How do we explain groups' behavior towards each other? We obviously use social identity theory. Furthermore, to understand the behavior and cognition of individuals relative to their social/collectivist contexts – more like African psychology – and to contextualize the collectivist self. (Hogg and Williams, 2000). According to the theory, being part of a group is important for an individual because it helps him define himself and have a more positive outlook on life. This essay will focus on intergroup behavior and social identity formation to explain the behavior of gang members. (Swartz, De la Rey, Duncan, Townsend, & O'Neill, 2016) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Loneliness arises from people's needs for affection and connection with others, which, of course, are unmet (Blair & Justice, 2007). After all, no one wants to be sad and unhappy, right? This is one of the main reasons that leads to the formation of the group. The formation of a group goes through certain processes, namely formation (familiarization phase), assault (conflict phase), norming (more homogeneous behavior), execution (cooperative phase) and updating ( Swartz, De la Rey, Duncan, Townsend, & O. 'Neill, 2016). All groups usually have their own purpose that justifies their existence, just as the main purpose of gangs is to provide a sense of protection and belonging that one would normally get from family. (Goldman, Giles, & Hogg, 2014). Everyone in the gang takes on their own role, like any other specific group membership, and its members often have different positions, such as gang leader. (Swartz, De la Rey, Duncan, Townsend, & O'Neill, 2016) Decision making in groups, especially smaller ones, is greatly influenced by several processes. Groupthink occurs when everyone agrees with whatever decision is made in the group, usually by a leader, for the sake of cohesion and "peace" (usually ending in bad decisions); Group polarization occurs when the individual's initial polarization becomes more extreme after group “encounters” (people become convinced) (Swartz, De la Rey, Duncan, Townsend, & O'Neill, 2016) and social cognition becomes refers to how we process information and is common in social situations where people blindly follow certain ideas without asking questions (Howard, 2000). This is prevalent in gangs because, for example, if the decision to attack is made by a leader, even if a member disagrees, the decision is made without question. Social influence refers to a person altering their ideologies to fit their social context. Conformity is an example of such an influence, it comes from some kind of social pressure; separated into informational social influence (what we are told is right by others) and normative social influence (when you just want to be liked). Obedience is when a person changes their behavior because a person in power told them to (there's no way you won't) and obedience is when you bend to someone's demands just for the sake of fitting in. (Swartz, De la Rey, Duncan, Townsend, & O'Neill, 2016) Gang members are particularly more at risk of joining some type of social influence, because of how much they want to be accepted by their gangs, they would do so in four just to receive this acceptance. (Wood, 2014) Intergroup behavior refers to how the behavior of people in groups is influenced by people in other groups. The levels at which this influence occurs are the level..