Group Dynamics and the Aggressive Alpha Personality

Overview
I began a study of alpha personalities and aggressive behavior in societies and organizations many years ago. My interest area is in group dynamics and the interplay/interaction between the leader(s) and the follower(s).
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Authority and Influence

Do on line communities inadvertently encourage aggressive behaviors? Communication and group dynamics in on line communities is fundamentally different then the information rich interactions that are typically encountered in businesses and schools. Body language which contributes more than 80% of the information content in communication is not available on line.
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 Opinions And Influence

We all have an inherent need to describe things and to create a continuity of events. We often do not have sufficient resolution and/or detail to perform these tasks and rely upon our models of reality to fill in the gaps.
For the rest of this section click Creating Continuity

 On Line Art Communities

Beginning in February 2006, we studied, in depth, four on line art communities, artwanted, eyefetch, deviantart, and fanart review. We also studied renderosity, 3d commune, planit3d, cornucopia3d, and a variety of other art community sites.
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On Line there is no there

It seems that once opinions are made it can be difficult to change them without influence. The techniques used are often persuasive spins that exploit the protocols and norms of the group relying on sympathy and coercion as the favored tools of manipulation. Such are our normal day to day interactions with others. We attempt to persuade as do they.
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Information Control

It can be difficult to find words that convey exactly what we mean. This is especially true of emotional and passionate topics. This is what makes for great poetry, a great story, a great drama.
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Privacy and Free Speech

This is not uncommon in the world of famous people. They are being watched and photographed and observed, and discussed in tabloids and magazines usually without giving permission. Investigative reporting follows similar patterns, observing and documenting behaviors usually without first notifying the observed.
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Influence and Motivational Energy

Technology offers new and different ways to influence opinions. Some of these are subtle such as becoming desensitized to violence by exposure to video games and the nightly news. Deaths in wars are not personal even when viewed on the TV. The layer of abstraction, created by the brain between our consciousness and the stimulation source, is modified by the data it processes. This process continues during life but is very obvious in childhood when our personalities are formed. Our opinions can be modified and influenced. This fact drives virtually every marketing and/or sales campaign. Public opinion can be influenced as well. This can be observed in the spin wrapped around an issue to distort or misrepresent the content. Political statements are more about spin and presentation than they are about content and intention.
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Influence and the Internet

Methods of Influence: Using a website to influence opinion

The technologies available to those who would use the Internet to influence opinion is quite different than person to person influence. Mass emails, search engine manipulation, deceptive links in text and expressing in forums, blogs and websites can provide wider distribution than would be possible with conventional communication of mail and phone calls or person to person. The other major difference is the feedback loop that is missing online or at best delayed. In person when we smile at another, the feedback is nearly instantaneous, they either smile back or they don't. Online it is possible, even likely, that a posting will not get any feedback unless it is controversial or about a cultural icon of the organization. Feedback which is necessary for effective communication is limited online. The value of the Internet is easily seen from the perspective of information acquisition. Google has clearly shown us the value of information acquisition :-) As a medium for promotion and exposure, it is fragmented into numerous niche market places each mostly exclusive of others. In the 'real world' a restaurant might display a local artists works on the walls, online there are no walls and no artists works are displayed or promoted.
 

Rumors and Influence

This is about the experience LindaLove had while a memebr of an art community. During her active participation, for about four weeks, she commented, rated, and interacted with other members. Early in February,it was noticed that LindaLove could not comment on and/or rate several other members images. Investigating the reason for this, on February 15^th, 2007, she sent a private message to several other members who had blocked her from rating and commenting. Here is one of them:
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Participating Online: Does It Change Consciousness And Personality

Some years ago I read a book “The Physics of Consciousness”. It presents ideas, theories, and proposed explanations about how consciousness may emerge and manifest through electrical, chemical, and quantum process in our brains. In one section the book examines the visual processing of our brain, using physics and chemistry it predicts the maximum data or information rate possible using the visual system in our bodies including the eyes, optic nerve, and brain visual processing centers.
 For the rest of this section click  Consciousness Changing

Techniques and Methods used to track and monitor