Inquiry Question: How does group
behaviour relate to us and what it
means to be human?
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Humanity is a social species
– we evolved to survive in
groups
Group membership – we
have a natural inclination to
suppress our personal
needs / wants in favour of
the needs of the group’s
needs / wants
We seek interactions with
others & those interactions
shape our future responses
and behaviours
We learn our identity
through group interaction:
gender, class, age, culture
Foraging Societies :
 hunter gathering
societies - travelled
in small groups and
moved to different
localities in their
quest for food.
 Egalitarian societies
like the !Kung of
Christmas in the
Kalahari
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Subsistence
agricultural societies
Stationary - cultivate
fields of food and
herd domestic
animals.
migrate to new land
once their lands are
exhausted. Can
divide into troops,
bands, tribes,
chiefdoms.
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Developed in ancient
Mesopotamia, Egypt,
China and South
America.
These were groups who
did intensive agriculture
and stayed in one place,
developing technologies
to irrigate the land.
At this time human subgroups started to form as
class structures came
into being and skills
diversified i.e. kings,
nobles, peasants
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Developed first in
Europe, especially in
England.
Divisions occurred and
even smaller human subgroups were formed as
regions developed
technologies and families
began to work for wages.
Groups were then
defined by regions, and
nation states which
shared a common
culture.
For Example:
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They are interested in the benefits of being part of a cultural group.
They are interested in the disadvantages and dangers of being in a
cultural group.
They consider the lives of people living within a cultural group.
Determine what it takes to belong to a cultural group.
Study the customs and traditions within a group which shape the
behaviours of the culture.
Read – Anthropology and Ethical Transformations and Anthropologists and the Military page
181 to 182
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A Sociologist is interested in studying group
behaviours because these behaviours are
influenced by society. The feeling of
belonging to a group is an essential element
of living in society.
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We are part of many different groups, some
formal (family, work) and others informal
(friends, clubs)
All groups need to establish solidarity - a
feeling of social belonging amongst its
members that unite the members of a group
◦ Ritual (symbolic behaviour)
◦ Customs (dress, speech, greetings and salutations)
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The most intimate of
all groups
Consists of two
members
◦ Married couple
◦ Two friends
Informal Groups:
◦ Gatherings of people
where there are no
explicit rules.
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A small group in which
members share personal
and emtional relationship
◦ Family
◦ Close friends
◦ Significant other
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Deeply invested - share
deep concern for members
Ties are very strong – can
exert significant
persuasion over members
– expect a high degree of
conformity
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An impersonal and/or
formal gathering of
people
Individual’s role is
measured by his/her
contribution to common
goal / purpose
Often large groups –
usually exert less
influence on behaviour
than primary groups
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A group that communicates
over the internet
Has a global reach
Purpose is varied, but tend
to facilitate social support,
companionship, exchange
information amongst those
with a common interest
Can be a part of one’s
primary and secondary
group
New techniques have been
developed to compensate
for lack of face to face
interactions
◦ Emoticons
◦ Slang and abbreviations
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A group associating for
antisocial and / or
criminal purposes
Share the same
characteristics of other
groups
Provides members with
a sense of identity,
power, common
purpose & protection
Appeals to those who
tend to lack these from
their primary and
secondary groups
“The gang is like my family
man. They got my back. When
you need something like some
clothes or some food or some
money or a place to crash they
are there. When you need to
talk they are there. When you
got a beef they got your back. I
love these guys man. They are
my blood, my heart”(male 22
years).
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Groups est. expectations for how we should
behave
Rely on roles, norms and sanctions
Sanctions: Penalty or reward to ensure
conformity within a group
◦ informal: pat on back, compliment
◦ Formal: expulsion, imprisonment, execution
How does the psychology of a collective differ
from and interact with that of the individuals
within it?
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Behaviour by a large group is highly
influenced by the loss of
responsibility of the individuals and
the feeling of universality of
behaviour
Both are contingent on the size of
the crowd – the larger the crowd the
greater the loss of individual
responsbility
Crowd behaviour does not reflect
existing rules, institutions and
structures of society
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Purpose of the group is to accomplish a
single goal or outcome
Behaviour is usually spontaneous –
response to crisis or disaster.
Panic – the “irrational” response to a
situation perceived as dangerous – can
easily sweep through crowds
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Crowd behaviour is not a product of the
crowd, but of the like-minded individuals that
comprise the crowd
“An individual in a crowd behaves just as
he/she would alone, only more so” Floyd
Allport (Sociologist)
Crowd reinforces and intensifies the
behaviour
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People make rational decisions whether or not to
participate in collective behaviour – consider
possible consequences ahead of time
People are motivated by:
 self-interest
 Size of the group – we favour large over small groups (each
individual has a personal “threshold” that must be met
before they join in
 Lack of responsibility and consequence
Thresholds vary for individuals within the group
– leaders tend to be those with lower thresholds
for responsibility & consequence
Explains why some individuals leave a crowd if
violence escalates while others stay involved
Psychology
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A psychologist is not studying groups to
explore the reasons behind group behaviour,
they leave that to the sociologists. A
psychologist is more interested in how
groups influence individual behaviours. In
other words, what influences you to join a
club or group and how the group affects you.
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Social pressure can influence a person’s
behaviour making them take part in things
they would not normally take part in simply
because other people around them are doing
it.
See Asch Experiment (You Tube)
See Milgrim Study page 198 of your text.
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Psychologists also struggle with ethical
questions, are these experiments ethical in
your opinion?
Why or Why not?
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Social belonging is based on the concept of
solidarity.
There are many different types of groups.