[A comparative study of individuals' responses to formative and declining groups].

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Group Dynamics
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Understanding how group formation and dissolution affect individual psychology is crucial.
• Previous research has explored group influence, but distinctions between formative and declining group impacts require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the behavioral and internal psychological differences in influence between formative and declining groups of equal size.
• To analyze how conformity rates, response confidence, and private opinion evaluations differ in these two group conditions.

Main Methods:

• An experiment was conducted with 40 college students.
• Subjects were exposed to either formative or declining group influence.
• Behavioral conformity rates, confidence in responses, and post-group private evaluations of group opinions were measured.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in behavioral conformity rates were observed between formative and declining groups.
• Significant differences emerged in internal psychological states: confidence levels and opinion evaluations.
• In formative groups, conformers' confidence rose; in declining groups, non-conformers' confidence rose. Only conformers maintained high private evaluations of group opinions post-dissolution.

Conclusions:

• Group changes significantly influence individual psychological states and response selection.
• Individuals anticipate group changes, adjusting their responses accordingly.
• The internal psychological impact of group dynamics differs substantially between formative and declining group contexts.