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Social Loafing is a group process loss when people in a group do not work as hard as they would alone (11.2 Group Process: The Pluses and Minuses of Working Together). Various examples are tug-of-war, group projects, or when an entertainer asks an audience to scream. This clip from the office shows various examples of ways people fall into social loafing such as procrastination, not participating in a group discussion, or spending time putting office supplies in jello instead of working.

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62dwFYmBzvQ

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Social Categorization is the natural cognitive process by which we place individuals into social groups and is the start of stereotyping and prejudice (12.1 Social categorizations and Stereotyping). This is evident in this clip from the movie Mean Girls where they show the different social groups that sit in the cafeteria and have stereotypical names for each group such as Asian Nerds, Burnouts, or Unfriendly Black Hotties.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc48kYcosmY

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Mean Girls - Conforming Amongst Social Groups

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Desensitization is the tendency to become used to, and thus less influenced by a stimulus. We can see this as we become more used to seeing violence in the media (10.3 The Violence Around Us: How the Social Situation Influences Aggression). Take video games as an example. Many studies show that children who play a lot of video games can have fewer negative emotional responses to them. As this meme shows, the child can even become more aggressive as he sees it happen so often in the video game.

Source: https://omscroll.com/2019/05/28/are-you-desensitized-to-violence/

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Diffusion of responsibility occurs when we assume that others will take action and therefore we do not take action ourselves (9.3  How the Social Context Influences Helping). This is very common to happen because we always think someone else will have the time to go out of their way and help. This image clearly describes that one of the people passing by thinks they have to get to work so they use that as an excuse to not help.

Source: https://passionateinknowledge.com/general/the-bystander-effect-diffusion-of-responsibility/

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Commitment refers to the feelings and actions that keep partners working together to maintain the relationship. Being committed in a relationship usually means that the relationship will last longer but it also means the breakup will be more hurtful (8.2  Close Relationships: Liking and Loving Over the Long Term ). Because of this, many people tend to be afraid of commitment, as this Forbes article explains, because people do not want to be hurt.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/commitment-issues/

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What Are Commitment Issues?

Commitment, which can be defined as the intention to maintain a relationship over time, looks different for everyone. Whether talking about a romantic relationship, friendship or professional relationship, the level of commitment from each party comes down to individual perceptions.

Some people are aware of their own struggle to commit, while others may be oblivious, says Darcy Sterling, a licensed clinical social worker in New York and host of E! Network's Famously Single.

"People with commitment issues avoid situations in which they have to make long-term promises to others-particularly intimate partners," she says. "In extreme examples, they may have difficulty committing to a job, a profession or a geographic location to live in."

The inability to commit boils down to a reluctance to take a relationship to the next level or the hesitancy to pursue another activity, according to Rachael Farina, a private-practice licensed marriage and family therapist in West Hartford, Connecticut. "Unwillingness to progress forward-however defined in that particular relationship-may be a tell-tale sign of someone who struggles with commitment," she says.

Beyond initial reluctance to commit to another person, commitment issues can affect people in other ways. "Struggling with relationship commitment may have some negative impacts on well-being," says Farina. For example, people suffering from commitment issues may:

Have a partner who reports lower relationship satisfaction

Feel less satisfied with their relationship overall

Experience relationship conflict if they are unwilling to make more formal commitments (such as marriage)

Be unable to experience deeper levels of emotional connection with their partner

It's important to note that for some people, being in a committed relationship may not be a priority or associated with negative outcomes. Sterling also notes that commitment issues can extend to places and things, too, such as a new home or career opportunity.

Causes of Commitment Issues

Commitment issues can develop based on our "attachment style," a psychological theory about the way we relate to the people around us. Attachment styles form when we're very young and influence how we behave in intimate relationships, according to Sterling.

Though there are four attachment styles-anxious, avoidant, disorganized and secure-Sterling says people who find commitment challenging typically align with anxious, avoidant or disorganized.

Issues With Anxiety

People with an anxious attachment style may have experienced childhood caregiving by someone who was available inconsistently or provided love in unpredictable ways, according to Sterling. They may have been "forced to kick and scream to get their caregivers' attention," she says.

