Reference Group Sociology

A reference group is a group to which an individual or another group is compared. Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior a reference group. Reference groups are used in order to evaluate and determine the nature of a given individual or other group's characteristics and sociological attributes. It is the group to which the individual relates or aspires to relate himself or herself psychologically. Reference groups act as a frame of reference to which people always refer to evaluate their achievements, their role performance, aspirations and ambitions. An example of a reference group being used would be the determination of affluence. The most important reference group is the family because it provides children with the skills, knowledge, attitudes and experience necessary to function as consumers. A family is defined as two or more persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption residing together. In Western societies, there are three types of

The member of the group always have their own ideology to influence each other behavior. A group also have an important function which is fulfil everyone needs and wants. There are fundamentally two types of group classified by membership status. These two types are membership group and symbolic group. Membership group is one to which a person either belongs or realistically can join for membership while symbolic group is one in which an individual is unlikely to receive membership despite acting like a member, but whose values and behaviors that person adopts. For example, the group of men with whom a young executive plays poker weekly would be considered as membership group while professional tennis players may constitute a symbolic group for an amateur tennis