for group?

What is another word for group?batchbunchhuddlemusterbodycropboodlepartycrowdconsort216

What is the meaning of a large group?

Noun. A large number of people or things. multitude.

What is a synonym for large amount?

Frequently Asked Questions About huge Some common synonyms of huge are colossal, enormous, gigantic, immense, mammoth, and vast. While all these words mean “exceedingly large,” huge commonly suggests an immensity of bulk or amount.

What does the word large mean?

1a : exceeding most other things of like kind especially in quantity or size : big a large number of complaints. b : dealing in great numbers or quantities a large and highly profitable business. 2a : having more than usual capacity or scope : comprehensive take the large view will take a larger role in the …

What is a large amount of something?

plenty. adverb. a large amount of something, or a large number of things or people, usually more than enough.

How do you describe a large number?

Large numbers are numbers that are significantly larger than those typically used in everyday life, for instance in simple counting or in monetary transactions. The term typically refers to large positive integers, or more generally, large positive real numbers, but it may also be used in other contexts.

What is a word for a lot of money?

What is another word for a lot of money?mintbillionsa shedloadkillingdoughaffluencemoneyrichesa considerable sum of moneyconsiderable sum of money34

What is a word for spending a lot of money?

Use the adjective prodigal to describe someone who spends too much money, or something very wasteful. You could also use this word to describe something that is very abundant or generous in quantity, such as prodigal praise. …

What does cash mean in slang?

adjective. very good, excellent; “cool”.

Is bread a money slang?

So “bread” as slang for money has a long pedigree, and the playful substitution of “dough” for bread makes perfect sense. The origin of “Bread” as a name for Money comes from the English Cockney Rhyming Slang term, “Bread and Honey” meaning Money. The term dough could be derived as a further slang term from Bread.

What does it mean to cash something?

To cash in on something means to exploit a situation for monetary gain.

What does cash it in mean?

intransitive verb. 1a : to retire from a gambling game. b : to settle accounts and withdraw from an involvement (such as a business deal) 2 : to obtain advantage or financial profit —often used with oncash in on a best seller.

What’s a cash Day?

Days cash on hand is the number of days that an organization can continue to pay its operating expenses, given the amount of cash available.

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  MODERN ENGLISH LEXICOLOGY Problems of Collocability.  Word-groups in English. MODERN ENGLISH LEXICOLOGY Problems of Collocability. Word-groups in English.

  Problems for discussion The notion of “collocability” (valency);  The notion of “word-group”; Problems for discussion The notion of “collocability” (valency); The notion of “word-group”; The role of lexical and grammatical valency in uniting words into word-groups; The norm of lexical and grammatical valency; Linguistic properties of word-groups: — structure; — meaning; — motivation;

  Valency and word-group studies in Linguistics The problems of  valency and collocability: С. Valency and word-group studies in Linguistics The problems of valency and collocability: С. Д. Кацнельсон Л. Теньер Г. Хельбиг The « word-group theory » : А. А. Шахматов Л. В. Щерба Ф. Ф. Фортунатов Н. С. Трубецкой Дж. Лайонз Ш. Балли В. В. Виноградов В. Г. Гак

  What is collocability? Collocability  (also valency,  distributional characteristics, colligation,  collocation ) What is collocability? Collocability (also valency, distributional characteristics, colligation, collocation ) is the ability of the units of the language — phonemes, morphemes, words — to form units of higher level.

   В. Г.  Гак:  «Сочетаемость – свойство языковых единиц сочетаться при образовании В. Г. Гак: «Сочетаемость – свойство языковых единиц сочетаться при образовании единиц более высокого уровня; одно из фундаментальных свойств языковых единиц, отражающее синтагматические отношения между ними» [ БЭС «Языкознание» , стр. 483 ]

  What is a word-group? A word group  is the largest two facet lexical What is a word-group? A word group is the largest two facet lexical unit comprising more than one word. red tape beautiful girl to walk slowly

  Words are united into word-groups thanks to the following linguistic factors Lexical valency (collocability) Words are united into word-groups thanks to the following linguistic factors Lexical valency (collocability) Grammatical valency (collocability)

  Lexical valency  is the ability of a word to appear in various combinations: Lexical valency is the ability of a word to appear in various combinations: vital pressing question urgent But not: sweet question green question

  The norm of lexical valency  The range (norm) of lexical valency  is The norm of lexical valency The range (norm) of lexical valency is determined by the semantic agreement – the semes of the combining words should not disagree (violate the logical norms). For example, a verb, denoting an action characteristic of a living being agrees only with an animate noun.

  Example 1: a dog barks Dog - an animal kept as a pet, for Example 1: a dog barks Dog — an animal kept as a pet, for guarding buildings, or for hunting. to bark — to make the short loud sound that a dog makes

  Example 2: a pen barks Pen - an object that you use for writing Example 2: a pen barks Pen — an object that you use for writing or drawing with ink Object — a thing that you can see and touch that is not alive and is usually solid an inanimate object can’t produce sounds.

