People strive for unity, as groups provide not only emotional protection but also evolutionary advantages.

The Delicate Balance of Group Unity and Individual Identity

People strive for unity, as groups provide not only emotional protection but also evolutionary advantages. From the very beginning of life, we learn to seek warmth and support in close relationships, which helps us feel loved and accepted. However, collective existence also poses a challenge—to preserve one’s individuality.

Interacting with various social groups opens up opportunities for learning, adaptation, and understanding societal norms, allowing us to develop unique aspects of our personality. At the same time, excessive conformity to group expectations can lead to the loss of the inner "self," turning us into individuals who merely follow established norms rather than expressing their creative uniqueness.

Thus, the art of unity lies in finding a balance between collective support and maintaining individuality. This approach allows us not only to feel safe and harmonious within society but also to remain true to our inner values while developing our own "self" against the backdrop of diverse social experiences.

Why are people inclined to divide themselves into groups, and how does such division affect the development of individuality?

By nature, people are inclined to form groups because such unity provides them with both emotional protection and practical evolutionary advantages. As one source notes, "Man experiences a need for relationships that continuously ensure positive interactions. Close relationships that allow us to feel that we are emotionally supported, loved, approved, and recognized create a sense of happiness and health. At the same time, being in a group often contradicts the personal interests of the individual and can sometimes even threaten one’s survival..." (source: link txt).

On the other hand, belonging to groups has a significant impact on the development of individuality. Interaction with the social environment helps a person learn adaptation, imitation, and acceptance of norms while necessitating a balance between adaptation and retaining one’s “self.” One source emphasizes that "Personality will become one-sided if one pole develops at the expense of the other: personality becomes narrowly egocentric, self-loving, stubborn, and despotic if the second mental pole is underdeveloped and does not take the social environment into account. But personality truly loses itself... if it predominantly develops adaptation to the social environment" (source: link txt). This indicates that the coexistence of group influence and personal authenticity requires constant balance. Moreover, the diversity of social connections that often arises from belonging to multiple groups can positively contribute to forming unique personality traits, enabling an individual to build relationships with the surrounding world without neglecting their inner development.

Thus, the human tendency to unite is explained by an inherent need for support and security, while division into groups has a dual effect—it creates conditions for emotional support and collective survival on one hand, and on the other, challenges the individual to maintain uniqueness by balancing social norms with the development of personal qualities.

Supporting citation(s):
"Man experiences a need for relationships that continuously ensure positive interactions. Close relationships that allow us to feel that we are emotionally supported, loved, approved, and recognized create a sense of happiness and health. At the same time, being in a group often contradicts the personal interests of the individual and can sometimes even threaten one’s survival." (source: link txt)

"Personality will become one-sided if one pole develops at the expense of the other: personality becomes narrowly egocentric, self-loving, stubborn, and despotic if the second mental pole is underdeveloped and does not take the social environment into account. But personality truly loses itself, loses its strength, creativity, and initiative, becoming feeble and unable to defend its identity if it predominantly develops adaptation to the social environment." (source: link txt)