Download Groups, Cliques and Social Behaviour - Hale

Groups, Cliques and Social
Behaviour
HSP3M
Types of Groups
Social Groups: Two or more people who
interact with each other and are aware of
having something in common
Meet needs
Help us achieve goals
Provide safety/security
Types of Groups
Crowds: A collection of people who come
together for a specific purpose
May have little or nothing to do with each other
A crowd can turn into a group if the people
begin to relate to each other
Primary Groups
First and most important groups in our
lives
Personal relationships
Long-term relationships
Interested in the person as a whole
Usually face-to-face communication
Ex: family, group of friends
Secondary Groups
Impersonal, more formal
Temporary/short-term relationships
Interested in a narrow aspect of the
person
More formal/written communication
Ex: School, business, team
How Groups Shape Behaviour
Roles: Groups assign members a set of
behaviours they expect them to perform
Do you adopt different roles in different groups?
Have you ever experience role conflict?
How Groups Shape Behaviour
Norms: Rules within a group
can be formal or informal
Sanctions: Used to encourage or
discourage certain behaviours
Positive: acceptance, good marks, pay
Negative: rejection, failure, reprimands
Conformity
The process by which an individual's
attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are
influenced by others
Occurs in both small groups and society
as a whole
Influences the formation and maintenance
of social norms and allows society to
function smoothly and predictably
Conformity
Why do people conform?
A desire to achieve a sense of security within a
group
Failure to conform may result in social rejection
Peer pressure is a way to force conformity
Can be positive or negative
Experiments
Asch Experiment
Individuals will respond to group pressure and
give responses they know to be wrong
Milgram Experiment
When the “teachers” were in groups, the group
could pressure the teacher to administer a
shock 3-4 times higher than they would have
alone
The Zimbardo Experiment
The situation people are in will affect their
behaviour
When people are given a role that it perceived
as legitimate, they can adopt roles that they
would never adopt otherwise
Social support and group pressure will reinforce
this
Basically, “normal” people will commit evil
acts when put in a situation where the
group legitimizes and encourages those
behaviours
Questions
 Is conformity essential to make society function
properly?
 What are the dangers and advantages of a
society that conforms?
 Can people be manipulated to conform to ideas
and behaviours without being aware they are
being manipulated?
 How do you think you would have behaved if
you were a guard in the Zimbardo experiment?