What is it:

Being part of a group—like our family, friends, or work team—helps shape who we are. Group Membership shows us that these groups not only tell us who we might be but also how we should act and feel about ourselves. It’s about seeing the invisible ways our groups guide us, setting the rules for how we interact with the world and each other.

How it influences us:

Being part of a group can change the way we think, what we believe, and how we act. Sometimes, it means we go along with what the group thinks or does, just to fit in. Other times, it can make us feel more strongly about our opinions because everyone else feels the same way. Most importantly, it tells us a lot about who we are and can make us feel good or bad about ourselves depending on the group's support. Understanding this can make us better at working together, leading others, and creating spaces where everyone feels like they belong.

Let’s break it down:

Group Membership drives behaviour through:

Conformity: When people are part of a group, they may feel pressure to conform to the group's norms and values. This can lead to a change in behaviour and decision-making in order to align with the group.
Group polarisation: Grouping together can also lead to polarisation, where individuals become more extreme in their views and behaviours. This can lead to more polarised opinions and behaviours within the group.
Social identity: Group membership can shape people's social identities, which can impact their behaviour and decision-making. People may be more likely to engage in behaviours that align with their group identity, and less likely to engage in behaviours that conflict with it.
Support and encouragement: Group membership can also provide support and encouragement for new behaviours and actions. When people are part of a group that supports a particular behaviour or action, they may be more likely to engage in it and feel more confident in their ability to do so.

What’s the science behind it?

This theory explains individuals form their social identity by categorising themselves and others into social groups based on shared characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, religion, or nationality. It further suggests that group membership can impact people's attitudes and behaviour. People tend to favour in-group members over out-group members, seek social validation from their group, and adjust their behaviour to conform to group norms.

This notion expands on the social identity theory, suggesting that people may shift between different identities depending on the situation and that these shifts can influence their behaviour. Group membership can influence which social identity is more salient in a given situation, leading to changes in behaviour that align with the norms of the relevant group.

Behaviour is influenced by three factors: attitudes towards the behaviour, subjective norms (the perceived social pressure to perform the behaviour), and perceived behavioural control (the extent to which the individual believes they can perform the behaviour). Group membership can affect all three of these factors as group norms and values can shape attitudes, increase or decrease social pressure to conform, and provide social support for performing the behaviour.

This theory suggests that behaviour is influenced by personal, environmental, and behavioural factors. Group membership can affect all three of these factors as individuals may model the behaviour of group members, be exposed to new environmental cues that influence their behaviour, and receive reinforcement or punishment from the group for their behaviour.

How to spot it:

To pinpoint people’s Group Memberships we have to look a little wider to people’s social circles. To see which groups have the most impact, start by seeing the impact they have on others by asking:

Explore which groups people are a part of. Think about the groups that are directly obvious and indirectly relevant to your focus.
Use these as your focus for the below questions.
Notice if someone starts doing things just because everyone else is. It shows how much we want to be part of the group.
Think about times when someone does something because they feel they should for the group. It's about loyalty and belonging.
Look for moments when someone’s opinions mirror those of their group. It's a sign of how closely we tie our identity to our groups.
Consider how much of someone’s self-view is linked with their group. It shows the power of belonging on our self-esteem.

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Lauren Alys Kelly

Lauren Alys Kelly is the founder of Alterkind, overseeing the behavioural design, tool development, training and research. They publish tools like BehaviourKit.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenalyskelly/

Group Membership

Group Membership

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