The Effect of Group Behaviour and Social Influence
What You Should Know Social facilitation. -Increased performance in competitive situations. De-individuation. -Loss of personal identity in a group leading to diminished restraints on behaviour. Internalisation is the changing of beliefs as a result of persuasion. Identification is the changing of beliefs to be like an admired influencing source.
Social Groups We all belong to at least one social group e.g. family, sports team, guides, supporter’s club, religious group, work committee etc… They provide us with a feeling of belonging and of being accepted They are held together by rules and symbols e.g. uniform To belong to a group the individual must conform to the rules and behave in the same way as other members
Social Facilitation This is increased performance in a competitive situation E.g. Athletes who train with other athletes do better that if they train alone However if a person is trying to learn something new (something that is unfamiliar) and it is in a competitive situation they do not perform as well Also, very competitive situations have the opposite effect and performance can actually drop
Training or competing with others has increased performance in the individual.
Deindividuation This is the loss of personal identity in a group situation It can often lead to anti-social behaviour e.g. mindless acts of vandalism as they are anonymous members of a large crowd Members of a group will also take bigger risks e.g. playing chicken across a railway Members will conform because they want to be like others in the group, desire the personal gain or want to be popular
Influences That Change Beliefs Internalisation – changing beliefs as a result of persuasion Identification – changing beliefs to be like an admired influencing source
Internalisation Party political broadcasts aim to persuade us to vote for them Stop smoking posters aim to persuade people to alter their behaviour
Identification One person can exert a strong influence over the other and so that person changes his/her beliefs to be more like the person they admire We often identify with celebrities and this is used in advertising
Why do H & M use David Beckham in their advertising campaign? Why have his name associated with boy ’ s clothes?
What do you associate with George Clooney that Nescafe think will make people want to drink their product? Advertisement