Table of Contents
Definition of Primary Group
(noun) A small, intimate group whose members share face-to-face contact and emotional connections.
Types of Primary Group
- family
- friends
- peer groups
Primary Group Pronunciation
Syllabification: pri·mar·y group
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /prIE-mair-ee grOOp/
- British English – /prIE-muh-ree grOOp/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈpraɪˌmɛri grup/
- British English – /ˈpraɪməri gruːp/
Usage Notes
- Coined by Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929) as part of symbolic interactionism theory.
- Primary groups are typically long-lasting and agents of socialization.
- Primary group is contrasted to secondary group.
Related Video
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “primary” and “group” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- aggregate
- bureaucracy
- demography
- formal organization
- groupthink
- in-group
- member
- organization
- out-group
- population
- resocialization
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Cite the Definition of Primary Group
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “primary group.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved November 8, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/primary-group/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
primary group. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/primary-group/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “primary group.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/primary-group/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“primary group.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/primary-group/>.