Group Formation

Chapter 4
 What Factors Determine When a Group Will Form?
People – What?
 Joining with others in a group depends on individuals' personal
qualities, including traits, social motives, and gender – e.g., the
artists.
 Mavens & Connectors (Tipping Point - Gladwell)

Situations – When?
Some situations prompt people to affiliate with one another, including
 Ambiguous, dangerous situations

 Tasks and goals that can only be achieved by collaborating with

others

Interpersonal Relationships (Attraction & Affiliation)

 Groups form when individuals find they like one another. (e.g., Biker
Gangs – e.g., Hells Angels)
Hierarchy of Needs

 Abraham Maslow
(1970) suggested that
certain needs have
priority over others.
Physiological needs
like breathing, thirst,
and hunger come
before psychological
needs such as
achievement, self-
esteem, and the need
for recognition.
Hierarchy of Needs
 begins at the base
with physiological
needs that must first
be satisfied
 then higher-level
safety needs become
active
 then psychological
needs become active
 Our psychological
needs are known as
growth needs (higher
order), while our basic
needs are known as
deficiency needs
 Animals in Groups
 Ants
 School of Herring
 Wildebeest
 Pride of Lions
 Whales
 Luna
 Humans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXgVaAGQJ6c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXkzbavN6l8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLeb9VRbz1Q
 Animals in Groups
 6 y/o orca separated from
his pod when he was two
years old near Vancouver
Island
 Survived for four years
without the guidance of his
pod
 Need for companionship
 Kate & Pippen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNUlpDLuYUI

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/unlikely-animal-
friends/videos/kate-the-great-dane-and-pippin-the-deer/
 Who Joins Groups & Who Remains Apart?
 Personality
 Not all experience groups the same way
 Introversion & extraversion: extraverts are drawn to other
people and groups and introverts avoid them (extraverts
tend to be happier individuals, more energetic, enthusiastic)
 Extraverts are more likely to join groups where as introverts
are less likely – the need for energy or a different type of
energy source (influence of the reticular formation?)
 EQ-I and MBTI research (Sitaranios, 2005) – are introverts
more self-aware?
 Extraverts were also more assertive, happy, empathic,
optimistic
 Introvert/Shyness Stereotype – not timid or discomfort in
social settings – just different preferences
Big 5
• Anxious/Calm
Neuroticism • Insecure/Secure

• Sociable/Retiring
Extraversion • Fun Loving/Sober

• Imaginative/Practical
Openness • Independent/Conforming

• Soft-Hearted/Ruthless
Agreeableness • Trusting/Suspicious

• Organized/Disorganized
Conscientiousness • Careful/Careless
 Who Joins Groups & Who Remains Apart?
 Personality
 Big 5: Why would groups seek out others with

agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, &

neuroticism? Person-Group fit? Group-Person fit?

 Relationality:
- individuals who adopt values, attitudes, and outlooks
that emphasize and facilitate connections with others
seek out group memberships
- there are few differences between sexes in their
values/around group formation – women seek in
smaller, intimate, informal groups, while men seek
more formal, task oriented, and agentic in nature
http://canadianmosaic.ca/

Tim Van Horn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uSbmnCFe7I
Social Motivation
 Need for Affiliation – people with high need for
affiliation tend to join more groups and spend more time in
them; however, they often fear rejection (extraverts?) or
relationships are severed/unpleasant interactions

 Need for Intimacy – people with high need for intimacy

tend to join more groups in order to find close relationships
with others. Tend to care more for others – do not fear
rejection as a person motivated by affiliation

 Need for Power – people with high need for power tend
to join groups to influence others, need for control in
groups (e.g., organizing and structuring activities)
Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation
(FIRO) – William Schultz (1958)
 Theory: Individuals’ need to receive and express inclusion,
control, and affection influences group-seeking tendencies.
The 3 basic needs identified by FIRO-B are:

INCLUSION CONTROL AFFECTION

forming new relates to decision relates to emotional
relationships and making, influence, and ties and warm
associating with persuasion between connections between
others; determines the people; extent of people; it determines
extent of contact and power dominance that the extent of closeness
prominence that a a person seeks. that a person seeks.
person seeks. Include: Include: Include:
• belonging • power • personal ties
• involvement • authority • consensus
• participation • influence • sensitivity
• recognition • responsibility • support
• distinction • consistency • openness
Fundamental Interpersonal Relations
Orientation (FIRO)
 For each of the three interpersonal needs—Inclusion,
Control, and Affection—the FIRO instrument also provides
a measure of how much each need is Expressed or
Wanted by you.
EXPRESSED
 The extent to which you will initiate the behavior.

WANTED
 The extent to which you want or will accept that behavior
from others.
 FIRO-B tool can help you maximize the impact of your
actions, identify options for increasing your job satisfaction
and productivity, and explore alternative ways to achieve
your goals.
Fundamental Interpersonal Relations
Orientation (FIRO)
 For each of the three interpersonal needs—Inclusion,
Control, and Affection—the FIRO instrument also provides
a measure of how much each need is Expressed or
Wanted by you.
EXPRESSED
 The extent to which you will initiate the behavior.

