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“Our behavior as individuals is influenced more by the groups to which we

belong than any other factor.” Critically evaluate this statement and explain
whether or not you agree or disagree and why?

Our behavior as individuals is influenced more by the groups to which we belong

than any other factor. This is especially true to individuals who identify with the
group. In a group, an individual would be subjected to strong social influences
and also the strong need to be liked (normative social influence), as well as the
need to conform to the expectations of others [Deutsch & Gerard, 1955].

The human mind is complex, and is made up of ‘complexes’. Amongst these

many complexes are the conscious and unconscious part of the mind. Influence
to individual behavior are mostly unconscious, absorbed into a person’s behavior
over a period of time [Jung, 1990].

A group is, as defined by Schein (1988), “Any number of people who (1) interact
with one another; (2) are psychologically aware of one another…” In building a
group, there are four stages; forming, norming, storming and performing. The
‘norm’ stage is the stage that would influence an individual’s behavior in the
group [Mullins, 2002].

Norms are developed and regulated within a group as they provide a source to
speculate each others’ actions. Due to this, group members are able to predict
each other’s actions and have proper responses. This cohesion of the group
would enable the group to function effectively and efficiently [Shaw, 1981].
Groups also want to ensure each member’s satisfaction and prevent discomfort
within themselves [Katz & Kahn, 1978].

Individuals in a group would also prefer conformity of answers, as proven in a

study by Asch (1965). He had nine volunteers judge which line out of three lines
(of different length) was of the same length as the straight line, and the answer
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was made obvious. Each subject made the correct choice alone. But when tested
in a group, one subject was made to answer only after the other group members
had made their choice, and the choice was wrong. It resulted in thirty two percent
of the answers made wrongly and only twenty five percent were not affected by
the group pressure. Subjects later confessed that they did not like the idea of
disputing the majority [Asch, 1965].

The individual may also be pressed to conform to the group’s ideologies or its
way of doing things. The success of the group may depend on the norms being
upheld. When the group is successful, the nonconformity may be overlooked. But
if the group is facing failure or the members are discontented, the person who
was responsible for the salience has a high probability of being ousted and
sharply punished [Feldman, 1984]. This is termed as normative influence.

Behavior refers to the actions or reactions of persons or things in response to

external or internal stimuli (Microsoft Bookshelf, 1995). It is any measurable
response of an organism (Reber, 1995). Individual behavior influenced by a
group is described by Mansk(1993) as, “endogenous social effects, wherein the
propensity of an individual to behave in some way varies with the prevalence of
that behavior in some reference group containing the individual [Manski, 1993].”

A study was conducted to further explain the influences of a group on an

individual. It showed that the peer group in which the individual is with; is
inversely related to the probability that the individual will receive high grades, or
leave the school system due to poor grades. In addition to that, the sexual
behavior of the individuals, crime rates and drug abuse were all taken into
consideration [Jencks and Mayer, 1990]. Results of the study showed that the
influential effects of the peer group are more likely to affect the sexual behavior
of individuals rather than the cognitive skills of a person, and that the peer group
had an elevated degree of clarifying power only if it is of the individual’s choosing
[Evans, Oates, Schwab, 1992].
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Beneficence would highly influence a person’s behavior. For example, the status
quo the group has. The individual that is accepted into the group’s ranks would
have to act as one of the group, and emulate their behavior. Social pressure from
the group and self-beneficence would slowly but surely influence the behavior of
the individual. The social impact theory, developed by Bibb Latané, suggests that
several factors determine how strong the social pressure would be. Among them
are:
1) The number of sources pushing the individual,
2) The strength of the pressure of influence,
3) The amount of immediacy of the source; the more it is, the more
influence it has,
4) The influence would be particularly less if it was divided over many
persons.

