<p>Getting people to work well in teams is crucial to accomplishing ambitious goals. Teams work a kind of magic in developing important ideas and getting hard work done, and they give us the close human contact and shared purpose that we all need. But theres a dark side to teams too: group identity can be too powerful. The desire to be an accepted member of a group can prevent individuals from forming their own moral judgments.
Adapted from Peter S. Temes, The Power of Purpose
Assignment: Are teams or groups beneficial for individuals, or does group membership prevent individuals from forming their own moral judgments? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.</p>
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<p>Working in a group can often be a rewarding experience for children, teens and adults, whether it be a swim team, book club or sorority. The support from fellow group members, as well as the social stimulation of interaction with people who share a common interest or passion, are major draws. Group membership, however, can certainly prevent individuals from making sound decisions when peer pressure goes wrong and mob mentality takes over. The desire to be an accepted member leads many to make poor choices that hurt themselves or other people, from hazing in college Greek life to hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan.</p>
<p>For many young college students, the opportunity to join a sorority or fraternity is a major stepping stone toward a fun, independent social life, one that greatly contrasts the limitations they may have felt while living at home. Initiation into these groups, both for men and women, can be a difficult and even borderline traumatizing experience, with stories of harsh hazing rituals by fraternities in particular. Older members, who may have resented the hazing at their own initiation, feel little guilt once mob mentality takes over and the rush of power over the new recruits, as well as the security of being just one member of a group, rather than a single individual bully, takes over. Additionally, partying is also synonymous with Greek life at most universities, and at some parties, the combination of peer pressure and alcohol or drugs can result in devastating consequences, from alcohol poisoning to gang rape, which has come to light in recent years at multiple elite universities. </p>
<p>Hate groups represent another example where mob mentality can go horribly wrong. Violent attacks on minorities, from LGBT to African Americans, are often performed, or at least planned, by numerous people. The lynchings of the 20th century were most often large group activities, not single person homicides. As a member of a group, each individual feels less responsibility for the action, and, to some degree, a sense of protection from being caught or punished. Even other crimes, not related to hate groups, can reflect this mindset; An example might be a gang or mob, or even just a small affiliation of pickpockets. </p>
<p>Of course, there are wonderful benefits to finding kinship with those you share interests with, allowing you to engage with others, challenge yourself and deepen your own understanding of your pursuits. Group membership, however, most definitely creates an environment where people can easily stray from their moral compass and make potentially devastating choices.</p>