  Grammatical valency  is the aptness of a word to appear in specific grammatical Grammatical valency is the aptness of a word to appear in specific grammatical (syntactic) structures.

  The norm of grammatical valency is determined by the part of speech of the The norm of grammatical valency is determined by the part of speech of the word: The property of the object Adj. + N a green apple

  The structure of the word-group influences on its meaning: keen + N - keen The structure of the word-group influences on its meaning: keen + N — keen sight, hearing «острый“ keen + on + N — keen on sports «увлеченный“ keen + inf. — keen to know «сильно желающий“.

  Linguistic properties of the word-group structure    meaning   motivation Linguistic properties of the word-group structure meaning motivation lexical grammatical lexical structural

  Structure of word-groups (1) the order of the components:  •  a verbal Structure of word-groups (1) the order of the components: • a verbal — nominal group : to sew a dress , to read a book ; • a verbal — prepositional — nominal group to look at something ;

  Structure of word-groups (2) the criterion of distribution :  ( distribution - the Structure of word-groups (2) the criterion of distribution : ( distribution — the sum of contexts of the language unit): • endocentric — hav e one central member functionally equivalent to the whole word-group, while all other members of the group are subordinated to it : I saw a red flower – I saw a flower ; • exocentric — having no central member : become older, side by side ;

  Structure of word-groups (3) according to the part of speech of the headword: Structure of word-groups (3) according to the part of speech of the headword: • nominal ( beautiful garden ); • verbal ( to fly high ); • adjectival ( lucky from birth );

  Structure of word-groups (4) according to the syntactic pattern:  •  predicative Structure of word-groups (4) according to the syntactic pattern: • predicative — have a syntactic structure similar to that of a sentence ( he went ); • non-predicative are subdivided according to the type of syntactic relations between the components into: (a) subordinative ( modern technology ); (b) coordinative (husband wife).

  Meaning of word-groups T he meaning of a word group is derived (a) from Meaning of word-groups T he meaning of a word group is derived (a) from the combined lexical meanings of its components – lexical meaning , (b) from the meaning of the pattern of their arrangement – grammaticalstructural meaning , (c) from the extra-linguistic situation in which word-groups are habitually used by native speakers

  Lexical meaning The Lexical meaning  of the word-group may be defined as the Lexical meaning The Lexical meaning of the word-group may be defined as the combined lexical meaning of the component words. Blind man Blind type

  Grammatical meaning Grammatical  structural meaning  is conveyed by the order and arrangement Grammatical meaning Grammatical structural meaning is conveyed by the order and arrangement of member words: grammar school grammar

  The most frequent patterns of word-groups in English  Adj. + N nice cap The most frequent patterns of word-groups in English Adj. + N nice cap V + N to built houses V + N + V (Inf. ) to make somebody work V + Prep. + N to rely on somebody V + N +Prep. + N to hold something against somebody V + V (Inf. ) to get to know

  Lexical motivation Word-groups are lexically motivated  if the combined lexical meaning of the Lexical motivation Word-groups are lexically motivated if the combined lexical meaning of the groups is deducible from the meaning of their components : red flower tall boy beautiful carpet

  Structural motivation Word-groups are structurally motivated if the meaning of the pattern is deducible Structural motivation Word-groups are structurally motivated if the meaning of the pattern is deducible from the order and arrangement of the member-words of the group The word-group : yellow bag The pattern : Adj + N The meaning: «quality — substance»

  Degree of motivation Complete motivation :  Black dress – dress of black colour Degree of motivation Complete motivation : Black dress – dress of black colour Partial motivation : Black market – illegal market Non motivated : Black death — a disease that killed millions of people in Europe and Asia in the 14 th century. Its medical name is bubonic plague.

  Non-motivated word-groups (set-expressions) Lexically non-motivated word-groups are word-groups in which the constituents do not Non-motivated word-groups (set-expressions) Lexically non-motivated word-groups are word-groups in which the constituents do not possess any individual lexical meaning of their own: heavy father — serious or solemn part in a theatrical play.

‘FOR A LARGE GROUP OF MUSICIANS’ is a 25 letter
Phrase
starting with F and ending with S

Crossword answers for FOR A LARGE GROUP OF MUSICIANS

Synonyms for ORCHESTRAL

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What is a group? How are we to approach groups? In this article we review the development of theory about groups. We look at some different definitions of groups, and some of the key dimensions to bear in mind when thinking about them.

contents: introduction · the development of thinking about groups · defining ‘group’ · types of group · the benefits and dangers of groups · some key dimensions of groups [group interaction, group interdependence, group structure, group goals, group cohesiveness] · group development · conclusion · further reading and references · how to cite this article

Groups are a fundamental part of social life. As we will see they can be very small – just two people – or very large. They can be highly rewarding to their members and to society as a whole, but there are also significant problems and dangers with them. All this makes them an essential focus for research, exploration and action. In this piece I want to examine some of the key definitions of groups that have appeared, review central ways of categorizing groups, explore important dimensions of groups, and look briefly at the group in time.

