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Individual vs. Group From Isolation To Belonging
Individual vs. Group From Isolation To Belonging
GROUP
CP guarded his privacy and was often very reserved. He rarely shared his ideas,
attitudes and values in life. But he actively sought the company of others- to such a
degree that he sometimes found himself joining groups just to be included rather than
because he felt an affinity for the group.
But still the desire for privacy will lasts for a short time only. There will be a time that a
person seeks for reconnection, relatedness and intimacy with others.
EFFECTS OF ISOLATION
In a personality test, those people who were predicted to be alone for the rest of their
lives acted aggressively leading to the fact that the capacity for rational and intelligent
thoughts centered on the capacity to form and sustain relationships. (Baumeister)
Fact:
People seek inclusion rather than isolation, they are particularly distressed when they
are deliberately excluded by a social group.
Exclusion also influences self-esteem – one’s feelings of personal worth. There is the
feeling of less competent, adequate, useful, smart and valuable.
ANTIDOTE TO LONELINESS
a. Organizing and integrating connections with other individuals
b. Promoting the development of warm, supportive, intimate relationships between
members
ACCEPTANCE REJECTION
All human beings have a pervasive drive to form and maintain at least a minimum
quantity of lasting, positive and impactful interpersonal relationships.
HERD INSTINCT – inclination in people or animals to behave or think like the majority.
Natural selection – an evolutionary process that results in the survival and proliferation
of organisms that have characteristics that enhance their survival and reproductive
success in a particular environment.
Kin selection – a form of natural selection that encourages the survival and proliferation
of genes that contribute to the reproductive success of one’s relatives rather than one’s
self.
FROM INDIVIDUALISM TO COLLECTIVISM
INDIVIDUALISM
-the doctrine assumes that people are autonomous and must be free to act and think in
ways that they prefer rather than submit to the demands of the group.
COLLECTIVISM
It puts the group and its goals before those of the individual members
COMMON ATTRIBUTES OF INDIVIDUALISM AND COLLECTIVISM
OUT-GROUP – any group one does not belong to or identify with, but particularly one
that is judged to be different from, and inferior to, one’s own group.
For a collectivist, people who disregard the norms, procedures and authority gets
negative response. For their operating principle is THE TALL NAIL GETS POUNDED
DOWN.
SELF-CONCEPTIONS
PERSONAL IDENTITY – the “ME” component of the self-concept that derives from
individualistic qualities such as traits, beliefs and skills.
SOCIAL IDENTITY (Or collective self) – that “WE” component of the self-concept that
includes all those qualities based on relationships with other people, groups and society
A high IDV score indicates weak interpersonal connection among those who are not
part of a core "family." Here, people take less responsibility for others' actions and
outcomes.
In a collectivist society, however, people are supposed to be loyal to the group to which
they belong, and, in exchange, the group will defend their interests. The group itself is
normally larger, and people take responsibility for one another's well-being.
TWO KINDS
INDEPENDENT (IDIOCENTRIC) – an individual who is dispositionally predisposed to put
his or her own personal interests and motivations above the group’s interests and goals.
Social identity is a person’s sense of who they are based on their group membership(s).
Tajfel (1979) proposed that the groups (e.g. social class, family, football team etc.)
which people belonged to were an important source of pride and self-esteem. Groups
give us a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world.
Tajfel and Turner (1979) proposed that there are three mental processes involved in
evaluating others as “us” or “them” (i.e. “in-group” and “out-group”. These take place
in a particular order.
we find out things about ourselves by knowing what categories we belong to. We
define appropriate behavior by reference to the norms of groups we belong to, but you
can only do this if you can tell who belongs to your group. An individual can belong to
many different groups.
In the second stage, social identification, we adopt the identity of the group we have
categorized ourselves as belonging to. If for example you have categorized yourself as
a student, the chances are you will adopt the identity of a student and begin to act in
the ways you believe students act (and conform to the norms of the group). There will
be an emotional significance to your identification with a group, and your self-esteem
will become bound up with group membership.
The final stage is social comparison. Once we have categorized ourselves as part of a
group and have identified with that group we then tend to compare that group with
other groups. If our self-esteem is to be maintained our group needs to compare
favorably with other groups
REPORTED BY: LISETTE L. ONG EDUC 510