11. REFERENCE GROUPS

Another type of small groups that are important for the behavior of an individual is the so-called reference groups . The term itself was introduced by the American researcher G. Hymen, who, studying student groups, found that a certain number of students do not accept the norms and values ​​of this group, but behave as if they are oriented to the values ​​of completely different groups. Subsequently, in the course of numerous experiments, it was proved that each individual necessarily has one or several reference groups for himself, the ideals and values ​​of which he accepts. They serve as a kind of reference for him, a model for comparing and evaluating their own behavior. A certain part of high school students, for example, in their actions is guided not by the advice of parents and teachers, but by the actions and views of the heroes of fashionable film fighters. The world of these heroes forms the reference group: they strive to imitate their idols in behavior, characteristic gestures, clothes, hairstyles, etc. However, the reference group may consist of very specific people, the opinion and evaluation of which a person especially values. But, as a rule, such a group includes not all people from the inner circle, even in primary groups, but only a narrow circle of “significant others”.

The concept of the reference group helped to explain a number of paradoxical phenomena, especially from the sphere of unlawful behavior. Why, for example, a student who grew up in a respectable family, surrounded by the care and affection of loved ones, suddenly commits a crime? The reason could well be the fact that the reference group for him were not family members, whose opinion he did not particularly value, but a group of peers, whose members saw in crime not an antisocial act, but a manifestation of courage, dexterity and resourcefulness.

Thus, the concept of a reference group makes it possible to clarify the complex mechanism of the relationship of an individual with a social group. The traditional approach, emphasizing the decisive role of social norms and values ​​of the social system to explain the behavior of an individual, is not always effective. Accounting effects on the behavior of an individual reference group allows us to explain the possible deviations in his behavior from the requirements of the regulatory system of the group in which he is located.