The development of thinking about groups

Just how we define ‘group’ and the characteristics or ideas we use has been a matter of debate for many years. The significance of collectivities like families, friendship circles, and tribes and clans has been long recognized, but it is really only in the last century or so that groups were studied scientifically and theory developed (Mills 1967: 3). In the last decade of the nineteenth century, Émile Durkheim established just how wrapped up individual identity was with group membership, and Gustave Le Bon argued that people changed as they joined groupings such as crowds. Soon North American sociologists such as Charles Horton Cooley (1909) began to theorize groups more closely – and this was followed by others looking at particular aspects or types of group. Two well-known examples are Frederic Thrasher’s (1927) exploration of gang life and Elton Mayo’s (1933) research on the informal relationships between workers in teams. A further, critical, set of interventions came from Kurt Lewin (1948; 1951) who looked to the dynamic qualities of groups and established some important parameters with regard to the way they were to be studied.

As interest in group processes and group dynamics developed and accelerated (most particularly since the 1980s) the research base of the area strengthened. Not unexpectedly, the main arenas for the exploration of groups, and for building theory about them, have continued to be sociology, anthropology and social psychology – but they have been joined by contributions from biology, physics, management and organizational studies, and political science. As well as trying to make sense of human behaviour – why people join groups and what they get from them (both good and bad) – the study of groups has had a direct impact on practice in a number of areas of life. Perhaps the most obvious is work – and the contexts and practices of teams. But it has also acted as a spur to development in those fields of education, therapy, social care and social action that use groups to foster change.

Defining ‘group’

As researchers turned to the systematic exploration of group life, different foci for attention emerged. Some social psychologists, for example, looked at the ways in which, for example, working in the presence of others tend to raise performance (Allport 1924). Others looked at different aspects of group process. Kurt Lewin (1948), for example, found that nearly all groups were based on interdependence among their members – and this applied whether the group was large or small, formally structured or loose, or focused on this activity or that. In a famous piece Lewin wrote, ‘it is not similarity or dissimilarity of individuals that constitutes a group, but interdependence of fate’ (op. cit.: 165). In other words, groups come about in a psychological sense because people realize they are ‘in the same boat’ (Brown 1988: 28). However, even more significant than this for group process, Lewin argued, is some interdependence in the goals of group members. To get something done it is often necessary to cooperate with others.

Interdependence  has, thus, come to play a significant role in the way that many writers define group (e.g., Cartwright and Zander 1968), Others have stressed how people categorize themselves as members of something (Turner 1987) or share identity (Brown 1988) (see Exhibit 1). Others might look to communication and face-to-face encounters (Homans 1950), purpose (Mills 1967), structure and so on. As a starting point though, I found Forsyth’s (2006) definition the most helpful:

Hundreds of fish swimming together are called a school. A pack of foraging baboons is a troupe. A half dozen crows on a telephone line is a murder. A gam is a group of whales. But what is a collection of human beings called? A group. …. [C]ollections of people may seem unique, but each possesses that one critical element that defines a group: connections linking the individual members…. [M]embers are linked together in a web of interpersonal relationships. Thus, a group is defined as two or more individuals who are connected to one another by social relationships. Donelson R. Forsyth (2006: 2-3) [emphasis in original]

Subsequently, Forsyth has amended this definition to ‘two or more individuals who are connected to one another by and within social relationships. Donelson R. Forsyth (2017: 3) [emphasis in original]

This definition has the merit of bringing together three elements: the number of individuals involved; connection, and relationship.

Numbers: When people talk about groups they often are describing collectivities with two members (a dyad) or three members (a triad). For example, a work team or study group will often comprise two or three people. However, groups can be very large collectivities of people such a crowd or religious congregation or gathering. As might be expected, there are differences in some aspects of behaviour between small and larger groupings (see below), yet there remain significant commonalities.

Connection. Most definitions of ‘group’ highlight the presence of a link between members. This goes beyond some surface similarity such as height or eye colour. In groups we expect members to be connected in some meaningful way (Forsyth 2017: 4). As Forsyth (op. cit.) puts it, ‘A family is a group because the members are connected, not just by blood but also by social and emotional relationships’.

Relationship. We also must recognize that the relations linking members of groups are not of one type.

In families, for example, the relationships are based on kinship, but in the workplace, they are based on task-related interdependencies. In some groups, members are friends, but in others, the members are linked by common interests or experiences. Nor are the relationships linking members equally strong or enduring. Some relationships, like the links between members of a family or a clique of close friends, are tenacious, for they have developed over time and are based on a long history of mutual influence and exchange. In others, the ties between members may be so fragile that they are easily severed. Each individual member of the group does not need to be linked to every other person in the group… In some cases, such as groups based on ethnicity, race, or gender, the connection linking members may be more psychological than interpersonal. But no matter what the nature of the relations, a group exists when some type of bond links the members to one another and to the group itself (Forsyth 2017: 4-5).

