PSYC 241 Chapter Notes -The Challenger, Social Comparison Theory, Transactive Memory
31 Jan 2014
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Joint membership in a category based on sex, race, or other attributes: shared fate, identity, or set of goals. This chapter focuses on the first and third criteria. Some groups seem more exclusive than others. Collectives: people engaging in a common activity but having little direct interaction with each other. For example, people attending a concert or working out at a gym. From a survival perspective, many of the ambitions of human life require that we work in groups. We are inclined through evolution to belong to strong groups that will increase our chance of reproduction and survival. From a psychological perspective, most people enjoy the feeling of belonging. Social brain hypothesis: primate brains are unusually large because of their unusually complex social worlds. The process of socialization into a group: individual joins the group, individual assimilates to the group. At the same time the group may make changes to accommodate the newcomer.
