Explain How Groups Can Influence People In Positive And Negative Ways
Describe how groups can influence people in positive and negative ways
The way that groups can influence people in positive and negative ways varies due to different factors. The factors include individual involved, situation and group that the person is involved with. Group pressure plays a big role in influence and can often cause someone to do something that they wouldn’t normally do. I will discuss the positive and negative influences and different roles within this essay.
Roles and groups can give people a sense of identity and belonging. A person could belong to several different groups and play several different roles within their lifetime. They could be part of a netball team , football team or a team at work. Being part of a group can often dictate how individuals act, for example, the role of a father at home My be to teach and ensure that his children understand violence is wrong and they shouldn’t fight with others. The same man could then be part of a crowd at a football ground and play a completely different role to what they would play as role of a father. The person in the football crowd could be positively influenced and be happy and cheer along with the other members of the crowd, yet they could be …show more content…
negatively influenced and go along with trouble that may be caused at a football match and join in with the arguing and fighting that could occur between rival football fans.
Although being in a group can give a person a sense of belonging it can also make a person behave out of character.
An experiment was carried out by Phillip Zimbardo (1971 cited in Spoors et al, 2011) providing evidence that the power of a role given to someone can influence the way that a person behaves.
Zimbardo had an all male participant group and split them into two groups of guards and prisoners. He put the groups into a simulated prison setting. This experiment was due to last two weeks, however, due to the participants taking their roles so seriously and showing signs of aggression and emotional disturbance, the experiment was stopped after six days. The participants had been ‘normal’ people and had no previous experience of being in prison, yet the males played the role to what they believed that it was from either television or
hearsay.
Another experiment carried out by Muzafer Sherif (et al 1961) involved a group of boys at a summer camp. Sherif divided the boys into two groups and a competition was set up between them. The two groups showed evidence of hostility and aggression towards the other team yet within their own team they showed cooperation and all worked together well. Sherif then introduced activities within the experiment which meant the two groups working together, this worked well and evidenced co-working between the two groups. Experiments like that carried out by Sherif showed the differences between in-groups (us) and out-groups (them). When the group was split into two it became ‘us’ and ‘them’ and showed rivalry and there was name-calling and discrimination between the two groups.
The two experiments cited above show the negative impacts that roles and groups can have on individuals and that if someone is cast in a negative role they can then act according to this role and become negative themselves. It also shows that a group can negatively influence individuals to discriminate against others.
PI No: B6639344
Social Identity Theory, developed by Henri Tagfel and John Turner (1979 Spoors et al) describes how being a member of a group forms an important part of a persons self-concept and rather than respond as an individual someone would respond as a member of a group. Tagfel and Turner’s theory consists of three stages. These stages are social categorisation, social identification and social comparison.
Social comparison is when people are put into categories. Labelling someone into a particular category can also imply other things about that individual that are not necessarily true. For example, if you are labelled as a ‘geek’, it is implied that they enjoy reading, don’t ever get into or cause any trouble and would rather do something boring than exciting. This is not the case for many who are labelled this way. Social identity is a person that is assigned to a group that takes on that identity. A person may be in a ‘cool’ group and may take on the label of the group where they become what others perceive them to be. Social comparison is when as member of a group that group compares themselves and their group to other groups.
A group can have negative influence by encouraging individuals within the group to become prejudiced and therefore discriminating against others. Prejudice is an opinion that is formed without taking into account other person’s interests because of a label.
Another negative influence that groups can have on individuals comes down to group pressure. Soloman Asch (spoors et al 1955) carried out an experiment about group pressure and conformity. Asch had a group of participants of which so many of the group were told to give the wrong answer, yet the other members were unaware. Of the members that were unaware, 75% conformed to group pressure and gave the wrong answer, yet when the unknowing participants were allowed to write it down there was a much lower level of conformity.
Although group pressure can make individuals conform to acting in a negative way by choosing the wrong answer to go along with the group, being in a group can also have a positive influence on individuals.
A positive influence within a group could be a group that a person joins to help them with personal issues. For example, an individual could join a bereavement support group. This would have a positive influence as it would offer support and guidance to individuals within the group. The group would help individuals become more positive about their situation and help give them a sense of belonging again. Another positive group could be a group that helps those with alcohol or drug problems. This could help individuals by encouraging and supporting those within the group to help stay off harmful substances and share their stories. These groups could provide activities that can positively influence individuals to help them make better decisions in their life.
In conclusion, groups can influence people in positive and negative ways by involving a person in group and encouraging that person to participate in a negative way, either
PI No: B6639344
by causing trouble and acting in a way that they would not normally act, just because
they are being negatively influenced within the group. Groups can also positively influence by encouraging and supporting individuals within groups and ensuring that the best is done for that person and that people are happier and giving them a higher self-esteem to help themselves and others.
Word Count: 1138
Reference List:
Spoors, Zimbardo, P (1971) Starting with Psychology (2011) The Open University
Spoors, Sherif, M (1961) Starting with Psychology (2011) The Open University
Spoors, Tagfel, H & Turner, J (1979) Starting with Psychology (2011) The Open University
Spoors, Asch, S (1955) Starting with Psychology (2011) The Open University
The way that groups can influence people in positive and negative ways varies due to different factors. The factors include individual involved, situation and group that the person is involved with. Group pressure plays a big role in influence and can often cause someone to do something that they wouldn’t normally do. I will discuss the positive and negative influences and different roles within this essay.
