I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the ‘group effect’.
As a collective noun, there is sometimes negativity around the word ‘group’. We tend to think of a group of scallywags rather than a group of knights in shining armour (those guys tend to go about shining on their own). And how about a book group? Isn’t that just somewhere you go to natter, eat Kettle crisps and drink Sauvignon?
In the world of music, the word ‘group’ is barely used anymore — it’s all about bands. In fact, it’s not even about bands, it’s about solo artists, who are far cheaper to run and can’t have creative differences with themselves.
And in the world of research, there is sometimes fear of the ‘group effect’. The influence of the minority on the majority. The herd effect, too. Much has been said about this, and as qual researchers, we do several things to guard against it. Like mixing methods and making sure people have time to note their individual, emotional responses, before being exposed to other people’s views.
But recently I’ve been wondering if the ‘group effect’ is really such a bad thing. We might worry that people of a more retiring disposition will be influenced by louder, more confident people, but isn’t that what happens in real life? And isn’t this increasingly the case in our virtually connected world?
Humans have always formed groups. Our lives are invested in groups. Our families, our friends, our colleagues, our neighbours, our tribes and our countries. And all of these groups shape and affect our opinions.
We don’t live in a vacuum. We’re influenced every day by peers and parents, journalists and celebrities. Our decisions are made in social contexts, discussing with friends or family or both. In that sense, arguably a group setting mimics reality, providing us with insights into how consumers influence each other IRL.
And, of course, social media has ramped things up big time. We’re no longer dependent on friends and family for our sounding board, advice and opinions. We have access to, quite literally, a whole world of people who are now a new, much bigger group that we belong to. And this group has a huge effect on our decisions. There’s a reason the concept of ‘internet influencers’ came into being.
My point is, that with the rise of social media and ready access to opinions on places like Trustpilot and Amazon reviews, hasn’t the group effect become even more of a model for the reality of how we think about brands, how we make decisions, and how we buy? We’ve seen evidence of this in our qual work recently, in several categories. While older people seem more interested in the opinion of ‘experts’, younger people are most concerned about what others think. They make their minds up based on reviews from ‘people like me’. In short, they decide what to buy based on the ‘group effect’.
The implication is that, far from trying to avoid it, we need the group effect in the microcosm of research to direct us towards and help us understand how people think and behave in the macrocosm of the real world.
Groups have other benefits too. We find people are more expressive when they have the stimulus of others to bounce off and are in the relative ‘safety’ of the pack. Especially if the topic is something they don’t often think about, so thoughts and feelings aren’t top of mind.
People often feel more comfortable sharing in a group, especially when they hear others talking about similar experiences, and this leads to more detailed, authentic narratives. One person’s response can trigger memories or opinions in others, leading to richer insights. It can spark ideas that individuals might not have thought of on their own.
Think of it this way, dancing on your own makes you feel scrutinised and self-conscious, but once the dance floor fills up, your inhibitions dissolve and you can get seriously funky. Perhaps this explains why we are seeing a resurgence of demand in this area.
Group hug, anyone?
Maddy is Director of Lucid. She has been described as a ‘maestra’ with groups of people and is appreciated for her passion and commitment as well as the clarity of her strategic thinking, insight and expression. Maddy began her career in advertising at Ogilvy and BBH and then worked at the Arts Council, English National Opera, AEA consulting and Stimulating World Research before setting up Lucid.