Belonging, Formation, Cohesion Flashcards
Three interrelated processes determine the relationship between individuals and groups:
(a) inclusion and exclusion,
(b) individualism and collectivism, and
(c) personal identity and social identity.
The need to belong
The generalized desire to seek out and join with other people, which, when unsatisfied, causes a state of tension and want.
Loneliness
Cognitive and affective malaise, which can include sadness, dejection, self-deprecation, and boredom, experienced when one’s personal relationships are perceived to be too few or too unsatisfying.
What is a collective group, give an example and the impact on loneliness?
Collectives: Create only temporary, superficial alliances among members.
Ticket buyers standing in a queue, audiences in a theater.
No buffering
What is a social group, give an example and the impact on loneliness?
Social groups: Organize connections with other individuals.
Military squads, work groups, congregations, sports teams.
Reduce social loneliness
What is a intimate group, give an example and the impact on loneliness?
Intimate groups: Promote the devilment of close, intimate relationships.
Lovers, roommates (in some cases), close friends.
Reduce emotional loneliness
What is a intimate primary group, give an example and the impact on loneliness?
Intimate primary groups: Connect members in very close relationships.
Families, communes, family businesses, very close friends.
Reduce social and emotional loneliness
The inclusion-exclusion continuum
Increasing belonging is increasing self-worth on the continuum
Social meter hypotheses
states that your self-worth (how you evaluate yourself) is a function on how you evaluate yourself on the continuum.
* High self-esteem: I belong
* Low self-esteem: nobody wants me
* Self-worth is a social meter!
The temporal need threat model of ostracism
Control, meaning, self-esteem and belonging.
Ostracism
Excluding one or more individuals from a group by reducing or eliminating contact with the person, usually by ignoring, shunning, or explicitly banishing them.
The reflexive stage of ostracism in the temporal need threat model of ostracism?
the initial response to ostracism – if I am excluded, I feel pain, sadness, anger, I feel a threat to my fundamental needs.
- The reaction to exclusion is pain – it means that if using analogy of the candle, if I hold the candle, you withdraw your hand, but also with your mother, it doesn’t matter who holds it, when you are excluded from friends, of from family or from strangers, it is equally hurt.
- The reflexive stage is characterized by a flood of negative feelings— pain, disappointment, and distress—that all serve to signal that something is wrong.
The The reflective stage and resignations stage of ostracism in the temporal need threat model of ostracism?
- The thinking fase, it starts to make sense who did it, and who put the candle there, and how they will cope. If you are excluded, you get a signal from the group, that you need to do something good to be part of the group.
- In the reflective stage you review the experience, searching for an explanation for the way you were treated, and, depending on this analysis, he likely would have adopted a specific behavioral strategy to minimize the negative effects of exclusion. If, however, Patrick was never able to gain acceptance in this group or another group, then he would reach the resignation stage: alienation, helplessness, loss of self-worth, and depression.
Tend-and-befriend response
A physiological, psycho logical, and interpersonal response to stressful events characterized by increased nurturing, protective and supportive behaviors (tending), and initiating and strengthening relationships with other people (befriending).
Cyberostracism
Excluding one or more individuals from a technologically mediated group interaction, such as a computer-based discussion group, by reducing or eliminating communication with the person.
The consequences of ostracism?
fight or flight response and high stress
What is The biology of ostracism and inclusion
Neurological reactions to ostracism: studies of the brain using fMRI technology and the effects of analgesics on emotional reactions following rejection suggest that the pain of exclusion is maintained by the same biological systems responsible for the experience of physiological pain.
Brain: Anterior insula and dorsal cingulate cortex
Cyberball experiment – exclusion – inclusion
- Social pain = physical pain
- Belonging reduces physical pain
- Exclusion social pain – paracetamol reduces the pain (in the book, but he doesn’t think it’s a good study).
Euroball experiment – what if obtaining a ball is beneficial or harmful
Equally bad if you are excluded from the game but you gain money.
Cyberbomb; Effects of being ostracized from a death game. But what if inclusion kills you?
The only time, that in the ostracized setting, it is more painful to be excluded from the Cyberbomb than from the Cyberball.
Overall conclusion: we are social animals; social incentives go make the world far more than economic incentives
Another way to experiment this inclusion and ostrazation
Social media paradigm
o Inclusion condition
o Ostracism condition
What can we do to prevent negative consequences of rejection?
