Examples Of Group Cohesiveness

Once an individual makes the decision to join a group, they open themselves up to many forms of influence. Individual group members are impacted by group cohesiveness, group norms, roles within the group, the power of conformity, and power. Group cohesiveness is defined as the “extent to which members are motivated to remain in the group.” (Lecture) When groups have a strong sense of cohesion, individual members are more likely to remain in the group, the group tends to be more productive, and the individual tends to conform to the groups values. According to Cottam et al., groups are more likely to have a strong sense of cohesion if the group spends a great deal of time together, the group members like each other, members find reward in the …show more content…
One of the most common explanations of the way in which groups interact is through image theory. There are seven different images which explains how groups interact. The imperialist image is how Mexico sees the United States. This image “occurs when the people of a polity perceive threat from another polity viewed as superior in terms of both capability and culture.” (70) Groups involved in this situation would both be interested in maintaining the status quo. The second image is the rouge. North Korea is a prime example of this image. When dealing with the rouge image, one must teach the rouge a lesson, and “that lesson is taught with force.” (72) Groups may act with violence towards the …show more content…
We discussed in class that many members of this movement live two different lives. The individual at work may not resemble any aspects of a white nationalist while the individual at home may be the group leader. (Lecture) Secondly, another example is the ethnic conflicts which occurred in South Africa. Although African constituted 75.2% of the country and whites constituted 13.6%, whites held the power. The white population saw the Africa Americans in the colonial image in which the capability and culture of the African American community in South Africa was inferior. (Lecture) This image convinced the white “group” to maintain power and utilize the resources. After a period of time, the indigenous people of South Africa grew weary of the restrictions of the imperial power and the apartheid and began to revolt. Although those in power saw this as a threat, South Africa is a case in which there was only a small amount of violence compared to other ethnic conflicts around the world. In this instance the “colonial group” was able to regain their power and escape from the restrictions of the white man and the government they installed.