The group has a significant but little conscious impact on individuals. In this case, the cause of the conflict may be a discrepancy between personal and group opinions. If a newcomer, based on his own value system, takes a position that differs from that of the group, conflict arises. When a feeling of unity has already arisen, any pressure on the team unites it, acting as a challenge.
Maximum productivity in a group is achieved when the group works as a unit. The transformation of a collection of people into a team is the result of everyone realizing a common goal and ways to achieve it. The unity of opinions in the core of the group leads others to accept them. This is how group norms are formed. In a favorable development of events, group norms are formed in the process of general discussion, strengthening and clarifying them. In cases of disagreement, norms are maintained either by excluding dissenters from the group or by discrediting their opinions.
Members of the newly formed group still have nothing to value except their own opinions. The situation is different in a stable, strong group, where the atmosphere of community is perceived by its members as something natural and understandable. The group has a significant, but poorly understood, impact on individuals. In this case, the cause of the conflict may be a discrepancy between personal and group opinions. If a newcomer, based on his own value system, takes a position that differs from the position of the group, conflict arises. It is aggravated by the fact that a new person sees with fresh eyes not only the advantages, but also the disadvantages of this group.
Concept of group and individual
Definition 1
A group is a collection of certain elements that have common connections.
Definition 2
The general concept of the term “personality” is as follows: personality is a specific concept that reflects the social nature of a person for studying him as a subject, as a bearer of individual consciousness, etc.
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Definition 3
In the context of psychology, a personality is an individual who acts as a subject of relations in society, as well as as a subject in his own conscious activity.
Personality individual , which manifests itself in human activity.
According to R. Cattell , personality is a concept that characterizes a person’s behavior in a given situation.
G. Allport believes that “a personality is something, and it does something. Personality is what lies behind specific actions within the individual himself.”
Conformity
Why are established group norms so rigidly maintained?
What benefits do they provide to their members? Firstly, an improvement in the well-being of its members is achieved due to the benevolence of the environment, which increases their self-esteem (“Here they treat me well and respect me, which means I am a worthy person”). Secondly, since the group is in every sense a more powerful influencing factor than an individual partner, then in the presence of the group the motivation of each of its participants increases. Thirdly, group norms implied distributed responsibility, i.e. can protect a person from remorse. At the same time, it is overlooked that anonymity and loss of a sense of personal responsibility for actions lead to a weakening of self-control. General guilt and responsibility paralyze personal responsibility. What should be the volume of the group for the described effects to occur? It turned out that the influence of a group increases abruptly under the influence of three people with a common opinion, and a further increase in the number of people exerting direct influence gives a slow increase in the effect. A person's reaction to group pressure is determined by his personal experience and attitudes. According to this criterion, three types of personalities are distinguished: dependent, independent and conflicting.
- Dependents often have negative previous experiences in the superior-subordinate system, lack of competence, or belong to a different segment of society. In this case, his potential is not realized and he appears in the group as not proactive or unproductive. For this reason, he may begin to be “squeezed out” from the group. As a result of this situation, he gradually develops learned helplessness.
- Independent people are those who tenaciously maintain their personal values without imposing them on others.
- A conflict personality considers it necessary to impose his values on everyone around him. Among those with conflicts, there are often authoritarian individuals, who are usually poorly aware of their negative properties. Their life values are in achieving external success and prestige. They believe that they simply do not have the mental strength for personal attachments, and therefore do not show the necessary emotionality in relationships. This worsens their position in the group.
The higher the level of intelligence, the less likely it is to conform to behavior. If a person finds that his position contradicts the opinion of the group, he experiences internal tension. He is tormented by doubts - to trust himself or others? The answer depends on a number of circumstances:
- The complexity of the task - the more difficult it is, the faster self-confidence drops and the desire to bow to the group’s opinion grows.
- The ambiguity of the situation - the more uncertain it is, the more significant the influence of the group.
- From intelligence and personal experience - the greater they are, the less the desire to focus on the opinions of others.
- From social status - the higher it is, the more a person trusts himself.
- From the profession - specialists associated with the exact sciences trust their own opinions more than humanities specialists dealing with ambiguous material.
Personality within the group
Let us consider how the individual is endowed with new properties within the group.
- The product of a group’s activities is the joint result of each group member.
- The manifestation of personality traits occurs in various established models of group communication.