Others
o Educate about the negative impact
o Be aware ourselves (a smile, a head nod, a simple hello could go a long way)
Self:
o Find ways to improve coping
o Distractions/prevent rumination via hobbies
o Pets
o Sports
o Seek other social support
o Reminder of close relationships/partners
The Herd Instinct
The idea that humans are instinctively drawn to gather with other humans is not a new one. Over a century ago, psychologist William McDougall argued that humans are inexorably drawn to “the vast human herd,” which “exerts a baneful attraction on those outside it”
Sociometer theory
A conceptual analysis of self-evaluation processes that theorizes self-esteem functions to psychologically monitor of one’s degree of inclusion and exclusion in social groups (proposed by Mark Leary).
When do people put the group’s needs before their own?
Cultures vary in their relative emphasis on individualism and collectivism. People who live in collectivistic cultures (e.g., Asian, Eastern European, African, and Middle Eastern countries) think of themselves as group members first and individuals second, whereas people who live in individualistic cultures (Western countries) are self-centered rather than group-centered.
Norm of reciprocity
A social standard that enjoins individuals to pay back in kind what they receive from others.
Ultimatum game
An experimental bargaining situation in which one individual, the allocator, must propose a division of a shared resource to other members; if they reject the allocator’s proposal, no one receives any of the resource.
Optimal distinctiveness theory (Brewer)
Suggests that individuals strive to maintain an optimal balance between their personal and collective identities.
A conceptual analysis that assumes individuals strive to maintain a balance between three basic needs: the need to be assimilated by the group, the need to be connected to friends and loved ones, and the need for autonomy and differentiation (proposed by Marilyn Brewer).
Brewer distinguishes between two group-level selves, which one’s?
The relational self
The collective self
Social identity theory
A theoretical analysis of group processes and intergroup relations that assumes groups influence their members’ self-concepts and self-esteem, particularly when individuals categorize themselves as group members and identify with the group.
Minimal intergroup situation
A research procedure used in studies of intergroup conflict that involves creating temporary groups of anonymous, unrelated people (developed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner).
Social categorization
The perceptual classification of people, including the self, into categories.
Social identity
Assumes individuals are motivated to maintain self-esteem and to clarify their understanding of themselves and other people (Hogg, 2005).
Individualist
Individuals predisposed to put their own personal interests and motivations above the group’s interests and goals.
Collectivists
Individuals predisposed to put the group’s interests and goals above their personal interests and motivations.
Social Identity theory of Tajfel & Turner
Traces the development of a collective identity back to two key processes (categorization and identification) that occur even in minimal intergroup situations.
A theoretical analysis of group processes and intergroup relations that assumes groups influence their members’ self-concepts and self-esteem, particularly when individuals categorize themselves as group members and identify with the group.
Minimal group situation
A research procedure used in studies of intergroup conflict that involves creating temporary groups of anonymous, unrelated people (developed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner).
Social categorization
Involves automatically classifying people into categories.
The perceptual classification of people, including the self, into categories.
Through self-categorization, individuals classify themselves into categories.
Self-stereotyping (or autostereotyping)
Occurs when individuals apply stereotypes (prototypes) based on those categories to themselves.
Accepting socially shared generalizations about the prototypical characteristics attributed to members of one’s group as accurate descriptions of oneself.
Stereotypes (or prototypes)
A socially shared set of cognitive generalizations (e.g., beliefs and expectations) about the qualities and characteristics of the typical member of a particular group or social category.
Social identification
Occurs when the individual accepts the group and its characteristics as an extension of the self (Hogg, 2005). Identification and categorization become more likely when outgroups are salient and when people are members of smaller groups.
Accepting the group as an extension of the self and therefore basing one’s self-definition on the group’s qualities and characteristics.
Social identity
assumes individuals are motivated to maintain self-esteem and to clarify their understanding of themselves and other people (Hogg, 2005).
Collective self-esteem
Self-esteem is related to membership in higher status groups and to collective self esteem (Crocker & Luhtanen, 1990).
Collective self-esteem = Individuals’ overall assessment of that portion of their self-concept that is based on their relationships with others and membership in social groups.
Members of stigmatized groups, failing groups, or groups that are derogated by non members often protect their self esteem by ….?
Rejecting negative information about their group, basking in reflected glory (BIRGing), cutting off reflected failure (CORFing), stressing the relative superiority of their group (the ingroup–outgroup bias), and selectively focusing on their group’s superior qualities (social creativity).