Exhibit 1: Some definitions of a group

Conceiving of a group as a dynamic whole should include a definition of group that is based on interdependence of the members (or better, the subparts of the group). Kurt Lewin (1951: 146)

We mean by a group a number of persons who communicate with one another often over a span of time, and who are few enough so that each person is able to communicate with all the others, not at second-hand, through other people, but face-to-face. George Homans (1950: 1)

To put it simply they are units composed of two or more persons who come into contact for a purpose and who consider the contact meaningful. Theodore M. Mills (1967: 2)

A group is a collection of individuals who have relations to one another that make them interdependent to some significant degree. As so defined, the term group refers to a class of social entities having in common the property of interdependence among their constituent members. Dorwin Cartwright and Alvin Zander (1968: 46)

Descriptively speaking, a psychological group is defined as one that is psychologically significant for the members, to which they relate themselves subjectively for social comparison and the acquisition of norms and values, … that they privately accept membership in, and which influences their attitudes and behaviour. John C Turner (1987: 1-2)

A group exists when two or more people define themselves as members of it and when its existence is recognized by at least one other. Rupert Brown (1988: 2-3)

In part differences in definition occur because writers often select those things that are of special importance in their work and then posit ‘these as the criteria for group existence’ (Benson 2001: 5). This said, it is possible, as Jarlath F. Benson has done, to identify a list of attributes:

• A set of people engage in frequent interactions

• They identify with one another.

• They are defined by others as a group.

• They share beliefs, values, and norms about areas of common interest.

• They define themselves as a group.

• They come together to work on common tasks and for agreed purposes (Benson 2009: 4)

From this she suggests that groups are intended and organic. They are not some random experience and as a result they have three crucial characteristics:

• There are parts

• There is relationship between the parts

• There is an organizing principle (op. cit.).

To this we might also add, as both John C. Turner (1987) and Rupert Brown (1989) have pointed out, groups are not just systems or entities in their own right but exist in relation to other groups.  

Types of groups

There are various ways of classifying groups, for example in terms of their purpose or structure, but two sets of categories have retained their usefulness for both practitioners and researchers. They involve the distinctions between: primary and secondary groups; and planned and emergent groups.

Primary and secondary groups

Charles Horton Cooley (1909) established the distinction between ‘primary groups’ and ‘nucleated groups’ (now better known as secondary groups):

Primary groups are clusters of people like families or close friendship circles where there is close, face-to-face and intimate interaction. There is also often a high level of interdependence between members. Primary groups are also the key means of socialization in society, the main place where attitudes, values and orientations are developed and sustained.

Secondary groups are those in which members are rarely, if ever, all in direct contact. They are often large and usually formally organized. Trades unions and membership organizations such as the National Trust are examples of these. They are an important place for socialization, but secondary to primary groups.

This distinction remains helpful – especially when thinking about what environments are significant when considering socialization (the process of learning about how to become members of society through internalizing social norms and values; and by learning through performing our different social roles). The distinction helps to explain the limited impact of schooling in important areas of social life (teachers rarely work in direct way with primary groups) and of some of the potential of informal educators and social pedagogues (who tend to work with both secondary and primary groups – sometimes with families, often with close friendship circles).

Planned and emergent groups

Alongside discussion of primary and secondary groups, came the recognition that groups tend to fall into one of two broad categories:

Planned groups. Planned groups are specifically formed for some purpose – either by their members, or by some external individual, group or organization.

Emergent groups. Emergent groups come into being relatively spontaneously where people find themselves together in the same place, or where the same collection of people gradually come to know each other through conversation and interaction over a period of time. (Cartwright and Zander 1968).

As Forsyth (2006: 6) has put it ‘People found planned groups, but they often find emergent groups’. Sometimes writers use the terms ‘formed’ groups and ‘natural groups’ to describe the same broad distinction – but the term ‘natural’ is rather misleading. The development of natural groups might well involve some intention on the part of the actors.

More recently the distinction between formed and emergent groups has been further developed by asking whether the group is formed by internal or external forces. Thus, Arrow et. al (2000) have split planned groups into ‘concocted’ (planned by people and organizations outside the group) and ‘founded’ (planned by a person or people who are in the group). They also divided emergent groups into ‘circumstantial’ (unplanned and often temporary groups that develop when external forces bring people together e.g. people in a bus queue) and ‘self-organizing’ (where people gradually cooperate and engage with each other around some task or interest).

