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In the previous chapter, we examined how people are influenced in subtle and not so subtle ways by the behavior, requests, and commands of other individuals. In this chapter, we will explore the ways in which people are also influenced by their membership in social groups. Virtually every human on the planet identifies with at least one fundamental cultural group, whether it is a small tribe or a billion-person nation. In addition, other groups may be formed on the basis of common genes (your family), geography (neighborhood associations, gangs), ideology (Catholics, the Young Republicans), causes (MADD, Greenpeace), goals (the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, the NCAA Division I Basketball Committee), broad social interests (sororities and fraternities), shared experiences (Alcoholics Anonymous, alumni groups), and hobbies (the Garden Club of America, Hoopaholics for hula hoop enthusiasts!). Together, these groups influence people in important ways, socializing them into a worldview and validating their place within that local culture.

Let’s begin with an interesting example of such a group: deadheads. In the history of rock and roll, few bands have had such devoted fans as the Grateful Dead. When the band began touring in the late 1960s, die-hard fans, known affectionately as “deadheads,” piled in their vans and followed along, knowing that the band’s improvisational style meant that no two concerts would be the same. Over the next 30 years, a growing number of deadheads traveled with the band from city to city, some of them spending decades of their lives on the road.

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To say that deadheads are a bunch of people who all like the Grateful Dead misses the strong sense of community that binds them together. Before the invention of social networking sites and blogs, deadheads shared personal stories with each other through newsletters such as the Grateful Dead Almanac, and they created their own economy at concerts, buying and selling veggie burritos, T-shirts, and other essentials.

As a community, deadheads expected each other to behave in certain ways and socialized newcomers to conform to those expectations. This can be seen when, following the release of the band’s 1987 album In The Dark, concerts were flooded by younger fans whose belligerent behavior disrupted the mellow atmosphere that deadheads treasure. To restore order, a set of senior deadheads organized a mass distribution of flyers instructing everyone to “cool out.” Deadheads also organized substance-abuse programs and worship services. Even today, two decades after the band’s guitarist and front man Jerry Garcia died and the band stopped touring, deadheads continue to interact and help each other by sharing travel stories on fan websites and exchanging recordings of live performances free of charge. The group has become much more than a collection of people who happened to like the same band.