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Figure 19.3 Group Norms
Social norms can be formal or informal. Formal norms are rules such as traffic laws. Informal norms
are unwritten rules
such as greeting
friends and shaking your opponents’
hands at the end of
a game. What norms might be important to a group organized to serve social functions?
ideology: the set of princi- ples, attitudes, and defined objectives for which a group stands
after the people who arrived before you. Thus, the punishment may take the form of coldness or criticism from other group members. If the norm is very important to the group, a member who violates it may endure a more severe social reaction or may be excluded from the group.
Ideology
For a group to be cohesive, members must share the same values. In some cases, people are drawn together because they dis- cover they have common ideas, attitudes, and goals—that is, a common ideology. In other instances, people are attracted to a group because its ideology provides them with a new way of looking at themselves and
interpreting events, and a new set of goals and means for achieving them. The National Organization for Women (NOW), for example, has provided a focal point for resistance to discrimination on the basis of gender. The AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) lobbies for the rights of older people and retirees. Leaders, heroes and heroines, rallies, books and pamphlets, slogans, and symbols all help popularize an ideology, win con- verts, and create feelings of solidarity among group members.
Commitment
One factor that increases individual commitment is the requirement of personal sacrifice. If a person is willing to pay money, endure hardship, or undergo humiliation to join a group, he or she is likely to continue with it. For example, some groups in high school require initiation rites in order to join the group. College students who undergo embarrassing ini- tiation rites to join sororities or fraternities tend to develop a loyalty to the group that lasts well beyond their college years. During your first year of high school, you also go through initiation rites. Seniors may tell new students about elevators that do not exist, stairwells that are blocked, or directions that lead to the wrong place. These common ordeals bind peo- ple to others in the group.
Another factor that strengthens group commitment is participation. When people actively participate in group decisions and share the rewards of the group’s accomplishments, their feeling of membership increases— they feel that they have helped make the group what it is. For example, social psychologists have compared groups of workers who participate in decisions that affect their jobs with other workers who elect representa- tives to decision-making committees or workers who are simply told what to do. Those who participate have higher morale and accept change more readily than do the other workers (Coch & French, 1948). Other studies have highlighted the importance of supportive managers in maintaining
PSYCHOLOGY
Student Web Activity
Visit the Understanding Psychology Web site at psychology.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 19— Student Web Activities for an activity on group behavior.
548 Chapter 19 / Group Interaction