Author Question: Discuss research experiments on how group membership affects an individual's perceptions. What ... (Read 77 times)

debasdf · **on:** Jul 2, 2018

Discuss research experiments on how group membership affects an individual's perceptions.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Discuss primary and secondary groups. What distinguishes each type of group and what role does each group play in socialization?

What will be an ideal response?

johnharpe · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 2, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Feedback: The wish to conform to a group can be so great that it affects a person's perception of what is real. (1) Solomon Asch tested this by asking subjects to identify the longest line on cards. When the accomplices consistently identified the wrong line, the unwitting subjects would go along with the group and identify the same wrong line more than 70 of the time. (2) Muzafer Sherif asked subjects in a dark room to describe how far a light appeared to move. In a group with no accomplices, the subjects modified their observations to be consistent with the group consensus and arrive at a collective judgment. This experiment showed that group pressure reflects natural group processes toward conformity, even without research accomplices leading the decision in any particular direction.

Answer to Question 2

Feedback: Primary group members are most intimately involved with each other. These groups are small and display face-to-face interaction. They are informal in organization and long-lasting. The members have a strong identification, loyalty, and emotional attachment to the group and its members. Examples are the nuclear family, a child's play group, and close friends. Primary groups are crucial to the individual because they provide members with a sense of belonging, identity, purpose, and security. Thus, they have the strongest socialization influence on the attitudes and values of members. Secondary groups are larger and more impersonal. They are formally organized, task oriented, and relatively impermanent. The individual member is relatively unimportant. The members may vary considerably in beliefs, attitudes, and values. Americans are greatly affected by this type of group. Examples include schools and the government.