Psychology

We do not think and behave as individuals, only as members of a group

Understanding human behaviour has for years been an area of key interest to researcher from various disciplines. Organisational behaviour researchers, educators, coaches and parents are among some of the stakeholders concerned with developing and understanding how individuals think and the factors that influence personal decision making. In essence, decision making is a process that is influenced by a number of factors and not just individual ability. This paper seeks to analyze behaviour development and decision making in humans to determine the influence of groups. The paper will use empirical findings and existing theories to develop a concise picture of the effects that groups have on decisions made and behaviour adopted by individuals.

Theoretical Abstraction
A number of behavioural theories recognise the effect that the environment has on the behaviours and attitudes that are developed by an individual. The cognitive and psychoanalytic behavioural development and learning theories both recognise the role of the environment in the behaviours developed and decisions made by an individual. Therefore, the assertion that the environment is highly influential on behaviours displayed by an individual is not far fetched rather is an observation that has been made by a number of theorists on behaviour development (Zastrow,  Kirst-Ashman, 2009).

A key question that researchers have grappled with over the years is determining the differences in effect of individual and group influence on behaviours that are adopted by individual. Academic ability as an example is considered a result of being in an environment that is supportive of transmission and a students mental ability which can be looked at as an internal ability or an aspect that is developed with continued interaction with the environment (Zastrow,  Kirst-Ashman, 2009).

Therefore while it may be difficult to determine what personal behaviours and abilities are intrinsic, the external environment is to a large degree influential on nearly all norms, values, behaviours and attitudes that are developed by an individual (Kalat, 2007). This implies that groups as part of the external environment may be playing a role in determining the norms, attitudes and values that one adopts which goes a long way in determining what an individual perceives as being important or vital in making decisions (Kalat, 2007).

The social identity theory which is composed of four major components asserts that humans are defined by categorisation, identification, comparison and psychological distinctiveness that collectively develop a basis for understanding inter-group discrimination. A critical review of the four important components under the social identity theory reveals that there is high emphasis on how humans view others (Kalat, 2007). For instance, categorisation posits that people view others as groups as a way of discriminating (Kalat, 2007). It is also noteworthy that humans tend to associate with certain groups which help them develop a sense of self esteem. Other key assertions under the social identity theory is that humans are defined by favourable bias towards groups that they associate with and desire distinction and comparison from and with other groups. It is therefore evident from the social identity theory that humans are to a large degree affected by group dynamics due to their need to be in a groups and the effect that the groups have on their perception. The social theory by extension implies that every human is part of a group due to an internal need to develop ones esteem and associate with others. However, a question is raised on the effects of human conscience and persona since it is common for people to base decision on what they believe.

The Milgram experiment presents an answer to the question on the effect that human conscience has in decision making. First, attitudes and values developed by an individual which to a large degree define what is wrong and right thus human conscience are affected by the people one interacts with. Organisational behavioural studies have shown that firms that have nurtured norms and values supporting low levels of transparency and accountability have employees that are more likely to engage in unprofessional behaviours (Kalat, 2007). This highlights the effects that groups have on the norms and values that an individual conforms.

The Milgram experiment provides another dimension through which groups can results in override of personal conscience and engagement in activities that one considers contrary to the values and norms that he believes in. The Milgram experiment led to findings showing that people are more likely to engage in activities that are contrary to their conscience if instructed or ordered by a figure that they view as authoritative (Zastrow,  Kirst-Ashman, 2009). These findings assert that group values can to large degree override individual conscience in making decisions. Another important pointer that brings out the aspects of groups is the importance attached to an authoritative figure in the Milgram experiment. Authority is relative and highly affected by the perspective adopted by an individual in viewing the power that on has. A police officer as an example is likely to view the police chief as a central figure and therefore take orders from the chief even if they result in activities that are against his individual conscience. This can be said of the interaction between a gang members and a gang leader. However, it is highly unlikely that a gang member will willingly take orders from the police due to their conformance to different norms and the sharp distinction between the two groups. A necessary condition for decisions to be based on obedience to an authoritative figure is that an individual must be in the same group as the figure being referenced this brings out the importance of groups as a necessary condition for the Milgram experiment to hold true within any society. It is thus evident that within groups, there are cases where individual preferences are overridden by external group influences which further push the assertion that humans do not make decisions as individual rather they do as groups.

