2. Reflect on impact of group on self.

For most of us I would argue, from the moment we enter the world, we are part of a group. We
have a family that we are dependent on, we interact with and are influenced by. As such our
family group is crucial for our survival and successful development. As we age, we join other
groups: school-related groups, those with our friends, groups for our hobbies, sports teams,
dance, etc. We enter the workforce and there are more group opportunities. Psychologists as
well as Biologists have called us humans as herd animals because of that need to belong with
others. There is research from different theoretical perspectives. One of these is the
Conditioning Perspective. This perspective suggests that we learn early in our lives to associate
positive outcomes with group membership. Our first group is our family. These people typically
give us physical and psychological support. “We flourish in the presence of a consistent, caring
family.” The developmental research seemingly supports the need for contact and love to then
be able to have healthy brain development.

Another theory explaining our desire to be a part of groups is Festinger’s (1954) Social
Comparison Theory. This theory explains how we compare ourselves to those around us to see
how we fit in. As such our realities are then subjective and we are all searching for “frameworks”
to which to better understand ourselves and those around us. Social comparison gives us that
information to build those frameworks. Baron & Kerr, 2003) argued that” If we are in groups, we
have access to the comparative information we need to create a social reality, especially in
times of ambiguous physical realities. We can also use the people in our groups through
comparison to protect ourselves from inappropriate behavior and embarrassment.”

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) and Self-Categorisation theory (Turner, 1991) can
us to further explain the importance of groups. Social identity theory specifically addresses how
we first put ourselves into a group, then we see ourselves as a member of that group and then
we want to feel good about being a member, which can sometimes lead to derogating other
groups Choosing to be a student is a great example of a group that you could use to increase
your self-esteem and improve your self-image. You are becoming more educated and
increasing your chances of employment. It is also possible you might then derogate other
colleges, they aren’t as good to further increase self-esteem. Baron & Kerr, (2003) highlights
the idea that as such “The groups we choose give us an idea of who we are and how we see
the world. The groups define what we believe, what we should and shouldn’t do, and the
customs we will follow.”

One very important reason that humans have behaved as herd animals in the past is survival.
The sociobiological theory (Bowlby, 1958) explores the idea that survival is more likely when
humans group together. “They can protect themselves more easily against predators/enemies
and they can cooperate to create more group members, find and share food, build shelters and
care for the sick and injured.”
Individual or interpersonal behavior refers to the behaviors of an individual, which may be
internally or externally motivated. Individual behavior can range from mundane tasks such as
brushing your teeth to more complex tasks such as decision-making. Several factors can
influence individual behavior as well including genetics, environment, past experiences, trauma,
personality, or mental health.
Group or intrapersonal behaviors refer to the collective behavior of two or more people either
towards one other or those outside of the group. Social psychologists might look at how a group
is formed, what makes a group a group, or how a group accomplishes its goals.

Members of a group do not have to have the same individual behaviors to form a group
behavior. Your teammates in track all behave differently as individuals, but when you
interact and engage with one another, you form group behavior. One could think of
social behavior as the bridge between individual behaviors and group behaviors.

Social Behavior: Social behavior is that which influences or is influenced by others,

either within or outside your group.

Individual behavior can influence group behavior and group behavior can influence
individual behavior. Additionally, individual behavior may conform in order to comply
with socially acceptable group behavior.

Individual Behavior and Group Behavior - Key takeaways

● Individual and group behavior is a central focus for social psychologists. Social
psychologists examine individual and group behavior in several settings.
● Individual or interpersonal behavior refers to the behaviors of an individual that
may be internally or externally motivated. Group or intrapersonal behaviors refer
to the collective behavior of two or more people either towards one other or those
outside of the group.
● Sometimes, individual and group behavior can look similar. For example,
discrimination can come from one person or a group of people.
● To some degree, we all either consciously or unconsciously engage in social
comparison. Our behavior may conform in the presence of others, or we may
engage in other principles to determine our individual behavior.
 ● Many of theories of individual and group theories observe how a person's
individual behavior is influenced by being in a group. Three examples include
social facilitation, social loafing, and deindividuation.

Individual behavior may include:

● how you treat your friends or family.

● your motivation in school.
● what you do for work.
● what you choose to eat or not eat.
● what your hobbies are.

