The group-member mind trade-off: Attributing mind to groups versus group members
Waytz and Young examine whether people see groups as having minds of their own, able to think, intend and plan, and how that affects both the group and its members. They report a trade-off: the more people attribute a group mind to a group, the less they attribute individual minds to its members. Groups seen as having a stronger collective mind were also viewed as more cohesive.
Waytz and Young examine whether people see groups as having minds of their own, able to think, intend and plan, and how that affects both the group and its members. They report a trade-off: the more people attribute a group mind to a group, the less they attribute individual minds to its members. Groups seen as having a stronger collective mind were also viewed as more cohesive.
Written from the abstract, Association for Psychological Science journal page and Crossref record, 2026-10-31.
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Waytz, A., & Young, L. (2012). The group-member mind trade-off: Attributing mind to groups versus group members. Psychological Science, 23(1), 77-85. doi:10.1177/0956797611423546 https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611423546