1. Who are you? Groups & individuals (A lecture to prompt you to think) R. Fielding.

2. Individuals l Generally, people are considered to be independently functioning beings - is this true? l When people do function “independently”, are they really independent of others?

3. l Are individuals born or are they made? l What makes people different?

4. Are people independent? l Babies born into a social environment immediately exposed to others. l Brain pre-wired to respond to social stimuli over other stimuli - temperamental differences

5. Are people independent? l Early social behaviour detectable at 12 hours post birth in term babies. l Language structures environment and child; speech internalization (“thinking”) regulates behaviour as external speech once did.

6. Are people independent? l Behaviour regulated by context and social context (internal and external) is semiotic in nature. l So, people respond to what things mean to them, not what they actually are.

7. Are people independent? l Meanings acquired through social processes - interactions with others define self. l People therefore are social creations.

8. Groups l Groups of people share common norms, values and expectations of behaviour. l Groups feature power relations (dominance heirarchies)

9. Groups l Acquiescence with norms & values leads to inclusion, similarities of behaviour (in- group) l Rejection of norms / values leads to exclusion, (out-group)

10. Groups l Main grouping is Family. –Extended –Extended nuclear –Nuclear l Clans represent extended extended families.

11. Groups l Tribes groups of families. l Accumulation of genes, and accumulation of behaviours, values & norms (culture). l Emphasis of in-group / out-group differences - identity generation

12. Summary l So, individuals are group products, and they in turn shape groups in mutual influence. l Language and symbols super- imposed on temperamental features,

13. Summary l Experiential influences shape meanings and hence values / norms of group (mainly relating to others).

14. Why is this important in health care? l Most disease in lifestyle / environmental in origin, reflecting individual & group norms / values / contextual influences on behaviour.

15. Why is this important in health care? l Therefore interventions to reduce risk must consider these factors and try to influence them.

16. So, who are you? l Write down 5 defining features of yourself that makes you unique. l Now write down what 5 pieces of information you would give to a new & unknown pen pal about yourself to inform them who you are.

17. What do you have? l The information you have written down is almost certainly social in nature; gender, age, appearance, occupation, activities, preferences, ambitions, etc. Why? Think about this.