<P> Groups also affect performance and productivity . Social facilitation, for example, is a tendency to work harder and faster in the presence of others . Social facilitation increases the dominant response's likelihood, which tends to improve performance on simple tasks and reduce it on complex tasks . In contrast, social loafing is the tendency of individuals to slack off when working in a group . Social loafing is common when the task is considered unimportant and individual contributions are not easy to see . </P> <P> Social psychologists study group - related (collective) phenomena such as the behavior of crowds . An important concept in this area is deindividuation, a reduced state of self - awareness that can be caused by feelings of anonymity . Deindividuation is associated with uninhibited and sometimes dangerous behavior . It is common in crowds and mobs, but it can also be caused by a disguise, a uniform, alcohol, dark environments, or online anonymity . </P> <P> A major area in the study of people's relations to each other is interpersonal attraction . This refers to all forces that lead people to like each other, establish relationships, and (in some cases) fall in love . Several general principles of attraction have been discovered by social psychologists, but many still continue to experiment and do research to find out more . One of the most important factors in interpersonal attraction is how similar two particular people are . The more similar two people are in general attitudes, backgrounds, environments, worldviews, and other traits, the more probable an attraction is possible . </P> <P> Physical attractiveness is an important element of romantic relationships, particularly in the early stages characterized by high levels of passion . Later on, similarity and other compatibility factors become more important, and the type of love people experience shifts from passionate to companionate . Robert Sternberg has suggested that there are actually three components of love: intimacy, passion, and commitment . When two (or more) people experience all three, they are said to be in a state of consummate love . </P>

Social psychology focuses especially on the power of