Ever wondered why sometimes one would do something out of their comfort zone just to get along with a certain group of people? well i do. its called "group pressure" or more commonly known as "peer pressure".
Moreland & Levine came up with the evaluation process or group socialisation process which consists of 5 stages.
Stage 1 - Prospective member
from stage 1 you then become,
Stage 2 - New member
after which,
Stage 3 - Full member
now of course if you dont pull your own weight or if you have conflicts within the group then,
Stage 4 - Marginal member
then before you know it,
Stage 5 - Ex-member
bye bye.
So why do individuals do the weirdest things sometimes to gain acceptance in a group, because full membership requires time to obtain, thus one would then acquire idiosyncrasy credit by conforming to fulfill the need to be accepted.
Now during stages 1 and 2, the individual will conform, and learn how to balance between individual and group needs and also recognise the written and unwritten norms that comes with each level of the membership within the group. after which the individual would arrived at stage 3. Now here comes the fun part.
If the individual did not take note of the written and unwritten norms, he/she might step on the other group members' toes, thus creating friction resulting in stage 4, where increased avoidance and annoyance will occur.
If the situation is exacerbated, then sayonara posse, stage 5.
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After reading, I find this interesting to look at 'group pressure' from the com's perspective instead of the social psychology view.
ReplyDeleteStages are being identified here which made me understand the process better. However, you mentioned that stage 4 will occur if an individual didn't take notice of the written and unwritten norms. Is it possible that stage 3 could eventually lead us to stage 4 and subsequently 5 too?
I don't like peer pressure !!! but i can't get out
ReplyDeletejessalyn - well i guess if you screw up at stage 3, you move to stage 4 and then maybe 5.
ReplyDeleteOhh.. so this is what happens when there's peer pressure. We feel compelled to conform to group norms, all these in order to become a FULL member.
ReplyDeleteWhat else could we do to remain in stage 3?
star member for stage 3!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post! The breaking down of different stages definitely allows us to reflect back and ponder about which stage we are currently in. I think most of the time people will try to remain in Stage 3 in order to be part of the "in" group. That is when we try our best to accomodate and compromise with each other's thoughts/ideas. Conflicts are inevitable, and i think it truly depends on the individual on whether he/she wants to be a marginal member or not.
ReplyDeletenow i know why i did all the things that i didnt wanna do just to get with the group. so what happens if i dont join the group? =p
ReplyDeleteWell, its good to have some peer pressure among your group. Imagine our Com's group not having someone to direct us what to do or how to even out the workload. There bound to be tons of conflicts and our relationship would therefore gradually turn sour. As a result, our final work would not be as perfect as we wanted it to be!
ReplyDelete