Basking in reflected glory (BIRGing)
Seeking direct or indirect association with prestigious or successful groups or individuals.
Cutting off reflected failure (CORFing)
Distancing oneself from a group that performs poorly.
Ingroup–outgroup bias
The tendency to view the ingroup, its members, and its products more positively than other groups, their members, and their products. In group favoritism is more common than the outgroup rejection.
Social creativity
Restricting comparisons between the ingroup and other groups to tasks and outcomes when the ingroup is more successful than other groups and avoiding areas in which other groups surpass the ingroup.
What happens when stereotype threat is high? and what is it?
Members become concerned that they will be stereotyped if considered a member of a particular group.
Stereotype threat = The anxiety-provoking belief that others’ perceptions and evaluations will be influenced by their negative stereotypes about one’s group that can, in some cases, interfere with one’s ability to perform up to one’s capabilities.
Self and Identity
A person’s identification with a group can become so pronounced that across situations they think of themselves as group members first and individuals second. More typically, however, the self will shift from me to we if something in the situation increases the salience of one’s membership. Individuals who find that they are the only representative of a particular group.
Individual mobility
Reducing one’s connection to a group in order to minimize the threat to individual self-esteem.
Personality
Enduring dispositional characteristics that characterize an individual’s response across situation
But remember Lewin’s interactionism model: B = f (P, E)
Many personality models with varying level of empirical support
o Five factor model
o HEXACO
o Myer Briggs type indicator (MBTI)
B = f (P, E)
Lewin’s interactionism model
Five factor model (big five)
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
- Extraverted individuals: seeking others
o Tend to prefer social situations
o Enjoys being the center of attention
o Like to start conversations
o Enjoy meeting new people
o Are happier than introverts
Agreeableness
- Agreeable individuals: enjoy helping others
o Tend to be cooperative, warm and sympathetic
o Cares about others
o Enjoys helping others
o Presence predicts fewer group conflicts
Neuroticism
Personality and group fit
Personality traits influence the type of groups people join
For example,
o High agreeableness: Aoid aggressive groups
o High extraversion: Attracted to team-oriented groups
o High conscientiousness: Attracted to groups that are detail- and task oriented.
Shyness
Tendency to be timid and reserved during social interaction
Shy people tend to bond with shy people
Shy people tend to prefer activity-based groups
Shy people tend to prefer groups where they already know someone who van acts as a “buffer” to help with the transition
Social Anxiety
A feeling of apprehension and embarrassment when anticipating social interactions
Shyness may become social anxiety when people fear unsuccessful interactions
Physical arousal (trembling, blushing, sweating, etc)
People with social anxiety:
o Generally, do not participate actively
o May blend in by mimicking the majority
o May disaffiliate (withdraw from social situations)
Socially anxious people are not necessarily alone more, but report wishing they were alone, being more self-conscious and more negative feelings.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Persistent and pervasive pattern of strong anxiety when anticipating social interactions
Sometimes called social phobia
Characterized by:
o Excessive and unreasonable fear that disables everyday life
o Almost always results in disaffiliation
o Correlation with drug use (alcohol, weed), especially in men
o May be treated with anti-anxiety medication
What are the drie social motivations for formation? Why do we join groups?
Need for affiliation: wanting to join, wanting to spend time in a group
Need for intimacy: Seekings close, warm and relational connections
Need for power: Seeking to influence people
Schutz integrated the 3 needs in his FIRO (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation) theory, which needs?
Inclusion: wanting to join
Control: wanting to control
Affection: wanting to have connection
When do people affiliate with other people according to social comparison of Festingers theory?
People affiliate when they need information, and other people are the source of that information.
Festinger’s theory of social comparison
Assumes that people, when facing ambiguous situations, seek out others so they can compare other people’s reactions and interpretations to their own.
What processes generate bonds of interpersonal attraction between members of groups?
Social exchange theory = do you stay with the group, when there isn’t a better group to go to?
The impact of comparison level (CL) and comparison level for alternatives (CLalt) on satisfaction with group membership and the decision to join a group.
Social exchange theory
Do you stay with the group, when there isn’t a better group to go to?
The impact of comparison level (CL) and comparison level for alternatives (CLalt) on satisfaction with group membership and the decision to join a group.
