4
Formation
Groups form through personal,
situational, and interpersonal
processes. Formation depends on the
members themselves; some are more
likely than others to join groups. Groups
come into existence when
circumstances push people together
rather than keeping them apart. Groups
also spring up when people discover
that they like one another, and this
attraction provides the foundation for
the development of interpersonal
bonds.
 Who joins groups?
 When do people seek
out others?
 What processes
generate bonds of
interpersonal
attraction between
members of groups?
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Preview
Joining Groups
Personality
Men and Women
Affiliation
Attraction
Social Comparison
Principles of
Attraction
Stress and Affiliation
The Economics of
Membership
Social Comparison and
the Self
Relationships?
Depends on
attraction between
people, for groups
form when
individuals find
they like one
another.
Social Motivation
Anxiety and Attachment
Attitudes, Experiences,
Expectations
Who? Depends on
individuals' personal
qualities (traits, social
motives, sex, etc.)
When? Depends
on the situation
(e.g., ambiguous,
tasks)
The Five Factor
Joining Groups
Who Joins Groups and
Who
Remains
Apart?
Ways
in which
each person is like
some
other people;
Personality
dimensions of
variation among
people
The Five Factor Model
(FFM) describes the
“big 5” personality
traits or dimensions of
difference.
Model of Personality
Men and Women
Sex differences in group engagement are
relatively minor
■ Women tend to be higher than men in relationality.
■ Women seek membership in smaller, informal,
intimate groups, whereas men seek membership in
larger, more formal, task-focused groups.
■ These differences are likely due, in part, to sex roles
and sexism.
Social Motivation
Social motives predict people’s
interest in joining groups
 need for affiliation (and
rejection sensitivity)
 need for intimacy
 need for power
These motives are often measured
using indirect, projective tests and
“experience sample” methods
Social Motivation
Schutz’s work on his Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO) theory that
explains how people use groups to satisfy their need to receive and express inclusion,
control, and affection.
Anxiety and Attachment
Individuals
who are
socially
inhibited, shy,
and anxious
are less likely
to join groups.
Attitudes, Experiences,
Expectations
People’s attitudes, experiences, and expectations
are all factors that influence their decision to join a
group.
Karau’s Beliefs about Groups Scale
Attitudes, Experiences,
Expectations
Students who had positive experiences in groups in high school
were more likely to seek out groups to join in college (the direct
relationship between "positive experiences in groups" and
"seeking groups").
Source: Brinthaupt, Moreland, & Levine, 1991; Pavelchak,
Moreland, & Levine, 1986
Note: Sense of Injustice + Negative Emotions (Anger) = Social Movement Participation
Affiliation
Joining
Groups
Affiliation
Attraction
Affiliation is the gathering together of
conspecifics in one location.
Affiliation becomes more likely in some
situations and less likely in others.
When individuals face uncertain or
bewildering conditions, when they
experience stressful circumstances, and
when they are fearful (but not
embarrassed), by joining a group they
can gain the information and social
support they need to help them cope
with difficult circumstances.
Joining Groups
Sex differences in group engagement are
relatively minor.
■ Women tend to be higher than men in relationality.
■ Women seek membership in smaller, informal,
intimate groups, whereas men seek membership in
larger, more formal, task-focused groups.
■ These differences are likely due, in part, to sex roles
and sexism.
Social Comparison
Affiliation and social comparison
Social comparison: gaining information from
other people’s reactions
(Festinger, 1954)
Ambiguous,
confusing
circumstances
Psychological
reaction
Negative
emotions
Uncertainty
Need for
information
Affiliation
and social
comparison
with others
Cognitive
Clarity
Social Comparison


Schachter’s studies of
affiliation
Misery loves
company: People
affiliate with others
Misery loves
miserable company:
Schachter found people
prefer to wait with others
facing a similar
experience.
How do people react
in an ambiguous,
frightening situation?
Other Motives May Reduce Affiliation
Morris and his colleagues studied what people actually
do when they affiliate in 3 types of situations
Stress and Affiliation
Groups facilitate both “fight-orflight” and “tend-and-befriend”
responses to stress.
Types of Social
Support
Stress and Affiliation
Belonging
Emotional support
Informational support
Instrumental support
Spiritual support
Directional
Comparison
Social Comparison and
the Self
Downward
Social
Comparison
Upward Social
Comparison
• Choosing
comparison
targets who
are performing poorly
compared to
oneself
• Choosing
comparison
targets who
are performing poorly
compared to
oneself
• Boosts selfesteem
• Increases
optimism,
elevates goals
Self-evaluation
Maintenance
(SEM)
• People prefer
to associate
with individuals who do
not outperform them in
areas that are
very relevant
to their selfesteem
Social Comparison and
the Self
If the students
thought that the task
was important, they
judged their
performance to be
superior to that of
their close friend. If
the task was not
important to them
personally, they felt
that they had
performed relatively
worse (Tesser,
Campbell, & Smith,
1984).
Joining Groups
Personality
Men and Women
Social Motivation
Anxiety and Attachment
Attitudes, Experiences,
Expectations
Affiliation
Social Comparison
Attraction
Principles of
Attraction
Newcomb (1960) offered 17
The Economics of
young men starting their studies
Membership
at the University of Michigan
freeComparison
rent if they
Social
andanswered a
the Self
detailed
survey of their attitudes,
likes, and dislikes each week.
Then he watched as the 17
students sorted themselves out
into friendship pairs and distinct
groups
Stress and Affiliation
Newcomb identified a small
number of principles that explain
when liking is more likely.
Principles of
Attraction
Proximity
Elaboration
Similarity
• People tend
to like those
who are
situated
nearby, in
part because
it increases
familiarity
and
interaction
• Groups often
emerge when
additional
elements
(people)
become
linked to the
original
members.
• People like
others who
are similar to
them in some
way. In
consequence,
most groups
tend toward
increasing
levels of
homophily.
Principles of
Attraction
Frequent online interactions
increase attraction.
A network view of relational
elaboration
Principles of
Attraction
Complementarity
• People like others
whose qualities
complement their
own qualities
Reciprocity
• Liking tends to be
mutual
Minimax
• Individuals are
attracted to groups
that offer them
maximum rewards
and minimal costs.
Schutz identified two key forms of compatibility:
interchange compatibility (based on similarity) and
originator compatibility (based on complementarity).
The Economics of
Membership
Satisfaction is determined by comparison level (CL)
Value of other groups determines comparison level for
alternatives (CLalt)
Review
Joining Groups
Personality
Men and Women
Affiliation
Social Comparison
Principles of
Attraction
Stress and Affiliation
The Economics of
Membership
Social Motivation
Anxiety and Attachment
Attitudes, Experiences,
Expectations
Attraction
Social Comparison and
the Self
Claude Monet (1840–1926), Nymphéas
Henri Fantin-Latour (1836–1904) Around the Table
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reproductions compiled by The Yorck Project. The compilation copyright is
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Documentation License.