WANTED
 The extent to which you want or will accept that behavior
from others.
 FIRO-B tool can help you maximize the impact of your
actions, identify options for increasing your job satisfaction
and productivity, and explore alternative ways to achieve
your goals.
Fundamental Interpersonal Relations
Orientation (FIRO)
Fundamental Interpersonal Relations
Orientation (FIRO)
 Roger’s Self-Concept

Congruence –
Self Ideal self consistencies
the person I the person I between the two
think I am would like to
be

The larger the discrepancies between the two, the

more psychological problems one experiences –
there is a threat to self-concept
One perspective is that our self-concept is
constantly changing and malleable
 Emotions
 Is a positive or negative experience generally in reaction to
stimuli that are accompanied by physiological arousal and
characteristic behaviour (happiness, sadness, fear, surprise,
anger, disgust – pride, love, joy, shame, guilt, jealousy)

 Emotions and Social Motivation

 Approach vs. Avoidance
 The need to belong (or not) should direct goal related activity
 Our Rolodex of experiences – belief/attitude towards groups -
more positive experiences should increase motivation for
belongingness vs. negative experiences (decreases
motivation)
 Future behaviour is impacted – high school students who had
positive experiences in high school were more likely to join
groups in college/university (Moreland, Levine & Colleagues,
1986 & 1991)
Social Anxiety & Phobia
 Not everyone is thrilled by joining a group
 Negative prior experiences = avoidance &
positive prior experiences = seeking bx
 Fear of social situations – a feeling of
apprehension and embarrassment
experienced when anticipating or actually
interacting with other people
 Affects approximately 5% of Americans and
between 6-7% of Canadians
Social Anxiety & Phobia
 Manifests the same mobilization as if fleeing
from a predator.
 This mobilization is out of proportion to the
actual threat. persistent, excessive, unrealistic
fear of a specific object/situation
 3 sets of features : affective, cognitive,
somatic
 There must be impact in 1 of 3 areas –
cognitively, occupation/academic, and socially
(social anxiety vs. social phobia)
Social Anxiety & Phobia

 Part of the brain that deals with

physical pain is activated with
emotional pain – right prefrontal
cortex and the limbic system
thalamus, amygdala, anterior insula,
dorsal and anterior cingulate cortex
 People diagnosed with social anxiety
have a heightened level of activity
when faced with threatening faces or
social situations
 Various stress hormones are
released (norepinephrine,
dopamine, cortisol)
Understanding Stress as a
Response
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
 Stress is the nonspecific response of the
body to any demand made upon it
(Selye, 1974)
 everyone experiences the GAS when
under extreme stress

22
 Stage 1: Alarm Reaction
Our body is programmed for
homeostasis
Autonomic nervous system
prepares the body for the fight
or flight response
Part of the nervous
system that controls
involuntary movement of
smooth muscles plus heart
and lungs

23
 Stage 2: Resistance Phase

 Bodily signs characteristic of the alarm reaction

stage virtually disappear
 Resistance actually rises to above normal
 Have learned to cope with the stressors in our lives
 Function at higher than normal levels of physiological
arousal
 The movie “The Hurt Locker” or ‘American Sniper”

24
 Stage 3: Exhaustion
 Body exhausts energy
supply
 Physical signs & symptoms
of stress originally evident
in the alarm reaction
reappear
 Difference is that now many
of these symptoms are
irreversible
 Damage to the body can be
permanent and ultimately
can be deadly
25
 Types of Stress
 The various life changes and events that can create
stress within individuals

 Examples are…any major change such as birth,

death, divorce, relocation, war …)

 According to Holmes & Rahe, (1967) Social

Readjustment Scale – describe events with different
intensity # of significant life changes increases, the
risk of illness grows

 The impact of others

27
Types of Stressors
Measuring Stress

28
Social Anxiety & Phobia

 rooted in fear of negative evaluations

 becomes conditioned behaviour with
negative side effects (conscious or
unconscious)
 Avoidance

 Disaffiliate Bx – reduce social contact

 Innocuous Sociability – merge into the

group’s background
 Fight vs. Flight and Groups
Safety in numbers
"fight-or-flight"
"tend-and-befriend“
Sex Differences in Joining Groups

 Needs to be research in greater depth

 Women – more extraverted, caring, warm, empathic,
socially responsible
 Women are more likely to join small, supportive
groups
 Men – seek membership in larger, formal, task-
focused groups
 Male groups are more competitive, often vie for status
and power
 Women likely to define themselves in terms of their
group membership and relationship
Affiliation
 Affiliation – is the gathering of individuals together or formalized
relationship with an individual or group
 Social comparison - gaining information from other people’s
reactions – evaluating oneself to others and the environment (Leon
Festinger, 1954) in order to know how to behave (no objective
criteria)
 Helps to reduce ambiguity
 2 factor theory - greater cognitive clarity = less anxiety (greater
mental awareness or physiology)