Cohesion
The solidarity or unity of a group resulting from the development of strong and mutual interpersonal bonds among members and group-level forces that unify the group, such as shared commitment to group goals and esprit de corps.
What contributes to cohesion?
Potential to reach an end state from multiple means
Equifinality
Example PTSD
There are many different types that lead to something
Equifinality describes the mechanisms whereby a variety of developmental pathways and antecedent condition result in the same end state. With respects to the aetiology of PTSD, different types of trauma can elicit the same symptom clusters.
Five types of cohesion
- Social cohesion
- Task cohesion
- Collective cohesion
- Emotional cohesion
- Structural cohesion
Social cohesion
Liking someone or the group
Can be conceptualized as interpersonal attraction!
One simple measurement method: Please identify your good friends
In the group / outside the group (ratio)
Can also be conceptualized as group-level attraction (social attraction): Liking for group members due to their status as typical group members
Liking someone or the group
Can be conceptualized as interpersonal attraction!
One simple measurement method: Please identify your good friends
In the group / outside the group (ratio)
Can also be conceptualized as group-level attraction (social attraction): Liking for group members due to their status as typical group members
Which cohesion is it? task, social, collective, emotional or structural?
Social cohesion
Difference between interpersonal versus group-level attraction
Interpersonal attraction: if an attractive member leaves the groups, other may follow.
Group attraction: if an attractive member the group, others likely to stay
Task cohesion
Group level commitment to the goal
Members feel united in a common effort
Strong desire for group succes
High levels of collective efficiacy
High levels of group potency
Group level commitment to the goal
Members feel united in a common effort
Strong desire for group succes
High levels of collective efficiacy
High levels of group potency
Which cohesion is it? task, social, collective, emotional or structural?
Task cohesion
Collective cohesion
The degree to which the group unites its members; perceived solidarity of the group (entitativity) and members identification.
Social identity theory = where one identifies with the group, group membership becomes central to an individual’s self-definition
Identity fusion theory = Rare phenomenon where members can no longer tell the difference between self and group. Can leas member to engage in extreme behavior for the benefit of their group.
The degree to which the group unites its members; perceived solidarity of the group (entitativity) and members identification.
Which cohesion is it? task, social, collective, emotional or structural?
Collective cohesion
Identity fusion theory
Rare phenomenon where members can no longer tell the difference between self and group. Can leas member to engage in extreme behavior for the benefit of their group.
Emotional cohesion
Shared emotional intensity of group members. The extend a group gives you a passionate feeling.
Collective effervescence = is the synchrony feel when you slide into rhythm with strangers on a dance floor, colleagues in a brainstorming session, cousins at a religious service or teammates on a soccer field. And during this pandemic, it’s been largely absent from our lives.
Predicts within group behaviors: Helping, protection and constructive feedback
Shared emotional intensity of group members. The extend a group gives you a passionate feeling.
Which cohesion is it? task, social, collective, emotional or structural?
Emotional cohesion
Collective effervescence
Is the synchrony feel when you slide into rhythm with strangers on a dance floor, colleagues in a brainstorming session, cousins at a religious service or teammates on a soccer field. And during this pandemic, it’s been largely absent from our lives.
Structural cohesion
Structural integrity = integrity of the groups structure (roles, norms and relationships)
Reduces conflicting / collapse of the group.
More resilient to (external) stressors
* Equifinality: Potential to reach an end state through many paths
* Multifinality: Reaching different endings from the same starting conditions
Multifinality
Reaching different endings from the same starting conditions
Reduces conflicting / collapse of the group.
Which cohesion is it? task, social, collective, emotional or structural?
Structural cohesion
Five-phase model (Tuckman) – group development? How do people develop cohesion over time? What are the Fase’s of team development? (5)
- Forming = Questioning, Socializing, Displaying eagerness, Focusing on group identity & purpose, Sticking to safe topics.
- Storming = Resistance, lack of participation, conflict, competition, high emotions, starting to move towards group norms
- Norming = reconciliation, relief, lowered anxiety, members are engaged & supportive, developing cohesion
- Performing = demonstrations of interdependence, healthy system, ability to effectively produce as a team, balance of task and process orientation
- Adjourning = shift to process orientation, sadness, recognition of team and individual efforts; saying goodbye to the group
Five-phase model: Successive-stage model
specifies the order of phases
Not a one-size-fits-all model: because
- Some groups may skip a step
- Some groups may cover the steps in a different order
- Some groups go through steps twice
- Some groups cycle between storming, norming and performing * Boundary between stages not clear-cut
Cohesion and performance link in sports results?
