Social Determinants of Group Loyalty, Innovation, and Activism.

A theoretical model which specifies cost of entry and cost of exit as two major determinants of group loyalty and active innovation in response to deterioration in the group, was developed. It was proposed that when initiates actually join groups, the more severe the initiation has been, the greater the discrepancy existing between initial attraction to the group and the subsequently discovered actual deficiencies of the group. An exploratory investigation of aspects of this model suggests that an individual who joins a dull, boring, and unproductive encounter group after a severe initiation may, in comparison to one who has experienced a mild initiation Like the group members and activities more, but the leader less, participate less in the activities of the group as currently constituted be more willing to remain in the group and take over an active leadership role to restructure the group. Modified author abstract