Humans are all social creatures, and we need to cooperate in order to survive
and flourish. The effect of group identity and reputation would also be a factor in
influencing an individual’s behavior. Again, it can self-beneficial for the individual
to be influenced into changing his behavior with regards to reputation. A good
reputation would enable him to be treated better or receive favours. A bad
reputation might also benefit him by being feared, if that is what he wanted.
Group identity would allow him feel a sense of camaraderie and brotherhood
amongst his peers.

Society is a group that each individual lives with and is part of. Tradition plays a
big part in influencing behavior as it itself is decades old, and has been part of
generations of lives and is upheld by a group of people – perhaps consisting of
your family, or maybe even larger, the society in which one lives in. It is made up
of rules in which dictates individuals to act in a socially accepted way. Acting in
different ways would results in negative results, especially since the group
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members are those close to the individual [Visser, 1991]. Thus, an individual’s
behavior is highly influenced by this group.

Law is another factor in which influences an individual’s behavior. The legal

system was developed by government legislators to regulate the way justice is
upheld and in which way criminal acts were to be dealt with. Individuals would
find ways and means to conform to the law, as crossing it would result in
unwanted repercussions. This group holds the power to prosecute and punish
those who do not follow the correct behavior of a law-abiding citizen, and would
also be a great influence to a person.

Media is another blatant form of influence on individual behavior. Media

personalities and journalists form the ‘group’ that would regularly promote or
broadcast a product, or an ideal, and this would be seen by millions on television
or the net repetitively. The influence on an individual’s behavior is almost certain.
For example, the media broadcasts dramas and soap operas containing scenes
of violence and casual sex. Over time, people would slowly start to indulge in
those, and see it as ‘normal’ [Hunt, 1993]. This in turn, is a group which
influences people slowly and psychologically, making an individual feel that its
right and good to follow the behavior shown.

Also, Bensely and Eenwyk did a study on influence of graphic violence video
games and noted that, “found that certain patterns of video game play were
much more likely to be associated with these types of behavioral problems than
with major violent crime such as school shootings [Bensely and Eenwyk, 2001].”

To conclude, I do find that individual behavior is influenced by the group to a

great extent. To a smaller extent, the personality, values and perception of the
individual must also be taken into consideration to evaluate this statement
properly as they play a part in influencing the behavior of the individual as well.
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References
1. Asch, S.E. (1965). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and
distortion of judgments. In H. Prohansky & B. Seidenberg (Eds.), Basic
studies in social psychology (pp. 393 – 401). New York: Holt, Reinhart,
Winston.
2. Bensely, L and Eenwyk J. V (2001). Video Games and Real Life
Aggression. Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 29, 2001
3. Deutsch, M. & Gerard, H. B. (1955). A study of normative and
informational social influences upon individual judgment. Journal of
Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51, 629-636.
4. Evans, W.N, Oates, W.E, Schwab, R.M. (1992). Measuring Peer Group
Effects: A Study of Teenage Group Behavior. Journal of Political
Economy, Vol. 100, No. 5 (Oct., 1992), pp. 966-991
5. Feldman, D.C. (1984). The development and enforcement of group norms.
Academy of Management Review. Jan 1984, Vol 9, No 1, pp 47-53.
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F. C. (Trans.). Bollingen Series XX. The Collected Works of C.G.
Jung, 9 (1). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. First published in
1959.
8. Katz, D., & Kahn, R. L (1978). The social psychology of organizations. 2nd
Edition. New York: Wiley.
9. Manski, C. F. (1993). Identification of Endogenous Social Effects: The
Reflection Problem. The Review of Economic Studies (1993) No. 5, pp
531-542.
10. Microsoft Bookshelf. (1995). Redmond: Microsoft. CD ROM.
11. Mullins, L. (2002). Management and Organisational Behaviour, 6th
Edition, FT Prentice Hall: London.
12. Reber, A. S. (1985). The Penguin dictionary of psychology. 2nd Ed. 1995.
13. Shaw, M (1981). Group Dynamics. 3rd Edition. New York: Harper.
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14. Visser, M. (1991). The rituals of dinner: The origins, evolution,

eccentricities, and meaning of table manners. New York: Grove
Weidenfeld.