Roles and groups can give people a sense of identity and belonging. A person could belong to several different groups and play several different roles within their lifetime. They could be part of a netball team , football team or a team at work. Being part of a group can often dictate how individuals act, for example, the role of a father at home My be to teach and ensure that his children understand violence is wrong and they shouldn’t fight with others. The same man could then be part of a crowd at a football ground and play a completely different role to what they would play as role of a father. The person in the football crowd could be positively influenced and be happy and cheer along with the other members of the crowd, yet they could be …show more content…
negatively influenced and go along with trouble that may be caused at a football match and join in with the arguing and fighting that could occur between rival football fans.
Although being in a group can give a person a sense of belonging it can also make a person behave out of character.
An experiment was carried out by Phillip Zimbardo (1971 cited in Spoors et al, 2011) providing evidence that the power of a role given to someone can influence the way that a person behaves.
Zimbardo had an all male participant group and split them into two groups of guards and prisoners. He put the groups into a simulated prison setting. This experiment was due to last two weeks, however, due to the participants taking their roles so seriously and showing signs of aggression and emotional disturbance, the experiment was stopped after six days. The participants had been ‘normal’ people and had no previous experience of being in prison, yet the males played the role to what they believed that it was from either television or
hearsay.
Another experiment carried out by Muzafer Sherif (et al 1961) involved a group of boys at a summer camp. Sherif divided the boys into two groups and a competition was set up between them. The two groups showed evidence of hostility and aggression towards the other team yet within their own team they showed cooperation and all worked together well. Sherif then introduced activities within the experiment which meant the two groups working together, this worked well and evidenced co-working between the two groups. Experiments like that carried out by Sherif showed the differences between in-groups (us) and out-groups (them). When the group was split into two it became ‘us’ and ‘them’ and showed rivalry and there was name-calling and discrimination between the two groups.
The two experiments cited above show the negative impacts that roles and groups can have on individuals and that if someone is cast in a negative role they can then act according to this role and become negative themselves. It also shows that a group can negatively influence individuals to discriminate against others.
PI No: B6639344
Social Identity Theory, developed by Henri Tagfel and John Turner (1979 Spoors et al) describes how being a member of a group forms an important part of a persons self-concept and rather than respond as an individual someone would respond as a member of a group. Tagfel and Turner’s theory consists of three stages. These stages are social categorisation, social identification and social comparison.
Social comparison is when people are put into categories. Labelling someone into a particular category can also imply other things about that individual that are not necessarily true. For example, if you are labelled as a ‘geek’, it is implied that they enjoy reading, don’t ever get into or cause any trouble and would rather do something boring than exciting. This is not the case for many who are labelled this way. Social identity is a person that is assigned to a group that takes on that identity. A person may be in a ‘cool’ group and may take on the label of the group where they become what others perceive them to be. Social comparison is when as member of a group that group compares themselves and their group to other groups.
A group can have negative influence by encouraging individuals within the group to become prejudiced and therefore discriminating against others. Prejudice is an opinion that is formed without taking into account other person’s interests because of a label.
Another negative influence that groups can have on individuals comes down to group pressure. Soloman Asch (spoors et al 1955) carried out an experiment about group pressure and conformity. Asch had a group of participants of which so many of the group were told to give the wrong answer, yet the other members were unaware. Of the members that were unaware, 75% conformed to group pressure and gave the wrong answer, yet when the unknowing participants were allowed to write it down there was a much lower level of conformity.
Although group pressure can make individuals conform to acting in a negative way by choosing the wrong answer to go along with the group, being in a group can also have a positive influence on individuals.
A positive influence within a group could be a group that a person joins to help them with personal issues. For example, an individual could join a bereavement support group. This would have a positive influence as it would offer support and guidance to individuals within the group. The group would help individuals become more positive about their situation and help give them a sense of belonging again. Another positive group could be a group that helps those with alcohol or drug problems. This could help individuals by encouraging and supporting those within the group to help stay off harmful substances and share their stories. These groups could provide activities that can positively influence individuals to help them make better decisions in their life.
In conclusion, groups can influence people in positive and negative ways by involving a person in group and encouraging that person to participate in a negative way, either
PI No: B6639344
by causing trouble and acting in a way that they would not normally act, just because
they are being negatively influenced within the group. Groups can also positively influence by encouraging and supporting individuals within groups and ensuring that the best is done for that person and that people are happier and giving them a higher self-esteem to help themselves and others.
Word Count: 1138
Reference List:
Spoors, Zimbardo, P (1971) Starting with Psychology (2011) The Open University
Spoors, Sherif, M (1961) Starting with Psychology (2011) The Open University
Spoors, Tagfel, H & Turner, J (1979) Starting with Psychology (2011) The Open University
Spoors, Asch, S (1955) Starting with Psychology (2011) The Open University