a sociological analysis of students' reference groups at mazandaran university

this study has been designed to answer the following fundamental questions: what are the opinions of the students of mazandaran university about the significance of reference groups? what groups constitute the reference groups of the students of mazandaran university? do the students of mazandaran university select those groups of which they are a member or those groups of which they are not a member? in what aspects do the students of mazandaran university benefit the most from reference groups? why do the students select these individuals or groups as the reference groups? the study is guided by robert merton's theory of reference groups. through cochran's formula and classification sampling 370 students were selected from among the 9924 students of mazandaran university doing their second semester in the academic year 91-92. some of the most important results of this research include:  93% of the students believed that reference groups were necessary and beneficial.  91% of them believed that young people would encounter problems without reference groups.  the students considered family، friends، professors and school teachers as the most important reference groups respectively.  interest in groups and gaining social respect were most significant reasons for choosing reference groups.