Assignment #5
This week we are reading chapter 5 and the attached essay "If Hitler asked you . . ." and watching a video.
1. Give the textbook definition of a group.
The textbook definition of group is a collection who people who share some attribute, identify with one another,
and interact with each other.
2. Give two definitions: one for primary groups and another for secondary groups.
Also explain the main differences between primary and secondary groups.
A primary group is composed of people who are most important to our sense of self. Basically, members who’s
relationships are characterized by face-to-face interaction with high levels of cooperation and intense feelings of
belonging. Secondary groups are groups which are larger and less intimate than primary groups They are
relationships between members that are often organized by a specific goal and usually a temporary one. So, a
primary group is the more main group of people within your life. Whereas secondary groups are less prominent
and last for a shorter amount of time.
3. Define the concept of a social network. How does this relate to the idea of six degrees of separation?
A social network is the web of direct and its indirect ties that connection an individual to other people who also
might affect the individual. This relates to the six degrees of separation because the six degrees of separation is
the idea that everyone is six or fewer social connections away from each other. The six degrees of separation is
like a social network when mapped out. It is like a web-like network to reach you to another person (usually
people go for celebrities). This is unrelated, but oddly enough the idea of the six degrees of separation has blown
up on the social media app Tik Tok.
4. Explain the difference between group cohesion and groupthink. How are these ideas related? How are they
different?
Group cohesion is the sense of solidarity or loyalty that individuals feel toward a group to which they belong.
Groupthink is in very cohesive groups. It is the tendency to enforce a high degree of conformity among members
and creates a demand for unanimous agreement. The ideas are different because groupthink is only present when
the action of forming a united whole is high and group cohesion tends to affect the decision-making process when
groupthink does not. Both ideas are related because they are both relevant when in or trying to form groups.
5. Define the concept of social influence. How is compliance different from internalization? Give an example
(from personal experience) of both compliance and internalization.
Social influence is the group impact on others’ decisions. Compliance is different from internalization because
compliance is when people choose not to resist an idea even if they think its wrong or unfair while internalization
is when people accept an idea because they believe it. I have experience compliance more often than
internalization, for example I have experience compliance lots of times lately because of Covid-19. One example
of this is when I did not believe masks were our best answer back in March to protect ourselves but I went with it
anyways, which was later proven to me that masks are more effective than none. Now, for internalization, I have
experienced this during the pandemic also because I sanitize a lot since I know it is very helpful to avoid germs
and sicknesses