Group Formation Notes

Sets of Influences: Group formation is influenced by personal qualities, the nature of the situation, and liking for each other.
Individual Differences: People differ in personality, motivations, past experiences, and expectations, which influence their interest in joining groups.

Definition: Personality is the configuration of distinctive but enduring dispositional characteristics, including traits, temperament, and values, that characterize an individual’s responses across situations.
The Five-Factor Model: Identifies five key traits that structure and sustain enduring consistencies in outlook, action, and disposition:
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Conscientiousness
- Neuroticism
- Openness
Extraversion and Agreeableness: Predict general sociability. Extraverts tend to be happier than introverts.
Openness: Influences the type of groups individuals seek to join.

Extraversion:
- Extraverted: talkative, enthusiastic, bold, energetic
- Introverted: reserved, quiet, unsociable, withdrawn
Agreeableness:
- Agreeable: sympathetic, warm, kind, cooperative
- Disagreeable: cold, unsympathetic, critical, quarrelsome
Conscientiousness:
- Conscientious: organized, efficient, systematic, practical
- Careless: disorganized, sloppy, inefficient, careless
Neuroticism:
- Neurotic: moody, anxious, temperamental, easily upset
- Stable: content, relaxed, calm, emotionally stable
Openness to Experience:
- Open: creative, imaginative, complex, intelligent
- Closed: uncreative, unintellectual, conventional, unimaginative

Sex differences in group engagement are relatively minor.
Relationality: Women tend to be higher than men in relationality.
Group Preferences: Women seek membership in smaller, informal, intimate groups, whereas men seek membership in larger, more formal, task-focused groups.
Influences: These differences are likely due, in part, to sex roles and sexism.

The strength of social motives such as the need for affiliation, the need for intimacy, and the need for power also predict one’s group-joining proclivities.
Byrne’s Studies: Relationship between need for affiliation and rejection sensitivity.
Schutz’s FIRO Theory: Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO) theory explains how people use groups to satisfy their need to receive and express inclusion (affiliation), control (power), and affection (intimacy).

Shyness: The dispositional tendency to feel uneasy, uncomfortable, and awkward in social situations (Zimbardo, 1977).
- Less likely to join groups
- Tend to form associations with other shy individuals
- More comfortable in activity-focused groups such as sports and academic groups
Social Anxiety: Feeling of apprehension and embarrassment experienced when anticipating or actually interacting with other people, causing them to disaffiliate.

One’s characteristic approach to relationships with other people.
- Pre-occupied: Seek out membership but worry excessively about rejection (high anxiety, low avoidance).
- Fearful: So insecure about themselves that they fear rejection (high anxiety, high avoidance).
- Secure: Self-confident and willing to rely on others (low anxiety, low avoidance).
- Dismissing: Uninterested in joining groups (low anxiety, high avoidance).

Individuals who are socially inhibited, shy, and anxious are less likely to join groups.
People’s attitudes, experiences, and expectations are all factors that influence their decision to join groups.
Prior Experiences: Individuals who had prior positive experiences in groups tended to seek out further group memberships.
Social Movement Participation: Two key factors that influence participation in a social movement are sense of injustice and angry emotions.

Festinger’s theory of social comparison: Assumes that affiliation is more likely when individuals find themselves in ambiguous, frightening, and difficult circumstances.
Schacter’s Findings: When putting people into a threatening situation, found that they affiliated with others rather than remain alone.
Preferences: People prefer to affiliate with individuals who likely have useful information about a situation and others who are in a similar situation.
Embarrassment: When people worry that they will be embarrassed when they join a group, they usually do not affiliate with others.

Groups provide their members with social support during times of stress and tension.
Basic Types of Support:
- Inclusion and emotional
- Informational
- Instrumental
- Spiritual support
Health Consequences: Group support buffers the negative health consequences of stress, possibly by triggering improved autoimmune and reward system functioning.
Comparison Targets:
- By choosing comparison targets who are performing poorly compared to themselves, individuals bolster their own sense of competence.
- By choosing superior targets, individuals refine their expectations of themselves.

Inclusive Support: Acceptance, reassurance of belonging, including in group activities
Informational Support: Way to perform a task, problem-solving, advice, direction, suggestions
Emotional Support: Respect and approval, listening, sharing feelings, encouragement
Spiritual Support: Explaining challenging events, sharing faith, reconfirming one’s worldview, allaying existential faith, fear of death
Instrumental Support: Doing favors, lending money or possessions, assisting with work/duties, transporting, providing a place to stay

Proximity: (Physical distance) people tend to like those who are situated nearby.
Elaboration: Groups often emerge when additional elements (people) become linked to the original members.
Similarity: Most groups tend toward increasing levels of homophily.
Complementarity: Liking others who qualities are different but useful when combined with one’s attributes or characteristics.
Reciprocity: Liking tends to be mutual.
Minimax Principle: Individuals are attracted to groups that offer them maximum rewards and minimum costs.