As one sees what is being done, social structures become apparent. Informal structures are often taken for granted. They appear to be friendly gatherings. They may seem trivial in their purpose, but if looked at for their functional significance, they may give one clues to the directions taken by related larger and more formal institutional groupings. There can be no hard and fast line drawn between formal and informal social groups, and yet, when one sees a group operating without publicity, with no formal record of its activity with changeable membership, and with relatively few members, it is likely that the group is purely informal.
Political caucuses are well-known example of informal groups.
Such groups may continue to be informal, become formal, or dissolve. Dysfunctional groups . A word may be said here concerning dysfunctional groups. Not all informal group activities are correlated to the over-all well being of the larger society or community. Gossip cliques in a corporate structure, critical of top management, might be an example.