Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 May 2016
The small group is a major cause in the formation of attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. The group forms the primary reference for the individual in terms of the socialization of norms and values and the establishment of loyalties. This led Golembiewski (1978:28) to write:
In this elemental sense, the group is a medium of control. It is a major context in which people develop their concepts of who they are, or to say almost the same thing, of how they relate to others. If for no other reason, this role of the small group implies its centrality in Political Science. For the quality of civic life basically depends upon the kind and quality of behavioral control.