- Positive relationship between cohesion and performance
- Large relationship between task cohesion and performance
- Small relationship between social cohesion and performance
Degrees of separation
In social network analysis, the number of steps or relationships needed to link one person in the network to another specific person in the network.
Sociometer theory (Leary, 2017a)
Hypothesizes that self-esteem provides individuals with feedback about their degree of inclusion in groups.
Evolutionary psychology suggests that the need to belong resulted from natural selection as individuals who were affiliated with groups were more likely to survive. Why?
- Sociometer theory (Leary, 2017a) hypothesizes that self-esteem provides individuals with feedback about their degree of inclusion in groups.
- The intensely negative reactions most people experience when they feel excluded are associated with specific hormonal and neurological processes.
- Studies of the brain using fMRI technology (Eisenberger, 2003) and the effects of analgesics on emotional reactions following rejection suggest that the pain of exclusion is maintained by the same bio logical systems responsible for the experience of physiological pain.
Do Initiations Increase Cohesion?
Membership requirements increase exclusivity and commitment.
Investment of time and resources enhances dedication to the group.
Cognitive Dissonance: An adverse psychological state that occurs when an individual simultaneously holds two conflicting cognitions. Initiations create dissonance that new members resolve by increasing their commitment to the group.
Hazing and Its Effects:
Hazing = An initiation into a group that subjects the new member to mental or physical discomfort, harassment, embarrassment, ridicule, or humiliation.
Often justified to increase cohesion, but research suggests it can weaken cohesion. The use of hazing is unjustified. It is ineffective as a means of increasing cohesion and is illegal.
Risks: Severe psychological and physical harm, potentially fatal consequences.
* Hazing: A severe initiation that exposes new members to significant psychological and physical risk.
* Dominance: Initiations signal status hierarchies within the group and reinforce power dynamics.
* Tradition: Groups sustain hazing practices to uphold established customs.
More effective methods, such as team training and shared goals, increase cohesion without the harmful effects of hazing.
What Are the Positive and Negative Consequences of Cohesion?
Positive Consequences:
o Increased member satisfaction and decreased turnover and stress.
o Stronger influence on members, better cooperation, and increased productivity.
o Cohesive groups tend to perform better, particularly when members are committed to the group’s tasks.
Meta-Analysis: Studies suggest that each component of cohesion contributes to task proficiency.
Negative Consequences:
o Can lead to extreme group pressure, conformity, and mistaken decisions.
o Psychological demands in cohesive groups can become overwhelming for members.
How Does Cohesion Develop Over Time? Stages of Group Development (Tuckman, 1965):
- Orientation (forming) stage: Members experience tentative interactions, tension, concern over ambiguity, growing interdependence, and attempts to identify the nature of the situation.
- Conflict (storming) stage: Members express dissatisfaction with the group, respond emotionally, criticize one another, and form coalitions.
- Structure (norming) stage: Unity increases, membership stabilizes, members report increased satisfaction, and the group’s internal dynamics intensify.
- Performance (performing) stage: The group’s focus shifts to the performance of tasks and goal attainment.
- Dissolution (adjourning) stage: The group disbands. This can be either planned or spontaneous, and even planned dissolution can create problems for members as they work to reduce their dependence on the group.
Five-Stage Model of Group Development: A theoretical analysis of the regularities groups exhibit as they change over time, identifying five stages.
Equilibrium Model: A conceptual analysis of group development that assumes the focus of a group shifts back and forth between the group’s tasks and the interpersonal relationships among group members.
Punctuated Equilibrium Model: A group development theory that assumes groups change gradually over time but that the periods of slow growth are punctuated by brief periods of relatively rapid change.
Old Sergeant Syndrome: Symptoms of psychological disturbance, including depression, anxiety, and guilt, exhibited by noncommissioned officers in cohesive units that suffer heavy casualties.
What is Group Cohesion?
Group cohesion is the integrity, solidarity, and unity of a group. It is an indicator of the health of the group and is related to various group processes.
What Are the Sources of cohesion?
- Social Cohesion: Unity based on bonds of attraction among members and attraction to the group itself (Festinger et al., 1950; Lewin, 1948). Sherif and Sherif (1956) manipulated those forces in their study of cohesion and attraction in the field setting.
