Psychology
Individual Behavior and Group Behavior
Individual behavior refers to the actions, thoughts, and feelings of a single person, influenced by their personality, attitudes, and motivations. Group behavior, on the other hand, involves the interactions and dynamics among individuals within a collective setting, such as a team or community. Both individual and group behavior are studied to understand social dynamics, decision-making, and interpersonal relationships.
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6 Key excerpts on "Individual Behavior and Group Behavior"
eBook - PDF- John P. Houston, Helen Bee, David C. Rimm(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
There is no way we can completely divorce social influ-ences from the study of any aspect of behavior—nor would we want to. But most psychologists in other areas prefer to study the behavior of a single individual at a time, while most social psychologists focus on the behavior of people in pairs or groups or the influence of one person on another. As Baron and Byrne define it (1977, p. 4), social psychology is the scientific field that seeks to investigate the manner in which the behavior, feelings, or thoughts of one individual are influenced or determined by the behavior and/or characteristics of others. Davis, Loughlin, and Komorita (1976) put it still more briefly: Social psychology may be defined as the study of human interaction. 458 Chapter 14 Social behavior The common ingredient in these definitions is the relationship of one person to another. Since we relate to others in so many different ways— individually, in groups, in crowds, in casual or intimate contacts—the field of social psychology is enormously diverse. Social psychologists have broadened their field of interest further by studying not just social behavior, but also the ways ideas and attitudes (cog-nitions) are influenced by encounters with others and how our emotions influence others and are influenced by them. Thus there are at least three levels of analysis within social psychology. Individual social psychology theorists tend to emphasize one of these levels at a time, so that there are some heavily cognitive theories, some that emphasize emotions, and some that focus almost entirely on overt behavior. Moreover, some social psychologists have chosen to study the intra-personal aspects of social encounters, such as the attitudes we have, the emotions we feel about others, and the judgments we make about other people. Others deal with interpersonal or dyadic (two person) interactions, such as the processes of attraction between individuals and the develop-ment of enduring relationships.
No longer available |Learn more- Philip Banyard, Christine Norman, Gayle Dillon, Belinda Winder, Philip Banyard, Christine Norman, Gayle Dillon, Belinda Winder(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications Ltd(Publisher)
BEHAVIOUR WITHIN GROUPS Lead authors: Mhairi Bowe and Juliet Wakefield 14 CHAPTER OUTLINE 14.1 INTRODUCTION 342 14.2 DIFFERENT TYPES OF GROUP AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF GROUP BEHAVIOUR 342 14.3 SMALL-SCALE GROUPS 343 14.3.1 Norm formation in small groups 344 14.3.2 Group decision making 345 14.3.3 Work performance 346 14.3.4 Are (small-scale) groups good or bad? 347 14.4 LARGE-SCALE GROUPS 348 14.4.1 Early accounts of the crowd 349 14.4.2 Deindividuation and the crowd 350 14.4.3 Social identity accounts of crowd behaviour 352 14.5 GROUP FUNCTIONS, ENVIRONMENTS AND APPLICATIONS 354 14.5.1 Groups for a purpose? 354 14.5.2 Groups, health and well-being 355 14.5.3 Groups in clinical settings 358 14.5.4 Groups in work settings 358 14.6 CHAPTER SUMMARY 359 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 360 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING 360 342 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 14.1 INTRODUCTION The focus of psychology, almost by definition, is on the individual, and most research traditions have tended to regard humans as systems in isolation, without a clear notion of the environment or context in which humans exist. Ironically, evidence from early on in psychology’s history (e.g. Triplett, 1898) suggested that our social environment, and group contexts in particular, has a strong influence on our thoughts, feelings and actions. But even within social psychology, groups were looked on unfavourably for decades. Allport (1924) once famously remarked that no one had ever tripped over a group, thereby ques- tioning their status of existence all together. Therefore, the starting point for this chapter will be to consider what we typically mean when we talk of groups.
eBook - PDFWhy Do We Do What We Do?
Motivation in History and the Social Sciences
- Ramsay MacMullen(Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- De Gruyter Open Poland(Publisher)
1 Psychology and Individuals My Preface declared my target for study: collectivities and social behavior. What can psychology, given its ordinary focus on the individual, tell us about population groups of one kind or another? My aim in this first chapter is to identify points of similarity between the individual and the collectivity, with the hope of transferring psychology’s insights about the former to the latter. This we commonly do in dis-cussing national character or stereotypes of a class, ethnicity, occupation, or the like. The difficulties are obvious. To begin with, the psychologist can look inside indi-viduals in ways not available to historians, simply because historians’ subjects are all beyond the reach of questionnaires, focus groups, and assorted laboratory tricks. Yet if a record of group action remains, of course inferences can be drawn about tenden-cies and character. Psychology may suggest rules of prediction to guide such inferen-ces, if something discoverable about individuals can be shown always or generally to have certain results – in short, if there are behavioral consistencies about which the discipline is agreed. In this way not only single individuals can be better understood but a number of individuals together, constituting a body of a size sufficient to have made a difference. As to consistencies, these must depend on the raising of the psychological dis-cipline to the level of a science, able to discern and define the invariant aspects of personality and fit them together in general statements. Hopes of attaining this goal have animated discussion from well back in the history of the social sciences but, to consider only recent times, we have the recollection of Hazel Markus and Shinobu Kitayama, that “the social psychology of the 1980s was very inclined to universals.
