Many of us have seen the movie “Mean Girls”. However, when we saw the movie, what many of us did not consider much was the social influences that made girls mean. There are numerous psychological concepts that can be used to explain the girls’ behaviors and the environment that they were in. In fact, concepts such deindividuation and groupthink are influences that significantly shaped the girls ' actions in the movie. Although many of us were unaware at the time, these concepts were having an enormous impact on the interaction of the characters, and their participation in the social environment.
In cases you have not seen the movie, or do not recall it much, “Mean Girls” follows teenager Cady Heron as she enters high school for the first …show more content…
In other words, it is the tendency of members of highly cohesive groups to ignore information inconsistent with their views in order to stay within the comfort zone of their group’s consensus view. Groups with a groupthink mentality are characterized by an illusion of vulnerability, an illusion of unanimity, the practice of self-censorship by members, and a display of negative pressure towards potential dissenters (lecture). As a result, members rarely propose or publicly accept dissenting opinions. Throughout the movie, the girls who are identified as the popular clique represent participants of a groupthink mentality. This is exemplified in their eagerness to coordinate with the group’s behavior and attitude, as well as their need to differentiate between their group’s popularity (the ingroup) and other groups’ (the outgroups). Also, it is further illustrated by the members’ need to maintain consensus even when they have internal disagreements with the group’s point of view and course of action. Furthermore, although I believe that Cady succumbed more to individuation rather than to groupthink, I do believe that she participated in the plastic’s groupthink to an extent. This is illustrated in her personal disagreement with the plastics’ collective attitude and behavior, but her public conformity for the purpose of maintaining group
In cases you have not seen the movie, or do not recall it much, “Mean Girls” follows teenager Cady Heron as she enters high school for the first …show more content…
In other words, it is the tendency of members of highly cohesive groups to ignore information inconsistent with their views in order to stay within the comfort zone of their group’s consensus view. Groups with a groupthink mentality are characterized by an illusion of vulnerability, an illusion of unanimity, the practice of self-censorship by members, and a display of negative pressure towards potential dissenters (lecture). As a result, members rarely propose or publicly accept dissenting opinions. Throughout the movie, the girls who are identified as the popular clique represent participants of a groupthink mentality. This is exemplified in their eagerness to coordinate with the group’s behavior and attitude, as well as their need to differentiate between their group’s popularity (the ingroup) and other groups’ (the outgroups). Also, it is further illustrated by the members’ need to maintain consensus even when they have internal disagreements with the group’s point of view and course of action. Furthermore, although I believe that Cady succumbed more to individuation rather than to groupthink, I do believe that she participated in the plastic’s groupthink to an extent. This is illustrated in her personal disagreement with the plastics’ collective attitude and behavior, but her public conformity for the purpose of maintaining group