Social Cohesion: The attraction of members to one another and to the group as a whole. - Task Cohesion: Shared task commitment that motivates members to work together to achieve group goals. This is associated with increases in collective efficacy and group potency.
Task Cohesion: A shared commitment among members to achieve a goal and the resulting capacity to perform successfully as a coordinated unit.
Collective Efficacy: The belief, shared among a substantial portion of the group members, that the group is capable of organizing and executing the actions required to attain the group’s goals and successfully complete its tasks.
Group Potency: The level of the group’s shared optimism regarding its collective capabilities. - Collective Cohesion: The extent to which the group unites its members into a single, unified collective, as indicated by the perceived solidarity of the group (entitativity) and members’ identification with the group (Hogg, 1992). Identity fusion theory suggests that, in extreme cases, self and group identities can be fused into one.
Collective Cohesion: The degree to which the group unites its members, as indicated by the perceived solidarity of the group (entitativity) and members’ identification with the group.
Identity Fusion Theory: Explains extreme self-sacrifice (such as heroism in the face of danger and terrorism) that sometimes occurs when individual identity is fused with group identity. - Emotional Cohesion: The affective intensity of the group, including collective effervescence, morale, esprit de corps, and group affective tone.
Emotional Cohesion: The emotional intensity of the group and individuals when in the group.
Relational Cohesion Theory: A conceptual analysis of cohesion that assumes members of groups develop stronger ties to groups that are perceived to be sources of positive feelings or emotions and weaker ties to those perceived to be sources of negative feelings or emotions. - Structural Cohesion: Group unity based on the structural integrity of the group, including roles, norms, and interpersonal networks of member-to-member relationships.
Structural Cohesion: The unity of a group that derives from the group’s structural integrity, including normative coherence, clarity of roles, and strength and density of relationships linking members.
Equifinality: The potential to reach a given end state through any one of a number of means.
Personal qualities that reduce the likelihood that a person will join a group, as indicated by both self-report and studies that have made use of experience sampling, include…?
shyness, social anxiety, social anxiety disorders, and certain attachment styles
Byrne’s (1961) studies of the relationship between need for affiliation and rejection sensitivity.
need for affiliation = A motivating state of tension that can be relieved by joining with other people, which frequently includes concerns about winning the approval of other people
need for intimacy = A motivating state of tension that can be relieved by seeking out warm, positive relation ships with others.
need for power = A motivating state of tension that can be relieved by gaining control over other people and one’s environment.
Schutz’s (1958) work on his Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation theory that explains how people use groups to satisfy their need to receive and express….?
inclusion, control, and affection.
Women tend to be higher or lower than men in relationality? And why?
Higher
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.
Relationality
The degree to which one’s values, attitudes, and outlooks emphasize and facilitate establishing and maintaining connections to others.
Two key factors that influence participation in a social movement are …… The collaborative circle that became the Impressionists was, in part, a social movement group.
sense of injustice and angry emotions
When do people affiliate with other people? Festinger’s (1950) theory of social comparison
Assumes that affiliation is more likely when individuals find themselves in ambiguous, frightening, and difficult circumstances.
affiliation
The gathering together of individuals (typically members of the same species) in one location; also, a formalized relationship, as when an individual is said to be affiliated with a group or organization.
Schachter (1959) found that?
People prefer to affiliate (“misery loves company”) when fearful, but they prefer to join individuals who have useful information about a situation and others who are in a similar situation (“misery loves miserable company”). Fear of embarrassment reduces affiliation.
Groups provide their members with …. during times of stress and tension. By…
social support
Groups facilitate both “fight-or-flight” and “tend-and-befriend” responses to stress
Basic types of support from groups include….? (5)
- Belonging: Groups let members know that they are valued members and reassure them that they are not alone in facing their problems; they meet members’ need to feel included and accepted.
- Emotional support: Group members express their caring, concern, and affection for one another; they minimize self-doubt, tension, and vulnerability while increasing self-esteem, resilience, and self-satisfaction. Members compliment, encourage, and listen to one another.
- Informational support: Groups provide members with useful information for solving problems, making decisions, and setting their goals; they offer advice, guidance, and suggestions.
- Instrumental support: Groups offer tangible assistance to their members, as when they help each other with assigned tasks, loan money and materials to one another, or work collaboratively on shared tasks.
- Meaning: Groups provide members with existential, or spiritual support, by allaying existential anxiety, reconfirming members’ world views, and sharing faith and perspectives.
