The Girl Scouts cater primarily to pre-teen girls. The Girl Scouts group works primarily to bolster the self confidences of its members, teach moral and basic life skill, to provide for others through volunteerism and community service. In turn, many members of the Girl Scouts of America move on to be leaders within their churches or communities. The National Rifle Association is for those who love and own guns, own gun dealerships, and members typically believe that individuals should have the right to carry a concealed weapon. The National Rifle Association believes in the Constitution’s second amendment right to bear arms and promoting responsible gun use and ownership.

Heaven’s Gate and the Ku Klux Klan are both examples of groups that are relatively perceived as negative and are examples of group popularization. Group popularization occurs when a group becomes focused and often out of control. Group popularization could be compared to a deluge. A little rainfall spread over several days will not have the same effect on rivers and streams as a heavy rainfall in a short amount of time would. The leadership of the Heaven’s Gate religious sect believed that members should give up their worldly pleasures and possessions. The cult’s main belief was that everyone would be recycled or reincarnated, and that they could not transcend into the next phase of their lives without yet ending the first. In 1997, nearly four dozen members of the Heaven’s Gate cult were found to have committed suicide in their communal home. The mass suicide is believed to have taken place over a series of three or four days.

The Ku Klux Klan, more widely known as the KKK, is a hate group that was originally founded by the Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Today, the KKK is primarily known for their acts of racism against African Americans, although it has not limited itself to hate against just one race or group of people. Members of the KKK have been linked to acts of violence and vandalism against white civil rights supporters and sympathizers, members of the Republican political party, Jews, and homosexuals.

The Rodney King incident is an excellent example of group popularization (sometimes referred to as mob mentality). During the arrest of Rodney King, allegations of police brutality were made. The police officers were tried and acquitted. Soon after, riots broke out in several U.S. cities. The Bystander Effect is also a frightening aspect of group psychology. This occurs when people fail to take action because they are afraid of getting involved or because they believe someone else to have already taken action towards and incidence.

Group psychology can be witnessed in nearly any setting and relies heavily on the individual giving up most if not all of their personal identity to conform to the group cause. One example of this was an experiment conducted in 1972. In the experiment, ordinary citizens volunteered to be involved in a prison like setting. Some of the people were guards while others were prisoners and were expected to carry on as such. The experiment was originally scheduled to last nearly two weeks, but had to be halted in less than one when they conformed too well to their roles of dominant and subordinate. The study of this behavior is called group dynamics.

Group loaf is an interesting aspect of group psychology. It has been suggested and proven that when in groups, individuals have a tendency to rely more on others than on themselves. This goes to say that a person who normally make 100 bracelets in an hour may only make 70 while they are in a group of people that are all making bracelets. Group loaf could be described as a redistribution of tasks or of a workload in a group vs. that which would be found in an individual.

It is clear that group psychology play an important part in our daily lives and can greatly affect and alter our behavior when it comes to everything from spiritual or religious beliefs, right down to personal preference such as the way that we dress.

Note the Physical Characteristics of the Members

In a group of males, ranking is determined by physical means more than verbal fluency. Generally, the Alpha Male of the group, or the member at the top of the hierarchy, possesses a height that allows him to look eye-to-eye or down on his peers. Likewise, the Omega Male, or lowest ranking member, may possess a height that makes him shorter than his fellow beings.

High-ranking males are generally in good condition- muscular, stocky, and attractive, but lower-ranking males are usually shorter and may be less attractive. In most cases, physical characteristics affect the confidence level of the members, and thus, it indirectly influences the hierarchy of the group as a whole. When noting the physical characteristics of each member of a group, however, remember that physical characteristics alone do not determine group hierarchy. Though taller males tend to be more dominating, in some cases, the shortest male of a group may be Alpha Male while the tallest male may inhabit the lowest position. When observing a group of males, just keep in mind the physical characteristics of the members and know that they tend to influence hierarchy.

Read the Body Language

High-ranking males will appear more confident and relaxed than the rest of the members in the group. When sitting, a dominant male may recline in his chair and fold his hands behind his head, leaving vulnerable areas of his body exposed and indicating his high amount of confidence. He may elongate his body by resting his feet on an object in front of him or stretching out his arms. Submissive males, however, will try to make themselves appear smaller. This includes folding their arms over their chest or hunching forward while conversing with fellow males. Sometimes, submissive males may touch their face or wring their hands as nervous gestures.

The level of touching may also indicate one’s place in the hierarchy. Dominant males tend to invade the space of their subordinates, and they may reach out to touch them. During group romping sessions, dominate males generally initiate rough play with a taunting shove or other gesture. Though subordinate males usually return these gestures, the dominate members tend to initiate the contact, and the submissive male usually ‘gives in’ and will end the romp by failing to return a gesture or showing his palms to the other male. Sometimes, the Omega Male of a group can be spotted by watching the touching between members. In certain cases, a high-ranking male will indicate the Omega Male by granting him with a condescending touch on his upper body that sprouts laughter from the other males of the group. This may be in the form of a playful bat on the face, a ruffle of the hair, or a similar gesture.

Dominant males tend to make eye contact with more submissive members of the group. Submissive males, however, will make eye contact only briefly and then look down or away from their more dominant peer.

Examine the Communication Style

Who tells the jokes in the group? Who laughs at the jokes? In general, the Alpha Male will appear the ‘funniest’ member of the group because his jokes will elicit the most laughter. In this case, laughter is a gesture of submission. If a non-Alpha member tells a joke, the highest-ranking male will usually be the first to laugh at the joke, and the others will follow. Though communication style is less important in the male pecking order than in female groups, it remains another factor that allows an observer to spot hierarchy among the group members.