Cliques

Ingroups are groups which are important to the identity of an individual because from them a person feels at home, accepted, important (Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2008).

Nine days out of ten I'll eat lunch in the cove with some friends of mine. This group started out small, with three of us. Now it sometimes reaches six or seven people. Of course, not everyone shows up all the time, but some of us are consistent. The person who originally brought the first three of us together, let's call her Jessica, likes to make certain observations and comments about the group.

For example, let's take the other day. I had done something which didn't sit well with some members of the group, and though no one was really truly upset, Jessica started kidding around, as we do.

"I swear, I could kick you out of the group right now. No, wait... I couldn't, you're a core member."

Now, of course, the implication is that there are peripheral members. Well, one guy, let's call him Jack, then asked, "Hey wait, am I a core member?"

"No, you are not."
"You could kick me out!"
"Yes, yes I could."

All of it was said with a light air, even though it was understood that Jessica was being honest. It was almost as if she was making an ingroup and an outgroup (a group which a person doesn't feel a close membership to) within our lunch group, yet with both groups in a larger ingroup (Kassin et al., 2008).

This made me reflect a little bit. I knew that Jessica and others in the group were close friends of mine. And I feel a strong loyalty to our group. After all, it isn't just lunch, we hang out all the time outside of lunch and school, and we always talk about our lives and our pasts, our relationships. Our relationships within the group can also be said to be intricate and harmonious, for the most part.

So I find myself asking this question. Would I feel as strongly invested and at home in this group if it weren't for Jessica's occasional comments of this sort? I really don't know. But the question is intriguing.

Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H.R. (2008). Social psychology. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.