Group support buffers the negative health consequences of stress, possibly by ….?
triggering improved autoimmune and reward system functioning.
By choosing comparison targets who are performing poorly compared to themselves (…….), individuals bolster their own sense of competence; by choosing superior targets (……), individuals refine their expectations of themselves.
downward social comparison
upward social comparison
As the big-fish-little-pond effect suggests
upward social comparison generally lowers self-esteem. Other negative effects include sabotaging other’s performances.
Downward social comparison
Selecting people who are less well off as targets for social comparison (rather than individuals who are similar or superior to oneself or one’s outcomes).
Upward social comparison
Selecting people who are superior to oneself or whose outcomes surpass one’s own as targets for social comparison.
Tesser’s self-evaluation maintenance (SEM) model argues that
People prefer to associate with individuals who do not outperform them in areas that are very relevant to their self-esteem.
A theoretical analysis of social comparison processes that assumes that individuals maintain and enhance their self-esteem by associating with high-achieving individuals who excel in areas that are not relevant to the individual’s own sense of self-esteem and avoiding association with high-achieving individuals who excel in areas that are important to the individual’s sense of self-esteem (developed by Abraham Tesser).
Social comparison orientation
The dispositional tendency to compare oneself to others.
Individuals who are low in social comparison orientation and higher in affiliation respond more positively in groups.
What processes generate bonds of interpersonal attraction between members of groups? Newcomb, in his studies of the acquaintance process, found that people who like one another often join together to form groups. Attraction patterns are generally consistent with the following principles:
Proximity principle: Festinger drawing on their studies of Westgate and Westgate West, concluded people tend to like those who are situated nearby due to increased familiarity and interaction. Although members of online are not near each other physically, such groups generate a sense of presence through frequent interaction (Reis).
* The tendency for individuals to form interpersonal relations with those who are close by; also known as the “principle of propinquity.”.
Elaboration principle: From a systems perspective, groups often emerge when additional elements (people) become linked to the original members.
* The tendency for groups to expand in size as non members become linked to a group member and thus become part of the group itself; this process is termed percolation in network theory.
Similarity principle: People like others who are similar to them in some way. In con sequence, most groups tend toward increasing levels of homophily.
* The tendency for individuals to seek out, affiliate with, or be attracted to an individual who is like them in some way; this tendency causes groups and other interpersonal aggregates to be homogenous rather than diverse.
* homophily “Love of the same”
Complementarity principle: People like others whose qualities complement their own qualities. Schutz identified two key forms of compatibility: interchange compatibility (based on similarity) and originator compatibility (based on complementarity).
* A tendency for opposites to attract when the ways in which people are dissimilar are congruent (complementary) in some way.
* interchange compatibility
* originator compatibility
Reciprocity principle: Liking tends to be mutual.
* The tendency for liking to be met with liking in return; when A likes B, then B will tend to like A
Minimax principle: Individuals are attracted to groups that offer them maximum rewards and minimal costs.
* A general preference for relation ships and memberships that provide the maximum number of valued rewards and incur the fewest number of possible costs.
Interchange compatibility
Compatibility between group members based on their similar needs for inclusion, control, and affection (defined by William Schutz).
Originator compatibility
Compatibility between group members that occurs when individuals who wish to express inclusion, control, or affection within the group are matched with individuals who wish to receive inclusion, control, or affection from others (defined by William Schutz).
Homophily “Love of the same”;
The tendency for the members of groups and other collectives to be similar to one another in some way, such as demographic background, attitudes, and values; generally expressed informally as “birds of a feather flock together.”
Thibaut and Kelley’s (1959) social exchange theory?
Comparison level (CL)
Comparison level for alternatives (CLalt)
Maintains that satisfaction with group membership is primarily determined by comparison level (CL), whereas the comparison level for alternatives (CLalt) determines whether members will join, stay in, or leave a group.
Comparison level (CL) = In social exchange theory, the standard by which the individual evaluates the quality of any social relationship. Inmost cases, individuals whose prior relationships yielded positive rewards with few costs will have higher CLs than those who experienced ewer rewards and more costs in prior relationships (described by John Thibaut and Harold Kelly).
Comparison level for alternatives (CLalt) = In social exchange theory, the standard by which individuals evaluate the quality of other groups that they may join (described by John Thibaut and Harold Kelly).