Some benefits and dangers of groups

As can be seen from what we have already reviewed, groups offer people the opportunity to work together on joint projects and tasks – they allow people to develop more complex and larger-scale activities. We have also seen that groups can be:

• Significant sites of socialization and education – enabling people to develop a sense of identity and belonging, and to deepen knowledge, skills, and values and attitudes.

• Places where relationships can form and grow, and where people can find help and support.

• Settings where wisdom flourishes. As James Suriwiecki (2004) has argued, it is often the case that ‘the many are smarter than the few’.

However, there is a downside to all this. The socialization they offer might be highly constraining and oppressive for some of their members. They can also become environments that foster interpersonal conflict. Furthermore, the boundaries drawn around groups are part of a process of excluding certain people (sometimes to their detriment) and creating inter-group conflict. There is also evidence to show that groups can impact upon individuals in ways that warp their judgements and that lead to damaging decision making (what some commentators have talked about as ‘groupthink’).

For these reasons we need to be able to appreciate what is going on in groups – and to act where we can to make them more fulfilling and beneficial to their members and to society as a whole.

Some key dimensions of groups

Those engaged in the systematic exploration of group processes and dynamics have used different ways of observing group behaviour and gaining insight into the experience of being part of groups. Some have tried for more of an ‘insider’ view using participant observation and conversation. Perhaps the best known example of this was William F. Whyte’s (1943) study of street corner society. Others have used more covert forms of observation, or looked to structured and overt observation and interviews. A classic example of the sort of scheme that has been used when looking at groups in more structured ways is Robert Freed Bales’ (1950) IPA system (Interaction Process Analysis) with its 12 different ways of coding group behaviour e.g. ‘shows solidarity’, ‘agrees’, ‘asks for opinion’ and so on.

All this research, and the contrasting orientations informing it, has generated different ideas about what to look out for in groups and, in particular, the forces impacting upon group processes and dynamics. I want to highlight five:

Group interaction

Group interdependence

Group structure

Group goals

Group cohesion (and entitativity)

There are various ways of organizing and naming the significant qualities – but I have found this approach (taken from Donelson R. Forsyth 1990: 8-12; 2006: 10-16; 2016: 10-16) to be the most helpful way to start exploration.

Group interaction

Those involved with researching and working with groups have often come at interaction – the way in which people engage with and influence each other – from contrasting perspectives. As we have already seen, Bales (1950, 1999) looked at categorizing social interventions in terms of the ways in which they appear to impact on group process – and in particular the extent to which they looked to ‘getting on with the job’ or ‘having regard for others’ (Brown 1988: 19). This distinction has turned out to be one of the most enduring features of much that has been written about groupwork.

Task interaction can be seen as including ‘all group behaviour that is focussed principally on the group’s work, projects, plans and goals’ (Forsyth 2006: 10).

Relationship interaction (or socio-emotional interaction) is centred around the social and interpersonal aspects of group life.

This distinction has found its way into different aspects of practice – for example when thinking about leadership in groups (whether leaders focus on structure and task actions, or on the feelings and needs of the group members) (see, in particular, Hersey and Blanchard 1977). Thus actions can be categorized into whether they are concerned with task or maintenance (sometimes also described respectively as instrumental or expressive interventions) (Brown 1994: 71).

Group interdependence

As Robert S Baron et. al. (2003: 139) have argued it is a basic feature of groups that group members’ outcomes often depend not only on their own actions, but also on the actions of others in the group. One member’s feelings, experiences and actions can come to be influenced in whole or in part by others. In all this it is also helpful to take up a distinction formulated by Morton Deutsch (1949) (one of Lewin’s graduate students) when looking at cooperation and competition in groups. He contrasted social interdependence – which exists when people share common goals and each person’s outcomes are affected by the actions of others – with social dependence where the ‘outcomes of one person are affected by the actions of a second person but not vice versa’ (Johnson and Johnson 2003: 94; 2016).

Group structure

Most commentators on group process and group dynamics discuss group structure – but just what they include under this heading differs. Here we are going to follow Forsyth (2016) and define group structure as the ‘[n]orms, roles and stable patterns of relationship among the members of the group’.

Group size. An obvious but crucial consideration is the size of the group. Large groups function differently in a number of important respects to smaller groups. Size impacts on group communication, for example. In smaller groups a higher proportion of people are likely to participate – there is potential more time for each, and the smaller number of people involved means that speaking may not be as anxiety-making as in a large group. In addition, large groups are more likely to include people with a range of skills and this can allow for more specialization of labour. In addition, larger groups can also allow us to feel more anonymous. ‘As a result, we may exhibit less social responsibility…, which in turn will often lead to less task involvement and lower morale on the part of many group members as size increases’ (Baron 2003 et. al.: 7).

Group norms. Norms are basically rules of conduct that indicate what attitudes and behaviour might be expected or demanded in particular social situations and contexts. They are shared expectations of behaviour that set up what is desirable and appropriate in a particular setting or group. However, as soon as we talk about expected behaviour there is room for confusion. Here the norm is not referring to what is likely to occur, but what we think should occur. For example, we can expect a certain level of violence in town centres as the bars and clubs close, but most people would probably say that it shouldn’t be happening.