The model of interaction between the individual and the team is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Personality and team
Finished works on a similar topic
Coursework Personality in a group 410 ₽ Abstract Personality in a group 260 ₽ Examination Personality in a group 240 ₽
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Position of the individual in the group
The first of the concepts used in this context is the concept of “status” or “position”, denoting the place of the individual in the system of group life. The terms “status” and “position” are often used as synonyms, although for a number of authors the concept of “position” has a slightly different meaning. The status of an individual in a group is a real socio-psychological characteristic of his position in the system of intra-group relations, the degree of actual authority for other participants.
status its widest application in describing the structure of interpersonal relationships, for which the sociometric technique is best suited.
A person’s internal attitude in the system of intra-group relations is his personal, subjective perception of his own status, how he evaluates his real position. The actual status and a person’s perception of it may not coincide. Another characteristic of an individual in a group is “ role ”. Typically, a role is defined as a dynamic aspect of status, which is revealed through a list of those real functions that are assigned to an individual by a group, the content of group activity. The role assumed largely determines the perception and assessment of a person in the system of intragroup relations.
There are many classifications and names of group roles. The set of role functions is determined by the type of group and its structure. For example, in a psychocorrectional group, many roles have bright names: “virtuous moralist”, “complainer”, “time keeper”, “guardian of democracy”, “outsider”. The set of roles in a group also depends on the tasks it performs. Roles associated with group support are called: encourager, harmonizer, compromiser, guardian and follower, standard setter, and passive follower.
In the most general form, roles associated with problem solving and roles associated with providing support to other team members are presented in Table 3.
There are quite a lot of typologies of group roles; as a rule, they are based on relations of power - subordination or preference - rejection. The most vivid idea of the role division in a group is given by the analysis of such groups where there is a rigid hierarchy, a lack of resources and problems with their distribution. Using the Greek alphabet, the status and role distribution in such a group is usually determined by the following set of roles:
- alpha—the leader of the group, the most energetic, authoritative, enjoys the right of priority appropriation of benefits;
- beta - the second person in the group with the corresponding right to benefits, less energetic, but often more intellectual than alpha; usually is the custodian of group norms and rules;
- gamma-1 - close associates, support, comrades-in-arms, alpha team;
- gamma-2 - usually a large subgroup of inert, submissive group members who become victims of manipulation by upper-level representatives;
- gamma-3 - opposition, a subgroup of those dissatisfied with their status, but forced to obey; in relation to them, a policy of “carrot or stick” is applied, and the “carrot” can be introduction into the ranks of close associates (co-optation), and the “stick” can be restriction of rights, remuneration received, contentment, expulsion from the group and even physical violence;
- gamma-4 is a buffoon who allows himself (with the leader’s permission) critical remarks, maintaining the appearance of democracy, freedom of speech, etc.; by status it can be at the level from gamma-1 to gamma-3;
- omega - “scapegoat” - a person who takes upon himself group aggression. This role is necessary for the group to unite, demonstrate unity, and feel the feeling of “we” as opposed to the omega, which is precisely “not us.” If a person in the omega position does not agree with his status and leaves the group, the group finds another person to fill this role. This group division also manifests itself quite strongly in groups of socially immature individuals—children, criminals.
An important component of characterizing an individual’s position in a group is the system of “group expectations.” This term denotes the simple fact that each member of the group not only performs his functions in it, but is also necessarily perceived and evaluated by others. In particular, this refers to the fact that each position, as well as each role, is expected to perform certain functions. The group, through a system of expected patterns of behavior corresponding to each role, controls the activities of its members in a certain way. In a number of cases, a discrepancy may arise between the expectations that the group has regarding any of its members and his actual behavior, the actual way he fulfills his role. To optimize control by group members, group norms and group sanctions are used.
Role combination and role conflict
Since one person usually performs many roles, role tension, inconsistency, or even role conflict arises between some of them. After all, some roles contradict each other in content and form.
If a performer subjectively moves away from his role, role distance arises, even to the point of “leaving the role” (for example, an office romance). In a complex case, the roles are perceived as almost incompatible (military chaplain or teacher and researcher).
When creating the story of his life, a person proceeds from his main roles.
It is in such an “autonarrative” with its single plot that it is possible to search for a compromise between the roles and determine ways to optimally combine them.
The role structure includes:
- The cognitive component, that is, the understanding of what, why and how a person should do under certain circumstances.
- The prognostic-evaluative component, that is, a vision of the ideal, the ability to optimize the role.
- A conative component that reproduces the attitude towards oneself as an active, independent, responsible performer of a role.
