Universidad del Valle de Mxico

All important human activities are embedded in groups and organizations; we could not function without them. Group interactions are fundamental to human existence. We are born in the presence of a group we work and play in groups. As Aristotle said Human is by nature a social animal

Groups =
 2+ individuals who

interact and are interdependent.

 A collection of persons

whose actions influence other group members

Primary groups are small groups with intimate, kinship-based relationships. They commonly last for years. They are small and display face-to-face interaction. Secondary groups, in contrast to primary groups, are large groups involving formal and institutional relationships. They may last for years or may disband after a short time.

Primary Groups Size Relationships Social Control Duration Groups

Secondary Groups

Small number of members Large number of members Personal, intimate. Informal Long-term, permanent Famili, friendships, neighborhoods Impersonal, goal-oriented Formal Brief, of limited duration Corporation, churches, political parties.

Aggregate, collection of people who happen to be in the same place at the same time. Category, People with similar characteristics or a common status. social

Social Group, two or more people who interact in patterned ways, have a feeling of unity, and share intrests and expectations.

In-group, a group with which people identify and have a sense of belonging. Out Group, a group of people that do not identify with and consider less worthy and less desirable than their own. Are we in or out?, this is established by social boundaries, material or symbolic devices that identify who is inside or outside a group.

Reference groups, These are groups to which the individual conceptually relates him/herself, and from which he/she adopts goals and values as a part of his/her self identity. Ex. Of reference groups?

How does the presence of someone else affects us? Norman Triplett 1898 realized that when other people s around our performance tends to increase. This is called Social Facilitation. ( Any positive or negative effect on performance)

Sometimes when we are aware that a big audience eyes are set upon us, they interfere with our basic behaviours such as talking. So, multitudes can also stimulate or decrease our reactions. (We can tell our point of view if other people supports it.)

Fear of being evaluated. We pay more attention to the audience reaction. (Sanders, 1981) Mere presence. (Goldman 1967)

Tendecy of the people who works in a group to make less effort. All members of the group are pooling their effort to achieve a common goal, each member of the group contributes less than they would if they were individually responsible.

Loss of self-awareness, occurs in group situations that encourage response to the set standards, whether good or bad. Would you stand up for something you believe, on your own? Circumstances that encourage de individuation

Group Size , stimulates the people who conform the group. Makes them feel powerfull If the whole group is doing it why cant i? Bigger the group = + willing to act in a wrong way.

Anonimity. Ed Dienes (1976) proved the double effect of being part of a group and not being part of a group. We observed 1 352 kids in halloween, the ones who were alone took fewer candies than the kids who came in groups

Distraction activities. When we see people acting the way we act, we think they re feeling the same, so it makes our feelings stronger.

Group Polarization, 2 groups with different ideas = Trouble The group strengthens the individual's initial inclinations People tends to make friends with those they can relate. (Daily polarization) When there s a comunity problem people tend to group with the ones who have the same opinion (Group Polarization)

Tendecy for the members of a group to be more concerned with preserving the solidarity than with objectively evaluation all alternatives in decision making.

Socially defined behaviors considered appropiate for individuals occupying certain positions withing a given group. Zimbardos experiment

Summary of what you understood today. Make a list of questions if you have any doubts. What was Zimbardo s experiment about? Send it to uvmpsychology@hotmail.com and hand it over.