Socially established ‘and shared beliefs regarding what is normal, correct, true, moral and good generally have powerful effects on the thoughts and actions of group members’ (Baron et. al. 2003: 6). Group norms develop in groups often because they are necessary for the group to survive and/or to achieve its ends. Group life is dependent upon trust and a certain amount of loyalty, for example. Furthermore, as Baron et al have commented, norms provide codes of behaviour that render social life more predictable and efficient’ (op. cit.). They also act to reduce uncertainty in difficult situations. They provide a way forward for interaction.

Roles. The bundle of expectations and attributes linked to a social position can be seen as a role. In groups, people expect certain sorts of behaviour from those they see as the leader, for example. Various different ways of conceptualizing role have emerged in the study of groups e.g. ‘information giver’, ‘harmonizer’, ‘recorder’ and so on. Some of these schemes are helpful, some are not – but what cannot be disputed is the significance of role in groups. Different people play different roles – sometimes these are assigned (such as the in the membership of committees), sometimes they emerge through interaction. As Johnson and Johnson (2003: 24; 2016) have put it, ‘Roles define the formal structure of the group and differentiate one position from another’. Crucially, different social roles are often linked to different degrees of status and power within the group.

Group goals

An obvious, but sometimes overlooked, factor in group processes and dynamics is the reason why the group exists. What does it do for its members? What is its object? How did it come to be created? As Alvin Zander (1985: 1-13) has shown, the form that a group takes is often heavily dependent on its purpose. Moreover, a group will often have several and possibly conflicting purposes which can then become expressed as tensions between members.

Group goals are ideals – they are the ends (the aims or the outcomes) sought by the group and its members. They entail some sort of joint vision (Johnson and Johnson 2003: 73; 2016). Without some commitment to the pursuit of common goals the group will not survive or be effective (Benson 2001: 66). Of great significance then is what might be called goal structure. Here a key distinction is between cooperative and competitive goal structures:

A co-operative goal structure develops when the individual goals of members are visible and similar… A competitive goal structure emerges where the individual goals of members are hidden or seen as different or opposed. (Benson 2001: 67)

Hidden agendas can be very destructive and lead to conflict in the group.

Group cohesion

Forsyth (2006: 13) makes the point that ‘Groups are not merely sets of aggregated, independent individuals; instead they are unified social entities. Groups cannot be reduced down to the level of the individual without losing information about the group unit, as a whole’. The notion of group cohesion – the forces or bonds that bind individuals to the collectivity – is fundamental to an appreciation of groups. In some groups the power of the bonds, the feelings that group members have for each other and the extent to which they are prepared to cooperate to achieve their goals will be slight. In others these may be seen as strong. Here the word  ‘seen’ is significant – for it may well be that a group is not experienced by its members as particularly co-operative, for example, but they, and those looking on, may believe it to be a social entity, a whole.

There is a growing literature around ‘group entitativity’ – the degree to which something appears to be a unified entity. Another way of thinking about this is as the ‘groupness’ of the people you might be observing in a particular situation (Brown 1999). It was Donald T. Campbell (1958) who first used the term entitativity. He argued that when groups become real they possess the characteristics of entities (Forsyth 2006: 15). Campbell based his analysis on explorations into how the mind works when deciding when something is to be approached as a whole (a gestalt or something that cannot be described as the sum of its parts) or ‘a random collection of unrelated elements’ (Forsyth 2006: 15). When looking at people together in particular places (what he calls the ‘aggregate’) Campbell concluded that we depend on three main cues to make judgements about entitativity:

• Common fate – the extent to which individuals in the ‘aggregate’ seem to experience the same, or interrelated outcomes.

• Similarity – the extent to which the individuals display the same behaviours or resemble one another.

• Proximity – the distance among individuals in the ‘aggregate’ (or group). (described in Forsyth 2016: 16)

We might look, thus, at people seated around a table in a café or bar – we look at the extent to which they join in things together e.g. laughing, discussing; whether they acting in a similar way or have something in common e.g. in the way they dress, the things they have with them; and how closely they are sitting together.

Group development

Groups change over time. There is a real sense in which they are living things. They emerge, they exist, and they die. This phenomenon has led to the formulation of a wide range of theoretical models concerning developmental processes. Most commentators assume that groups go through a number of phases or stages if they exist for an extended period. It is clear, for example, that people tend to want to know something about the other members; have to develop a degree of interdependence in order that the group or team may achieve its tasks and be satisfying to its members; and has to learn at some level to deal with conflict if it is to survive. The most influential model of the developmental process – certainly in terms of its impact upon texts aimed at practitioners – has been that of Bruce W. Tuckman (1965). While there are various differences concerning the number of stages and their names – many have adopted a version of Tuckman’s model – forming, storming, norming and performing.

illustration - a cyclical version of Bruce W. Tuckman's group development model

He was later to add a fifth stage – adjourning (Tuckman and Jensen 1977) [all discussed at length in Bruce W. Tuckman – forming, storming norming and performing in groups].