These individuals tend to be picky and generally dissatisfied in their intimate relationships, frequently find faults with partners and may think (unconsciously or consciously) that their needs will never be fully met, according to Sterling.

This experience may lead to commitment issues further down the line because a person who struggles with significant levels of anxiety may have difficulty trusting or believing that everything-within and outside of relationships-will work out okay, says Sterling.

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Fear of Abandonment

An avoidant attachment style may be caused by experiencing caregiving from an emotionally unavailable, hostile and/or insensitive caregiver, or from someone who was misattuned to their needs as children, says Sterling.

These children may learn that they "cannot get their needs met, and consequently, they are quite disconnected from their needs," she says. These individuals tend to:

Be the most obvious commitment-phobes

Not associate intimate relationships with comfort

Because of this, commitment issues can come into the frame as a way to fend off the emotional pain that's tied to abandonment, Farina says. People with fear of abandonment would often rather deny commitment to protect themselves-even when a decision could lead to happiness and fulfillment-than risk subjecting themselves to that pain again, she says.

Emotional Uncertainty

People with a disorganized attachment style may have received mixed messages as children, making it difficult to learn a strategy for getting their needs met. They may have been raised by "caregivers who frightened them or who were dangerous," says Sterling. "Many came from parents who put them in impossible-to-win situations or who had such high standards that it was impossible to meet the expectations imposed upon them."

Individuals with a disorganized attachment style may view relationships (consciously or unconsciously) as precarious, which can lead to commitment issues.

People who experienced emotional trauma or uncertainty as children may avoid commitment as adults because that trauma can enforce the idea that committing to someone or something will end in hurt, according to Farina.

What Does It Mean to Have Commitment Issues?

Commitment issues may be an indicator of a person's mental health, says Farina. "For example, someone who experiences a high level of anxiety may fear the relationship won't last or may be wary about suffering emotional damage from a romantic relationship," she adds. Anxious the relationship will end, they may sabotage the relationship to get the inevitable over with.

There aren't exactly innate characteristics of people with commitment issues, says Farina. Instead, people with commitment issues outwardly lack the ability to take next steps in their life that are often crucial for solidifying their commitment to someone or something.

While the hesitancy to commit can stem from childhood issues, Sterling adds those with commitment issues shouldn't be discouraged. "The commitment issue doesn't speak to [a person's] personality. "It's what they do about their commitment issue that does." says Sterling.

How to Overcome Commitment Issues

Though personality traits and attachment styles form early on, change can happen. "Healing an attachment style is absolutely possible," says Sterling. "It takes a commitment on the part of the individual to do deep work."

Sterling suggests people who suspect they have commitment issues seek out a licensed professional who specializes in attachment theory. If you believe a partner or loved one exhibits commitment issues, Sterling recommends a patient approach, and to avoid pushing them to seek professional help. "They themselves have to realize there is a problem," she says.

Couples counseling is another helpful option with a notable caveat. " Couples therapy may be a useful option for relationships in which one or both partners are aware of their struggle with commitment, but are interested in exploring this further," says Farina. "However, couple's therapy itself also requires commitment." Doing some individual work with the help of a professional can be beneficial before moving on to couples' work, she adds.

When challenges with commitment outside of romantic relationships create distress, adds Farina, it's important to work with a professional to dig deeper and address the root cause in order to live a happier and more fulfilling life.

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Commitment Issues: What You Need To Know, According To Experts

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FEATURED PARTNER OFFER Get 20% Off With Code "ForbesHealth20" Commitment, which can be defined as the intention to maintain a relationship over time, looks different for everyone. Whether talking about a romantic relationship, friendship or professional relationship, the level of commitment from each party comes down to individual perceptions.

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Conformity is the change in beliefs, opinions, or behaviors as a result of our perceptions about what other people believe or do. It happens in various ways but the one I think is very interesting is Passive Conformity because we can follow others' behavior without even realizing it. An example of passive conformity is mimicry as I have sometimes caught myself doing the same things someone else was doing while we were having a conversation( 7.1 The Many Varieties of Conformity). I liked this image because it gives some ideas on how to stop conforming to situations even though it might feel uncomfortable going against the social current and doing something no else is probably doing.

Source: https://mindtools.substack.com/p/conformity-why-we-do-it-and-how-to