Ambiguous, Psychological Affiliation Cognitive

reaction and social Clarity
confusing
 Negative comparison
circumstances emotions with others
 Uncertainty
 Need for
information

People engage in social comparison for many reasons –

validation, evaluation of self
 Group Affiliation : When & Why
 Schachter’s studies of Affiliation -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3imjiyLpBaU

 How do people react in an ambiguous,

frightening situation?
 Electric Shock Studies – ½ women in low
anxiety (little shock) & ½ in high anxiety (hurtful)
 Wait alone or with others
 Misery loves company: People affiliate with
others (appr. 2/3 of high anxiety & 1/3 of low)
 Misery loves miserable company: Schachter
found people prefer to wait with others facing a
similar experience (approx. 60%) or already
face the experience.
 Like Penguins, we like to huddle up
 Group Affiliation : When & Why
 What happens when self-esteem is on the
line?
 Directional comparison

 downward social comparison: bolsters

sense of competence
 upward social comparison: hope and
motivation (e.g., Lance Armstrong, Therapy
group members)

 Abraham Tesser's - Self-Evaluation

Maintenance (SEM) model: people affiliate
with individuals who do not outperform them
in areas that are very relevant to their self-
esteem
Group Affiliation : When & Why
 The Self-Evaluation Maintenance (SEM)
model: people affiliate with individuals
who do not outperform them in areas that
are very relevant to their self-esteem
 Social Support
 Affiliation plays a role in both
 "fight-or-flight"
 "tend-and-befriend”
 People support and affiliate with others
 Work together for protection/survival & support
 Women & men prefer to affiliate with women

 Types of social support:

- Approval/Belonging
- Emotional
- Informational
- Instrumental
- Spiritual
 Group Attraction

1. Principles of Attraction (based on Theodore Newcomb's

studies on acquaintance process = group formation)
 Proximity Principle - People tend to like those who are
situated near by.

 Elaboration Principle - Groups often emerge when

groups, as complex system, grow as additional elements
(people) become linked to original members.

 Similarity Principle
People like those who are similar to them in some way.
ie. homophily: similarity in attitudes, values, appearance,etc. -
 Do We Sit Near People Who Are
Like Us?
Sean Mackinnon et al., (2011)

 Studied 18 university classes (n > 2000) – people

were more likely to sit beside someone matched them
by hair colour and hair length than by chance.

 174 participants were shown 8 different images of

people and were asked how much they perceived
them to have similar values – people chose those
who looked physically similar to them.
Principles of Attraction
 Complementarity Principle
People like others whose qualities complement their
own qualities. Similarity is more common than
complimentary

 Interchange Compatibility – groups members have

similar expectations about group’s intimacy, control,
and inclusiveness

 Originator Compatibility – people who have a need

for control, inclusion, and affection join others who
wish to accept these behaviours
Principles of Attraction

 Reciprocity Principle
Liking tends to be mutual, dislike those who reject
us

 Transitivity
Group interaction influences transitivity = liking of
one person to the next to the next, etc.

 Minimax Principle
Individuals are attracted to groups that offer them
maximum rewards and minimal costs.
 Interpersonal Attraction Between Individuals
 John Thibaut & Harold Kelly's - Social Exchange
Theory
Relationships are like economic exchanges,
bargains where maximum outcomes sought with
minimum investment – costs, rewards, commitment (Outcome =
Rewards – Costs)

Comparison Level (CL) – standard by which individuals evaluate the

desirability of group membership. Satisfaction is determined by
comparison level of prior experience. – Prior experiences with
higher rewards = higher CL (do benefits outweigh the costs?)

Comparison Level for Alternatives (CLalt) – standard by which individuals

evaluate the quality of other groups that they may join – informally
is the lowest level of outcomes a member will accept - this impacts
joining or leaving a group

Entering and exiting group largely determined by (CLalt) and satisfaction within
the group (CL)
Social Exchange Theory
Comparison Level (CL) – standard by which individuals evaluate the
desirability of group membership. Satisfaction is determined by
comparison level of prior experience. – Prior experiences with
higher rewards = higher CL (do benefits outweigh the costs?)

Example:
Social Exchange Theory
Comparison Level for Alternatives (CLalt) – standard by which individuals
evaluate the quality of other groups that they may join – informally
is the lowest level of outcomes a member will accept - this impacts
joining or leaving a group

Example:

A friend mentions that she is unsatisfied with his/her relationships.

She mentioned that she is dating someone on and off who she
doesn’t really like (because she didn’t think she could find anyone
better at the time). However, she now believes that she could drop
him whenever she feels like it (especially if someone better comes
along).