Conclusion

From this brief overview we can see the significance of groups and why it may be important to intervene in them – both to strengthen their potential as sites of mutual aid and communal well-being, and to help them become more fulfilling to their individual members. They are a fundamental part of human experience and play a crucial role both in terms of shaping and influencing individual lives and society itself.

Humans are small group beings. We always have been and we always will be. The ubiquitousness of groups and the inevitability of being in them makes groups one of the most important factors in our lives. As the effectiveness of our groups goes, so goes the quality of our lives.

To ensure that groups are effective, members must be extremely competent in using small group skills. Humans are not born with these skills; they must be developed. (Johnson and Johnson 2003: 579; 581)

Those skills – and the attitudes, orientations and ideas associated with them – are learnt, predominantly, through experiencing group life. They can also be enhanced by the intervention of skilled leaders and facilitators – but that is another story [see working with groups].

Further reading and references

Forsyth, Donelson R. (2016). Group Dynamics 6e. Boston MA.: Centage. Pretty much the standard textbook on groups, it has gone from strength to strength through its four editions.

Johnson, D.W. and Johnson, F.P. (2016). Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills 12e. New York: Pearson.  Still the best starting point for an exploration of groupwork practice. It begins by providing an overview of group dynamics and experiential learning and then looks at key dimensions of group experience and the role of the leader/facilitator.

References

Allport, F. H. (1924) Social Psychology. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Bales, Robert Freed (1950) Interaction Process Analysis: A method for the study of small groups. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Bales, Robert Freed (1999) Social Interaction Systems: Theory and measurement. New Brunswick, NJ.: Transaction.

Baron, Robert S and Norbert L Kerr (2003) Group Process, Group Decision, Group Action. 2e. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Benson, Jarlath. (2000). Working More Creatively with Groups. 2e. London: Routledge.

Benson, Jarlath. (2009). Working More Creatively with Groups. 3e. London: Routledge

Brown, Rupert (1999) Group processes: Dynamics within and between groups 2e. Oxford: WileyBlackwell.

Campbell, Douglas T. (1958) ‘Common fate, similarity, and other indices of aggregates of persons as social entities’, Behavioral Science 3: 14-25.

Cartwright, Dorwin and Alvin Zander (eds.) (1968) Group dynamics: research and theory 3e. London: Tavistock Publications.

Cooley, C. H. (1909) Social Organization. A study of the larger mind. New York: Scribners.

Deutsch, Morton (1949) ‘A theory of cooperation and competition’, Human Relations 2: 129-152.

Doel, Mark (2005) Using Groupwork. London: Routledge.

Durkheim, Émile (2002) Suicide. London: Routledge. [First published in 1897]

Forsyth, Donelson R. (1990) Group Dynamics 2e. Pacific Grove CA.: Brooks Cole.

Forsyth, Donelson R. (2006) Group Dynamics 4e [International Student Edition]. Belmont CA.: Thomson Wadsworth Publishing.

Forsyth, Donelson R. (2016). Group Dynamics 6e. Boston MA.: Centage.

Hersey Paul and Blanchard, Kenneth (1977) Management of Organizational Behaviour: Utilizing human resources. 3e. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice Hall.

Homans, George (1951) The Human Group, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Johnson, David W. and Frank P. Johnson (2003) Joining Together. Group theory and group skills 8e. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Johnson, D.W. and Johnson, F.P. (2016). Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills 12e. New York: Pearson.

Le Bon, Gustave (2006) The Crowd. A study of the popular mind. New York: Cosimo Books. [First published in English in 1896].

Lewin, Kurt (1948) Resolving social conflicts; selected papers on group dynamics. Gertrude W. Lewin (ed.). New York: Harper & Row, 1948.

Lewin, Kurt (1951) Field theory in social science; selected theoretical papers. D. Cartwright (ed.). New York: Harper & Row.

Lieberman, M. D. (2013). Social. Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mayo, Elton (1933) The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization. New York: Macmillan.

McDermott, Fiona (2002) Inside Group Work. A guide to reflective practice. Crow’s-nest NSW.: Allen and Unwin.

Mills, Theodore M. (1967) The Sociology of Small Groups. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

Surowiecki, James (2004) The Wisdom of Crowds. Why the many are smarter than the few. London: Abacus.

Thrasher, F. (1927) The Gang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Tuckman, Bruce W. (1965) ‘Developmental sequence in small groups’,  Psychological Bulletin, 63, 384-399. The article was reprinted in Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal ? Number 3, Spring 2001 and is available as a Word document: http://dennislearningcenter.osu.edu/references/GROUP%20DEV%20ARTICLE.doc. Accessed January 14, 2005.

