A group may be defined as two or more people who interact to accomplish either individual or
mutual goals. The broad scope of this definition includes an intimate group of two neighbours
who each summer Saturday drive to the local golf course to play a round of golf, and a larger,
more formal group, such as a local diving club, whose members are mutually interested in
equipment, training and diving trips and holidays. Included in this definition, too, is a kind of
‘one-sided grouping’ in which an individual consumer observes the appearance or actions of
others, who unknowingly serve as consumption-related role models.
Sometimes groups are classified by membership status. A group to which a person either
belongs or for membership of which he/she would qualify is called a membership group . For
example, the group of women with whom a young executive plays tennis weekly would be
considered, for her, a membership group. There are also groups in which an individual is not
likely to receive membership, despite acting like a member by adopting the group’s values,
attitudes and behaviour. This is considered a symbolic group . For instance, professional golfers
may constitute a symbolic group for an amateur golfer who identifies with certain players by
imitating their behaviour whenever possible (e.g. by purchasing a specific brand of golf balls or
golf clubs). However, the amateur golfer does not (and probably never will) qualify for membership as a professional golfer because he has neither the skills nor the opportunity to compete
professionally.