The list can go on. Individual behavior is what you do of your own will, separate from
others. Group behavior, however, may include:

● how two or more people achieve the same goal.

● how individuals with shared characteristics treat each other and those outside of
the group.
● how a group changes individual behavior.
● social norms and expectations.
● leadership between two or more individuals.

Sometimes, individual and group behavior can look similar. For example, discrimination
can come from one person or a group of people.

Discrimination: the prejudicial or unjust treatment of others based on their group, class,
or other descriptive categories.
One of the primary areas of study for psychologists is behavior. They seek to
understand how individual behavior reflects personality and mental state. If someone's
individual behavior is abnormal, the next step is usually to evaluate their mental health.
When psychologists study group behavior, they examine how a group thinks, functions,
completes tasks, achieves goals, and interacts with outsiders.

Conformity

Additionally, a person's individual behavior may change while in a group and around
others. To some degree, we all either consciously or unconsciously engage in social
comparison. As a result, groups tend to generate conformity.

Conformity: the act of reflecting the same beliefs or behavior in order to comply with
group norms and fit in.

Our behavior may conform in the presence of others, or we may engage in other
principles to determine our individual behavior. Let's take a look at a few principles of
individual and group behavior.

Actor-Observer Bias

Actor-observer bias is when we believe that other people’s behaviors are due to internal
factors and our own behaviors are due to circumstantial forces.
If another person fails a test, you may believe that it's due to internal factors such as a
lack of intelligence. If you fail a test, you might blame it on circumstantial forces such as
a lack of sleep the night before.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Sometimes we tend to overemphasize internal factors of behavior and underestimate

the influence of the situation. This is called a fundamental attribution error.

You're pretty confident that you have superpowers because you pointed at a cup and it
blew over. However, you are not considering the potential influence of the situation, that
is, the wind.

Just-World Hypothesis

Just-world hypothesis is the belief that people get what they deserve. This ideology is
especially common in the U.S.

If your worst enemy broke their finger during a fight with your best friend, your first
thought is "they got what they deserve."

Self-Serving Bias

Self-serving bias is our tendency to credit positive outcomes to internal attributions and
negative outcomes to external attributions.You received a $300 bonus at work and
you're positive it's "good karma" because gave your friend a ride to the airport.
However, when you got in a car accident, you don't believe it has anything to do with
your negative traits and everything to do with the bad drivers on the road.

Individual and Group Behavior Theory

As we mentioned earlier, behavior is a primary area of study for psychologists. So it

should come as no surprise that several individual and group behavior theories have
formed. Many of these theories observe how a person's individual behavior is influenced
by being in a group. We are going to take a look at three including facilitation, social
loafing, and deindividuation.

Social Facilitation.

Social facilitation: Social facilitation is the phenomenon that your performance is

strengthened in the presence of others

There are, however, other layers to this. Your performance usually only improves in
front of others if it is an easy task for you and you feel competent in completing it. If it is
too difficult of a task, your performance may actually weaken in the presence of others

Social Loafing

When you are driving on the road and everyone around you is speeding, you might pay
less attention to your speedometer and claim you're going along with the "speed of
traffic." However, if you are on the road alone, you pay a bit more attention to the
speedometer. Why is that? Social loafing may play a role.
Social loafing: Social loafing is the phenomenon in which a person's effort diminishes in
the presence of others.

There are several reasons why social loafing occurs. A person may:

● believe what they have to offer is dispensable.

● feel less accountable or responsible.
● be overestimating their contributions and underestimating others' actions.
● want to ride on others' efforts rather than putting in their own.

Deindividuation

Finally, deindividuation is arguably one of the more severe ways that individual behavior
can change in the presence of others.

Deindividuation: Deindividuation is when a person loses self-awareness and self-

restraint due to the arousal and anonymity of group participation.

How do you know if you've fallen victim to deindividuation? Well, ask yourself this:
would you have done that severe thing if you were by yourself? If the answer is no,
deindividuation could be at play. Deindividuation can quickly get out of hand. When
masked by a group, a person may find the courage to behave in a way they otherwise
would not if they were alone and exposed.

During a riot, you notice that your friends are behaving in a way they otherwise would
not if they were alone. But since they are within a group, anonymous, and aroused, they
are more motivated to egg a car or spray paint a building.