Why Do People Join Groups
People join groups for a multitude of reasons. A major reason is that group membership often results in some form of need satisfaction on the part of the individual. Membership into a group can fulfil numerous needs, some which group members may not realize they are benefiting from:
- Companionship – groups provide members to simply be in the company of other people.
- Survival and security – From a historic or evolutionary perspective our ancestors would partake in group experiences for hunting and defence.
- Affiliation and status – membership into various groups can provide individuals with certain socials status’ or security.
- Power and control– with group membership comes the opportunity for leadership roles; individuals who feel they need to exert their power and opinions over others can have such experiences within group settings.
- Achievement – groups have the capability to achieve more than individuals acting alone.
Organizations typically form groups in order to accomplish work related tasks; however, as a member of a work group you may unintentionally reap the numerous benefits independent of the original group construct.
Read more about this topic: Group Behaviour
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“When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Exodus 21:22.
“O may I join the choir invisible
Of those immortal dead who live again
In minds made better by their presence:”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“As in political revolutions, so in paradigm choice—there is no standard higher than the assent of the relevant community. To discover how scientific revolutions are effected, we shall therefore have to examine not only the impact of nature and of logic, but also the techniques of persuasive argumentation effective within the quite special groups that constitute the community of scientists.”
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