- Sarah Rundle(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
CHAPTER 14: SOCIAL BEHAVIOR 1. In the introduction to the chapter on social behavior, the authors of the text use examples of attempts to change our attitudes as an illustration of an situation that is of interest to social psychologists. *a. interpersonal (p. 457) c. intergroup b. intrapersonal d. intragroup 2. In the introduction to the chapter on social behavior, the authors of the text use the example of helping an old man to illustrate an situation that is of interest to social psychologists. *a. interpersonal (pp. 457-458) c. intergroup b. intrapersonal d. intragroup 3. In the introduction to the chapter on social behavior, the authors of the text use an example of how leadership emerges in a group as an illustration of an situation that is of interest to social psychologists. a. interpersonal c. intergroup b. intrapersonal *d. intragroup (pp. 457-458) WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? 4. Social psychology is best defined in terms of a. group processes. *c. human interaction, (p. 457) b. attitudes, opinions, and values. d. observable behavior. 5. Social psychologists who study attitudes tend to focus on the level of analysis. a. interpersonal c. emotional *b. cognitive (p. 457) d. behavioral 6. The three levels of analysis that are used by social psychology theorists are a. individuals, dyads, and triads. b. childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. c. interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup. *d. cognition, emotion, and behavior, (p. 457) 7. Psychologists who are interested in bystander intervention (the question of why people do or do not help others who are in distress) tend to focus on the level of analysis. a. intrapersonal c. emotional b. cognitive *d. behavioral (p. 674) 207 208 CHAPTER 14 8. Psychologists who are interested in why people like each other are interested in phenomena. a. intrapersonal c. intragroup *b. interpersonal (p. 674) d. intergroup 9. A dyad is *a. a group of two persons, (p. 674) b.
- Melissa K. Welch-Ross, Lauren G. Fasig, Melissa K. Welch-Ross, Lauren G. Fasig(Authors)
- 2007(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
5 C H A P T E R Communicating Basic Behavioral Science Beyond the Discipline Reflections From Social Psychology J OHN F. D OVIDIO AND S AMUEL L. G AERTNER S ocial psychology explores the very basic research programs on psychological best of human behavior, such as self-processes that underlie significant human sacrifice, altruistic action, attraction, problems can help both the general public and close relationships, as well as the very and policy makers to improve the welfare of worst, such as prejudice, hatred, and interper-individuals and society as a whole. Though sonal and intergroup conflict and aggression. the topics covered relate to most other Formally defined as “the scientific study of behavioral science disciplines, social psychol-how individuals think, feel, and behave in ogy offers a particularly instructive perspec-regard to other people and how individuals’ tive from which to consider bridging basic thoughts feelings and actions are affected by science and social issues because its history is other people” (Brehm, Kassin, & Fein, 2002, marked by both a striving to meet high stan-p. 5), social psychology addresses issues of dards of scientific rigor and a dedication to fundamental practical importance and, as the being relevant to social problems. textbooks currently emphasize, is very rele-We begin with a brief overview of the vant to understanding law, business, and history of social psychology’s involvement in public policy. In addition to the insights that it social issues. Despite this history and the offers into people’s daily lives and into the contemporary relevance of social psychology functioning of social institutions, social psy-to social issues and policy, social psychology chology provides interventions for personal has had less impact on public policy and and social change that, for example, help to social institutions relative to other disciplines. conserve scarce resources, promote coopera-Thus, we next explore some reasons why.
- Karen Kirst-Ashman, Grafton Hull, Jr.(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
Coaching: Used to help group members acquire new behaviors. Behavioral rehearsal: The act of practicing a new behavior, interac-tion, or manner of communication in a group setting to prepare for subsequent real-life situations. Social (positive) reinforcement: “Praise, approval, support, and attention” (Corey, 2016, p. 356). Cognitive restructuring: “The process of identifying and evaluating one’s cognitions, understanding the negative behavioral impact of certain thoughts, and learning to replace these cognitions with more realistic and adaptive thoughts” (Corey, 2016, p. 356). At a Glance 3-4 HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN GROUPS: THEORIES AND DYNAMICS 79 and to the group leader. These may include utter dependence on the leader(s) who group members see as being very powerful; actual defiance of the leaders who may be seen as threatening their rights and autonomy; varying degrees of competition among group members vying for attention from the leader(s) and other group members; at-tempts to form subgroups of allies in order to gain power against the group leader(s) or other members; and extreme selflessness when trying to meet other group mem-bers’ needs at the expense of their own (Yalom & Leszcz, 2005). Psychoanalytic theory’s third focus on groups involves the distortions in their perceptions of other deriving from past life experiences. Psychoanalytic theory poses several concepts used to explain such personality forces. For instance, it views people as experiencing frequent conflict among three levels of consciousness— the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the primitive force operating in the unconscious arena of the brain that represents basic primitive drives such as hunger, sex, and self-preservation. The ego is the rational component of the mind that evaluates consequences and determines courses of action in a logi-cal manner. The superego is the conscience, which decides what actions and behaviors are right and wrong.
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