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Groupthink

Groupthink

When in group settings, we are often influenced by the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors around us. Groupthink is another phenomenon of conformity where modification of the opinions of members in a group aligns with what they believe is the group consensus (Janis, 1972). In such situations, the group often takes action that individuals would not perform outside the group setting because groups make more extreme decisions than individuals do. Moreover, groupthink can hinder opposing trains of...

Social Loafing

Another way in which a group presence can affect performance is social loafing—the exertion of less effort by a person working together with a group. Social loafing occurs when our individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group. Thus, group performance declines on easy tasks (Karau & Williams, 1993). Essentially individual group members loaf and let other group members pick up the slack. Because each individual’s efforts cannot be evaluated,...

Deindividuation

Deindividuation

Deindividuation is a form of social influence on an individual’s behavior such that the individual engages in unusual or non-normal behavior while in a group setting. Why? Because in these group settings, the individual no longer sees themselves as an individual anymore, disinhibiting their behavior and personal restraint.

In- and Out-Groups

In- and Out-Groups

People all belong to a gender, race, age, and social economic group. These groups provide a powerful source of our identity and self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and serve as our in-groups. An in-group is a group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.

Group Polarization

Group Polarization

Group polarization is the strengthening of an original group attitude following the discussion of views within a group (Teger & Pruitt, 1967). That is, if a group initially favors a viewpoint, after discussion the group consensus is likely a stronger endorsement of the viewpoint. Conversely, if the group was initially opposed to a viewpoint, group discussion would likely lead to stronger opposition.

Conformity

Conformity

Conformity is the change in a person’s behavior to go along with the group, even if that person does not agree with the group.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 29, 2025

Group Synchronization During Collaborative Drawing Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Group Synchronization During Collaborative Drawing Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Published on: August 5, 2022

The alone team: How an alone mindset affects group processes.

Liad Uziel¹, Martina Seemann²

¹Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.

British Journal of Psychology (London, England : 1953)

|February 3, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Being alone weakens social identity by reducing in-group esteem, even in minimal groups. This effect, similar to social exclusion, impacts how individuals value their social connections.

Keywords:

aloneness group esteem group identity mindset social identity social presence solitude trait self‐esteem

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Area of Science:

Social Psychology
Social Identity Theory

Background:

Being alone is a common human experience.
The impact of solitude on social identity remains largely unexplored.
Existing theories offer conflicting predictions about solitude's effect on group belonging.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effects of being alone on social identity.
To determine whether solitude strengthens or weakens social identity.
To understand the psychological mechanisms underlying these effects.

Main Methods:

Five experiments were conducted with 1312 participants.
Studies utilized both pre-existing and minimal group paradigms.
Methods included measuring in-group identity, in-group esteem, and resource allocation.

Main Results:

Aloneness, compared to social interaction, reduced social identity.
This reduction was mediated by decreased in-group esteem.
The effects of aloneness on social identity were comparable to those of social exclusion.
Individuals alone showed indifference in allocating resources between in-groups and out-groups.
Reduced salience of in-group members did not explain these findings.

Conclusions:

A solitary mindset diminishes social identity by lowering in-group esteem.
These findings highlight the significant social psychological consequences of solitude.
Understanding the impact of being alone is crucial for social well-being.