Definition of Secondary Group
(noun) An impersonal group that is task oriented and interactions are typically formal, based on roles and statuses.
Examples of Secondary Group
- club members
- co-workers
Secondary Group Pronunciation
Syllabification: sec·ond·ar·y group
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /sEk-uhn-dair-ee grOOp/
- British English – /sE-kuhn-duh-ree grOOp/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈsɛkənˌdɛri grup/
- British English – /ˈsɛkəndəri gruːp/
Usage Notes
- Plural: secondary groups
- A secondary group is contrasted to a primary group.
Related Video
Additional Information
Related Terms
- aggregate
- bureaucracy
- demography
- formal organization
- groupthink
- in-group
- member
- organization
- out-group
- population
- resocialization
Works Consulted
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Cite the Definition of Secondary Group
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “secondary group.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 25, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/secondary-group/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
secondary group. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/secondary-group/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “secondary group.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 25, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/secondary-group/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“secondary group.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/secondary-group/>.