Describe How Groups Can Influence People in Positive and Negative Ways.

We all belong to some kind of group whether we know it or not. We are all a part of something with people that are somewhat alike. Our group, however, does not define us. There will be diversity in the group because everyone is different. In one essay and one poem this theme is developed. Even if you are in a group with people who are very much alike, they may have different opinions and thoughts. So, the group that we’re classified in does not define us.

Everyone has been a part of an in-group or out-group at some point in their lives. The group with which one may have felt a sense of belonging and loyalty would be considered one’s in-group. Alternatively, the group with which one may have felt animosity or exclusion from could be considered one’s out group. Some examples of in-groups include: gangs, Nazis, friendship cliques, and colleagues. Being a part of either group has consequences that are positive, at times, and negative. Examining the ways in which dividing people into groups impacts individual’s lives is important because it allows one to gain a better understanding of why society functions in the way that it does, and how groups can influence one’s thoughts and behaviors.

Groups can influence people’s perception and ideas even if they contradict their own. Groups can act as an entity of authority, and for some people it is difficult to stand out or think differently than their peers. “When we’re in a

The social identity theory is a theory developed by Henry Tajfel, in which Tajfel believes that who we are socially determines how many positive feelings we have towards ourselves. Basically, if we like where we stand socially, then we will like who we are and display happiness. In this theory, Tajfel labels the “in group” and the “out group” and says that we will always compare our “in group” to another’s “out group.” By comparing these groups, we develop a better personal view on ourselves (King, 2009). A big factor of the social identity theory is that the groups will tend to critique the differences of the groups, and overlook the similarities. A modern day example of the social identity theory would be your everyday high school cheerleaders versus band members. The cheerleaders think of themselves as the queen bees of the school,

Social identity theory states that the ‘in-group’ will discriminate against the ‘out-group’ and show favouritism towards their group to boost their self-esteem. Tajfel also proposed that there are 3 mental processes involved in putting people in to the ‘us’ and ‘them’ groups: social categorisation (putting objects in order to understand them), social identification (adopting the identity of the group we categorised ourselves as belonging to) and social comparison (showing favouritism towards the ‘in group’ and hostility towards the ‘out group’; comparing them).

While we are often unaware of it, Forsyth argues, that our performance and motivation can be directly linked to the groups we have chosen to associate with, which can have a significant impact on the development of our identity and future decisions. The author discusses different social theories that can relate to our understanding of group

Being identified with a group can shape one’s thoughts on theirself, and what is expected of them within their society. Some things that in one’s mind seem so normal and expected may be far from

Technically it could be a positive thing but also it is kind of a bad thing. Because based on a group you put a person in you might treat them differently or you might give them different advise than another person you would talk

As human beings, each person on earth possesses a desire to belong. In order to meet this need, one must find a way to fit in with a group. Yet somehow, once a group has been joined, humans tend to take on the ideas and opinions of the group without analyzing the situation for themselves. Doris Lessing, in her essay, “Group Minds”, proposes the idea that humans spend their whole life going along with the group because they fail to analyze the reasons behind their actions. While Lessing’s idea is valid, no one has yet successfully implemented her plan.

Kids on the team realized that adults can be biased more to certain kids rather than others. For the boy managers, it made him have a different perspective on girl and them playing sports. But for most girls, they had drama fights on the team. About which position was best for the girl. They had drama through the season. Other people say it was a fun experience to play and to be more social or to never give up. Before the season, the boy manger was being honest and said that the girls season wasn't going to be fun because girls were not as good as boys. During the season he started to realize that the girls are better than what he thought and his mind changed the way he thought of

It is a well-known fact that belonging to a group can make an individual feel not only accepted, but more powerful that if they were on their own. Whether it is a community, youth group or even religion, belonging is an everyday occurrence of like that many of us do not even realise. Belonging to a group is more influential than belonging to an individual. We can see this in the texts The Crucible by Arthur Miller, 1984 by George Orwell and the listening task. Belonging to a group can give you a feeling of acceptance, but also can help you not to be targeted or marginalised. Also, people who appear to belong to groups, when looked at closer, in truth do not belong. Belonging to a group can also give you more power as a

Social identity theory proposed by Tajfel & Turner (2004) is a theory of group membership and behaviour which has made significant contributions in explaining in-group favouritism, out-group denigration, competition and other interactions of an individual among social groups (Korte, 2007; Brown, 2000; Tajfel & Turner, 2004). Social identity theory can be defined as an individual’s sense of who they are based on the group that they belong to through a process of self-categorisation and depersonalisation (Tajfel & Turner, 2004). In this essay, I will define social identity theory through its three mental processes involved in group evaluation which are: social identification which is a process whereby we are placed into certain

Involves an emphasis on the importance of fitting in with relevant others and ingroup connectedness.

We as humans tend to relate to those that are similar to us, and tend to alienate those that we deem as different than us. Whether it is by race, gender, culture, or religion, it is something that is almost always present in human interactions, and often times can be completely subconscious. In our textbook Interpersonal Communication by Kory Floyd, an ingroup is defined as “A group of people with whom one identifies.” An outgroup is conversely defined as “A group of people whom one does not identify.” Henri Tajfel first coined this terminology while he was working to devise his social identity theory. These ideas of classifying people into ingroups and outgroups can lead to many

These are group whose values, norms and perspective an individual uses in defining a personal social situation. Norms represent shared value