The Individual and the Group

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The Individual and the Group
Philosophers and social scientists have long
pondered the master problem of social life
What is the connection between the individual and
society, including groups, organizations, and
communities?
Image from NICHCY
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Issues
How social an animal is mankind? Is homo sapiens
communal or individualistic? Is the self a
private, personal quality?
In his essay on Self-reliance Ralph
Waldo Emerson wrote do not tell me . . .of my
obligation to put all poor men in good
situations. Are they my poor?
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Do Humans Prefer Solitude or Membership in
Groups?

• Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe
• I am cast upon a horrible, desolate island void
  of all hope of recovery. I am singled out and
  separated, as it were, from all the world, to be
  miserable. I am divided from mankind, a
  solitary one banished from human society. I have
  no soul to speak to or to relieve me.

There was a real Robison Crusoe, named Alexander
Selkirk, who was marooned for 4 years
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Do Humans Prefer Solitude or Membership in
Groups?

• Studies of in various contexts
• Solitary confinement
• Solitary adventurers
• Studies of people who agree to isolation
• All find strong negative reactions to isolation

Rubin, Hurricane Carter I had nothing,
absolutely nothing. I was trapped at the bottom,
the lowest point at which a human being can exist
without being dead solitary confinement. I had
nothing to hold on to, no family, nobody to do
anything for me.
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Do Humans Prefer Solitude or Membership in
Groups?

• Alone versus together
• Isolation can be positive, but prolonged
  isolation is stressful
• People respond negatively if they expect to be
  alone
• increased aggression
• take risks
• reduced cognitive capacity

Walt Whitman wrote I think I could turn and live
with the animals but he also wrote I demand the
most copious and close companionship of men.
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Do Humans Prefer Solitude or Membership in Groups?

• Exclusion is aversive and avoided

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Do Humans Prefer Solitude or Membership in Groups?

• Learys sociometer theory self-esteem warns of
  possible exclusion
• Self-esteem is not the evaluation of your
  worthit is an indicator of how well you are
  accepted into social groups

Mark Leary We need to think about ourselves
occasionally, but none of us needs to think about
ourselves as much as we do.
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• Loneliness
• Types of loneliness emotional and social
• Membership in groups can reduce both types of
  loneliness

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• Need to belong (Baumeister Leary)
• Evolutionary psychology suggests this instinct
  resulted from natural selection

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The Individual or the Group
Living in groups requires pragmatic compromise
One must some- times give priority to the
needs and concerns of the group and put ones
own interests on hold (Hewitt, 1989)

• When alone, you are free to act any way that you
  like
• But join a group, and you must tailor your
  actions to the demands of the group situation

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Is homo sapiens communal or individualistic?

• The balance between the individuals rights and
  the groups rights
• Can the group insist on compliance? Force the
  member to obey rules?
• Can members insist that the group satisfy their
  needs? Put them first?

• How involved are you in the community?
• volunteering
• political action
• social change
• Nationalism
• See Putnams Bowling Alone

Also, footage of U.S. in 1918
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Individualism
Collectivism
The individual is primary, first. His or her
rights must be recognized and put above the right
of the group as a whole. If the groups goals
arent compatible with the individuals goals,
then the individual is free to go his or her own
way.
The group is primary, first. Its rights must be
recognized and put above the right of the
individual. The individual belongs to the group.
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The I-C Continuum

• Individualism and collectivism differ in their
  relative emphasis on individuals and groups.
• Interpersonal relations
• Collectivism greater loyalty to the ingroup and
  less concern for the outgroup
• Individualism foster exchange relationships
  rather than communal relationships
• Norms and roles
• Collectivism stresses hierarchy and reacts more
  negatively to nonconformity
• Individualism stresses individuality and
  independence

• Four aspects
• Of I-C
• Interpersonal relations
• Norms and roles
• Motivations
• The self

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The I-C Continuum

• Individualism and collectivism differ in their
  relative emphasis on individuals and groups
  (cont).
• Motivations
• Collectivism group-serving tendencies, reliance
  on the equality norm
• Individualism self-serving tendencies, reliance
  on the equity norm
• Self-conception
• Collectivism emphasis on collective, social
  identity
• Individualism emphasis on personal identity

• Four aspects
• Of I-C
• Interpersonal relations
• Norms and roles
• Motivations
• The self

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• Cultures, groups, and individuals vary in their
  relative emphasis of individualism and
  collectivism
• Cultures East vs. West
• Subcultures Some ethnic groups, such as Asian
  Americans and Latinos, are more collectivistic
  than individualistic
• Regions of the U.S.

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Variations in I-C

• Personality independents are individualistic and
  interdependents putting their groups' goals and
  needs above their own.
• Sex differences In Western cultures women are
  more interdependent, men more independent.

• Levels of
• I-C
• Cultural differences
• Individual differences
• Sex differences

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Does Membership in a Group Change a Person's
Self-Concept and Social Identity?

• Social identity theory the self-concept is
  determined by group memberships
• Social categorization Individuals automatically
  classify people, including themselves, into
  groups.
• Social identification accepting as
  self-descriptive (self-stereotyping) the
  qualities attributed to ones group
  (depersonalization)

• Examples
• Explorers
• C.P.Ellis
• spies
• See C. P.
• Ellis interview

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Does Membership in a Group Change a Person's
Self-Concept and Social Identity?

• Self-esteem depends on an individuals personal
  qualities and the value of the groups to which
  they belong.
• Ingroup-outgroup bias by rating ones own group
  positively self-esteem is enhanced
• If a member of a prestigious collective
  self-esteem will increase
• Members of stigmatized group may nonetheless take
  pride in their groups and reject nonmembers
  evaluations of their groups (social creativity)
• Basking in Reflected Glory (BIRG) stressing
  association with successful groups.

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Does Membership in a Group Change a Person's
Self-Concept and Social Identity?

• Self-protective strategies
• Denying connections to groups that are performing
  poorly (CORF, or cutting off reflected failure)
• Leaving the group (individual mobility).

Who are you? Is a complex, hard-to-answer,
question.