Empirical Findings
There are various studies that have been carried on human behaviour and decision making, which is considered a result of ordered thoughts in individuals that bring out the effect that groups have on individuals. Studies on factors that promote innovation within organisations highlight the importance of team work mainly due to its effect in promoting communication between different members of an organisation (Poole, Egan,  qbal, 2009). A review of critical success factors for a team based approach to operations reveals that the existence of team chemistry and development of a team culture which is definitive of norms and values that team members conform to considerably influence team efficacy. Communication between people is made easy if they are defined by similar values and norms which further highlight the role of properly constituted and well managed team approaches to operations in improving coordination within firms. Success of a team based approach to operations is to a large extent influenced by the communication channels which highlights the importance of transmission of values and norms in such an approach to operations (Middleton,  Harper, 2004). The role of team based approaches in promoting innovation is due to their facilitation of transmission of similar norms and therefore developing groups thereby resulting in similar thinking dynamics.

Though there may be differences in the specific issues or ideas developed by a team member, their train of thought or general considerations tend to be the similar. Thus the empirical findings positing that team based approaches are quite effective in improving innovation within firms help highlight the effects that groups have on individual cognition and thinking patterns.

Empirical findings show that adolescents whose close family members have committed suicide are more likely to engage in suicidal activities (Randell, Wen-Ling, Herting,  Eggert, 2006). Research on suicide and how it is influenced by family factors provide another avenue that can be used in analyzing the effect that groups have on individual behaviour and decisions. Teenagers from dysfunctional families and those that are abused are generally more likely to engage in suicidal activities (Randell, Wen-Ling, Herting,  Eggert, 2006). The explanation provided for these findings is that dysfunctional families do not provide the proper emotional and psychological supports required by humans to be more resilient. This is similar to the effect that abuse and poor parenting have on a childs frame of mind and personal expectations.

A family can be viewed as a group due to the fact that they share a number of activities and are used to discriminate between individuals. Furthermore, from the family systems theory it is evident that individuals cannot be fully understood without considering their family background which further brings out shared similarities between individuals and their families (GenoPro, 2010). Poor parenting and abuse within families can therefore be looked at as norms and values that teenagers are exposed to which considerably influence their state of mind and increase their likelihood of engaging in suicidal activities. It is therefore clear that the family which in this case is the group is highly influential on a teenagers cognition, thinking and behaviour which add to the argument that humans think as groups rather than individuals.

Research on success in organisations and classroom emphasize the importance of developing a strong culture and its consideration in making decisions on the strategies that will be adopted in an organisation or a class (Laff, 2009 Knight,  Nisbett, 2007). In a business setting, various strategists have asserted the importance attached to alignment of strategies to organisational culture as an avenue to reducing resistance by employees and improving their input in the developed strategies (Middleton,  Harper, 2004). A critical review of organisational culture reveals that it is a set of norms, values, artefacts and attitudes that basically transform an organisation into a group whose frame of mind is highly influenced by the defined code or culture. Failure to align operational strategies to organisational culture implies that the resulting strategies are viewed as irrelevant or lacking by employees mainly because their cognition is heavily influenced by the organisational culture (Reich,  Izak, 2000). It is therefore evident that the importance attached to alignment of operational strategies to organisational culture is an illustration of the effect that group norms, values and attitudes have on individual perception of developed strategies and their suitability to an organisation.

Analysis
The empirical findings and existing theories point to various important factors that help develop the thesis that humans think as groups rather than as individuals. First, it is important to note that knowledge and experiences are developed by interacting with the environment (Zastrow,  Kirst-Ashman, 2009). Moreover, people that one view as being similar are more influential on the values, norms, attitudes and expectations that are held by an individual which considerably influence his cognition of ideas proposed by people within or without the group. The internal need by humans to be part of a group to a large extent plays a role in propagating the effect that groups have on the decisions made by individuals and how they behave. Groups have the ability to override personal conscience in defining the path of action that an individual will take. Though not all behaviours can be described as being in line with the norms displayed by a particular group, all behaviours can be explained by at least one group that one belongs to. It is important to note that one can be a member of an organisation, a team, a family and even a class at the same time which presents a wide set of norms, values, attitudes and expectations that affects an individual behaviour. Therefore, though in some cases it may not be easy to locate the particular group that is influential on the behaviour and line of action adopted by an individual, the effect of the external environment and therefore groups on development of a mental schema guarantees their influence on individual decisions and behaviours.

Conclusion
Though individual conscience, beliefs and values are considered influential on personal decisions and behaviours, a review of existing theories and empirical findings show that there is nothing personal about the beliefs and values. Moreover, personal conscience can be overridden by group influences. The environment which can be viewed as a collection of group influences is highly influential on the mental schema developed by individual and goes a long way in influencing behaviours and decisions made. Therefore humans do not think and behave as individuals rather they do as groups.