A role can help a person gain sympathy and find support. It happens that a person in a role “on duty” can show more purposefulness, determination, and integrity than outside of it. At the same time, you can hide behind a role, like behind a mask, so as not to show your true attitude, to hide fear, anger or uncertainty.
General understanding of personality and social groups
Let's start with the fact that any society appears not as something homogeneous and monolithic, but as internally divided into various social groups, layers and national communities. All people find self-expression in group life. A baby becomes a person as soon as he takes his place in the family, and the absence of a human group has the most negative impact on the child’s personality.
There are several types of social communities to which the concept of “ group ” is applied in the ordinary sense, but in the scientific sense they represent something different. In one case, the term “group” denotes some individuals who are physically, spatially located in a certain place: individuals traveling in the same carriage, living in the same city, etc.
In the second, this is the application of the concept of group to a social community that unites individuals with one or more similar characteristics. Examples of such communities include men, school graduates, etc.
Thus, analyzing this definition, we can identify two conditions necessary for a collection to be considered a group:
· The presence of interaction between its members;
· The emergence of shared expectations of each group member relative to its other members.
By this definition, two people waiting for a bus at a bus stop would not be a group, but could become one if they engaged in a conversation, fight, or other interaction with mutual expectations.
In sociology, there are different types of social groups, let’s consider the following, secondary and primary:
Primary groups. Consists of a small number of people between whom relationships are established based on their individual characteristics. They are formed on the basis of the emergence of close contacts between several people or as a result of the collapse of any secondary social group.
Such groups can play a large role in the formation of value orientations and in determining the direction of behavior and activities of their representatives. Thus, they constitute a specific social environment that influences the individual.
Secondary group. It is formed from people whose interaction is determined by the desire to achieve certain goals. An example of a secondary group would be an industrial enterprise. In a secondary group, roles are clearly defined, and its members often know very little about each other.
Analyzing all of the above, one cannot fail to note the importance of studying the entire diversity of social groups existing in society. Firstly, because the social structure of society itself is a set of connections and relationships into which social groups and communities of people enter into contact with each other. Secondly, the entire life of a person living in a society of people takes place in social groups and under their direct influence: at school, at work, etc., because only in group life does he form as a person, find self-expression and support.
Let us note that personality is formed precisely in group life, so when can a person be considered a personality?
As an object of study, personality is unique in its complexity. This complexity lies, first of all, in the fact that the personal space has a complex structure and many dimensions. Those events of the external world in which the personality is included, and those relationships that it establishes with objects of the external world, form the external space of the personality. Ideas about the world and oneself, experiences of various events, attitude towards oneself, self-control and self-regulation, life goals and plans - all this makes up the inner world of the individual.
A person can be considered a person if he is able to overcome his own immediate impulses for the sake of something else. At the same time, it is assumed that the motives by which immediate impulses are overcome are socially significant, that is, they are given by society and brought up in a person. This is the first criterion of personality.
Formation and development of the group
In the course of human activity, which is joint in nature, certain associations of people arise that are created to satisfy their needs and interests. A social group is a relatively stable association of people that has common social characteristics. The group has its own system of life orientations, norms of behavior, psychology, cultural and moral values. In social groups, relationships are internally organized and structured. A person's membership in a group determines his status and roles. A person’s entire life passes in various social groups: family, school class, production team, friendly company, etc. Modern society demonstrates a wide variety of social groups, which, at the same time, have similar formation mechanisms.
The formation of a social group should be viewed through the prism of internal connections within it. The group is characterized by a certain integrity and stability, which is determined by its goals and objectives. The presence of common goals and objectives becomes a factor in the formation and development of the group structure. Signs of the internal organization of a group are the presence in it of management bodies, a control system, as well as the delimitation of the functions of its members. An important sign of the internal organization of a group is also the element of isolation. Members of this group separate themselves from others who are “strangers” to them. This can be achieved using various kinds of attributes, symbols and other separation methods.
A group is formed if a system of interactions has been established between its members, which determines its viability. The system of interactions in a group presupposes an orientation not towards an individual person, but towards all its members, the collective. Therefore, the values of social solidarity acquire special significance in the group. Solidarity presupposes recognition of the importance of the group and the individual’s willingness to submit to group norms. Thus, the group defines and sometimes imposes certain patterns of behavior on its members. If a group member professes different views and is oriented toward different values, he is either forced to “submit” to the group or leave it.