Tuckman, Bruce W., & Jensen, Mary Ann C. (1977). ‘Stages of small group development revisited’, Group and Organizational Studies, 2, 419- 427.

Turner, J. C. with M. A. Hogg (1987) Rediscovering the social group : a self-categorization theory. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Whyte, William Foote (1943, 1955, 1966, 1981, 1993) Street Corner Society: social structure of an Italian slum. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Zander, Alvin (1985) The Purposes of Groups and Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Acknowledgements: Photo by Tegan Mierle on Unsplash

How to cite this article: Smith, Mark K. (2008, 2018). ‘What is a group?’, The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education. [www.infed.org/mobi/what-is-a-group/. Retrieved: insert date].

© Mark K Smith 2005, 2008, 2018

Last Updated on June 13, 2019 by

January 17, 2018
Grammar, Vocabulary

Collective Nouns, Subject-Verb Agreement, Common Used Collective Nouns, etc… Please follow the list for detailed expressions, lists and examples;

What is Collective Noun?

Collective noun is a noun which describes a group of things oe people. It means collective noun is a single noun that is made up of  more than one thing or person or etc.

For examples: family, group, herd, team.

Collective Noun Singular or Plural?

Generally, we can say that collective nouns can be singular or plural. It depends on the context of the sentence.

  • If the members of a group act together as a unit or a whole, we use a singular verb.

( we can also say that if we or speakers want to emphasize the group as a whole, we use singular verb in this situation.

)

  • If the members of a group stop acting together as a unit or a whole and act as individuals, it is better to use a plural verb.

( we can also say that if we or speakers want to emphasize the individuals in a group rather than regarding the group as a whole, we use plural verb in this situation)

ATTENTION:

If you are not sure whether to use a singular or a plural verb with a collective noun in ypur writing or speaking,  you can put “members of” before the collective noun and then use a plural verb.

Common Collective Noun List;
Collective Noun Meaning
Board the group of people who are responsible for controlling and organizing a company or organization.
Bunch 1. a number of things of the same type fastened together or in a close group. 2. a group of people.
Choir a group of people who sing together.
Class a group of students who are taught together at school, college, or university.
Committee a small group of people chosen to represent a larger organization and either make decisions or collect information for it.
Crew a group of people who work together, especially all those who work on and operate a ship, aircraft, etc.
Crowd a large group of people who have come together.
Flock a group of sheep, goats, or birds.
Group a number of people or things that are put together or considered as a unit
Gang 1. a group of criminals who work together. 2. a group of young people, especially young men, who spend time together, often fighting with other groups and behaving badly. 3. a group of friends. 4. a group of workers or prisoners who work together.
Heap an untidy pile or mass of things.
Herd a large group of animals of the same type that live and feed together.
Mob 1. a large, angry crowd, especially one that could easily become violent. 2.  a group of people who are friends or who are similar in some way.
Orchestra a large group of musicians who play many different instruments together and are led by a conductor.
Pack 1. a group of animals, such as dogs, that live and/or hunt together. 2. a group, set, or collection of something.
Panel a small group of people chosen to give advice, make a decision, or publicly discuss their opinions as entertainment.
Pile a mass of something that has been placed somewhere.
Series a number of similar or related events or things, one following another.
Set a group of similar things that belong together in some way.
Shoal a large number of fish swimming as a group.
Shower a lot of small objects or drops of liquid coming through the air.
Stack a pile of things arranged one on top of another.
Staff the group of people who work for an organization.
Swarm 1. a large group of insects all moving together. 2.  a large group of people all moving together.
Team a number of people or animals who do something together as a group.
Troupe a group of performers such as singers or dancers who work and travel together.

Common Collective Nouns Used For People
an army of soldiers
an audience of listeners
a band of musicians
a board of directors
a choir of singers
a class of students
a crew of sailors
a crowd of people
a flock of tourists
a gang of labourers
a group of dancers
a panel of experts
a staff of employees
a tribe of natives
Common Collective Nouns Used For Animals
an army of ants
a catch of fish
a flight of birds
a flock of sheep
a haul of fish
a herd of cattle
a hive of bees
a host of sparrows
a litter of cubs
a murder of crows
a pack of wolves
a team of horses
a troop of lions
a zoo of wild animals
Common Collective Nouns Used For Animals
an album of photographs
a basket of fruit
a bowl of rice
a bouquet of flowers
a bunch of keys
a galaxy of stars
a group of islands
a fleet of ships
a forest of trees
a hedge of bushes
a library of books
a pack of cards
a pair of shoes
a range of mountains
a string of pearls
a wad of notes

For Collective Nouns Plural or Singular?, Click Here

For Detailed Collective Nouns for People, Click Here

For Detailed Collective Nouns for Animals, Click Here

For Detailed Collective Nouns for Things, Click Here

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