Question

How does a reference group influence individual behavior? Describe an example.

Answer 1

A reference group tend to give a peer pressure toward someone to agree with their generally accepted behavior.
In general, people have a tendency to feel that they belong to a group in order to strengthen their social status. This tendency lead to a mindset where they think that they have to bow down to most people's opinion in order to be accepted as one of their own

Answer 2

Individual behavior can be influenced by a reference group because a reference groups consists of groups or individuals, which can then influence our beliefs, opinions, attitudes, and also our behaviors.  A reference group is also often depicted as the role models and inspiration by the people and often, it is important especially when applying for a job, or for marketing purposes.  Marketers usually take note of this because it can influence the interpretation of consumers’ information and purchasing decision making.

Marketing is one of the most important concepts of reference group.  Marketers usually gather target market’s demographics, including reference group and then compared it to another groups.  This helps evaluate the standard target audience.