At what point is an assemblage of individuals perceived as a single, unified group? And how do demographic characteristics of these individuals influence perceptions of groupness? To answer these questions, we conducted four studies in which participants viewed sets of images that varied in the number of individuals depicted, and then identified the number of persons at which the assemblage was perceived to be a single, unified group. Across four studies, we manipulated the gender and race composition of the persons depicted. The results suggest that five (plus or minus one) people constitutes the point at which a collection of persons is perceived less like separate individuals and more like a single, unified group. However, the demographic complexity of the assemblage also influences perceived groupness. The number of individuals required to be perceived as a unified group is larger for diverse, compared to homogeneous, assemblages of individuals.
About Erick Stocks:
Title: Professor of Psychology Department: Psychology & Counseling (University of Texas at Tyler) Email: estocks@uttyler.edu
Degrees
Ph.D. University of Kansas Major: Social Psychology
M.S. University of Kansas Major: Social Psychology
B.S. University of Missouri
Professional & Research Interest
Social emotions and motivation
Prosocial behavior
Social cognition
Psychology of religion
Philosophy/history of science
Research methods
Courses Taught
PSYC 1349 - Critical Thinking, Logic & Reasoning
PSYC 3232 - Laboratory in Experimental Psychology
PSYC 3306 - Social Psychology
PSYC 3331 - Experimental Psychology
Publications (last 3 years)
Articles
Villar, S.; Oceja, L.; Stocks, E.; y Carrera, P. (2019). The challenge of making this world a better place: Analyzing the chivalrous quality of the Quixoteism motive. Current Psychology (on line)
Oceja, L.; Stocks, E.; Heerdink, M.; Villar, S.; et al. (2018). Revisiting the difference between instrumental and terminal values to predict (stimulating) prosocial behaviors: The transcendental-change profile. British Journal of Social Psychology (on line).
- Stocks, E.; Mirghassemi, F.; & Oceja, L. (2018). How is your day going? Reciprocity Norm in Everyday Communication. International Journal of Psychology, 53, 167-175.
Hansen, E., Hakanson, J., Hallen, A., Bjurhager, C., Norrstrom, E., Viman, A., & Stocks, E. (2018). Does feeling empathy lead to compassion fatigue or compassion satisfaction? The role of time perspective. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied. DOI: 10.1080/00223980.2018.1495170
Mindthoff, A., Evans, J. R., Perez, G., Woestehoff, S. A., Olaguez, A. P., Klemfuss, J. Z., Normile, C. J., Scherr, K. C., Carlucci, M. E., Carol, R. N., Meissner, C. A., Michael, S. W., Russano, M. B., Stocks, E. L., Vallano, J. P., & Woody, W. D. (2019). A survey of potential jurors’ perceptions of interrogations and confessions. Psychology, public policy, and law.
Thomas, D., Campos, D., George, S., Goldfarb, E., Kotowski, A., McCall, L., Soltis, N., Stocks, E., & Wright, V. (2018). Using the star legacy cycle to promote student-centered field learning in Geoforce and Stemforce 12th grade summer academies. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 50. doi: 10.1130/abs/2018AM-323816
- López-Pérez, Belen; Carrera, Pilar; Oceja, Luis; Ambrona, Tamara; Stocks, E. (2017). Sympathy and tenderness as components of dispositional empathic concern: predicting helping and caring behaviors. Current Psychology, 1-11.
- Oceja, L.; Ambrona, T.; López-Pérez, B.; Stocks, E.; y Carrera, P. (2017). Local versus global perceptual scope, empathic concern, and helping preferences in multiple-victim situations. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 20.
- Stocks, E.; Oceja, L.; & López-Pérez, B. (2017). Can’t get you out of my mind: empathy, distress, and recurring thoughts about a person in need. Motivation and Emotion, 41, 84-95.
Published Book Chapters
Lishner, D., Steinert, S., & Stocks, E. (in press). Gratitude, Sympathy, and Empathy. In Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. New York, NY: Springer
Lishner, D., Stocks, E., & Steinert, S. (2018). Empathy. In Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. New York, NY: Sage.
Stocks, E., & Lishner, D. (2018). Empathy and altruism. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia in Psychology. Oxford, England, UK: Oxford.
Lishner, D. A., & Stocks, E. L. (2018). Helping and well-being: A motivational perspective. In J. Maddux’s (Ed.), Subjective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction (pp. XX-YY). New York, NY: Routledge.
Oceja, L., & Stocks, E. (2017). The path from helping one to helping the group – and beyond. In E. van Leeuwen and H. Zagefka (Eds.), Intergroup Helping. Springer. 10.1007/978-3-319-53026-0