Essenstials of Group Psychology-Summary 9/16

The first article I read on psyblog.com was called the Essentials of Group Psychology. I was immediately drawn to this article because groups are such a major part of high school. They are alla round us, and most of us are probably even a part of one.

The article first talked about our social identites, and how being a part of a group strongly influences this. I think we all know from experience that we're much more likely to speak up whe we know there's someone "on our side" to back us up.
A consequence of being in a group for a long time is the conformity effect. We start to "fall ito step" with the general ideas and opinions of the group, rather than our own. Again, I think this is a very common high school experience. Eventually, group members become comfortable enough to state their own opinions, and usually a lead "conformer" becomes the group leader.

I found the concept of "social loafing" very interesting. The article explained how when we get into groups to brainstorm, such as in the classroom, we actually get LESS done. People use the session as a social hour or are afraid of being judged by others, resulting in less ideas being put on the table. Personally, I completely agree with this idea. I work better alone because I don't feel like I'm being judged or like the "group idea" is going in one direction or another. The same goes for group decision making: it is much easier to be influenced when other people seem to be making the choice for you.

All in all, by reading this article, I realized that groups really do dull our perosnalities and creativity if we do not choose who we associate ourselves with wisely. In my opinion, it is important that we strive for uniqueness.