Group Dynamics: What drives group formation? 

The best reference for understanding the biology is Kandel's neuroscience bible (The principles of neural science). Understanding how to create computational models of neural circuits doesn't have any direct references and you'll just have to search the literature for the types of models you want to make and then spend some time learning python to implement them.

@@thecellularrepublic9844 thank you very much sir

And way better than the social psychology lectures I received!!

I really love that you're enjoying these lectures! I'm not entirely sure where the threads are that link these needs together in the literature but I will absolutely take a look and try to get you a more concrete answer so that you can go down the rabbit hole a little bit.

@@georgelee6972 I think that looking at things from the group dynamics perspective is a at the cross roads between sociology and social psych and I think you get a lot more this way than you do from either in isolation.

Here's an excerpt from the textbook with some author names that you can hunt down to get more of a deep dive perspective: Need for Affiliation People who seek out contact with other people often have a high need for affiliation. People with a high need for affiliation tend to join groups more frequently, spend more of their time in groups, communicate more with other group members, and accept other group members more readily (McAdams & Constantian, 1983; McClelland, 1985; Smart, 1965). However, they are also more anxious in social situations, perhaps because they are more fearful of rejection by others (Byrne, 1961; McAdams, 1982, 1995). When others treat them badly or reject them, they avoid people rather than seek them out (Hill, 1991). Need for Intimacy Individuals who have a high need for intimacy, like those who have a high need for affiliation, prefer to join with others. Such individuals, however, seek close, warm relations and are more likely to express caring and concern for other people (McAdams, 1982, 1995). They do not fear rejection but, instead, are more focused on friendship, camaraderie, reciprocity, and mutual help. In one study, researchers gave people electronic pagers for one week and asked them to write down what they were doing and how they felt each time they were beeped. People who had a high need for intimacy were more frequently interacting with other people when beeped. They were also happier than people with a low need for intimacy if they were with other people when they were beeped (McAdams & Constantian, 1983). Need for Power Because group interactions provide many opportunities to influence others, those with a high need for power also tend to seek out groups (McAdams, 1982; Winter, 1973). Researchers studied college students’ power needs by asking them to recall 10 recent group interactions that lasted for at least 15 minutes. The students described what had happened in each episode, what had been discussed, and their role in the group. Those with a high power motive took part in relatively fewer dyadic interactions but in more large-group interactions (groups with more than four members). They also reported exercising more control in these groups by organizing and initiating activities, assuming responsibility, and attempting to persuade others. This relationship between the need for power and participation in groups was stronger for men (McAdams, Healy, & Krause, 1984)

Looks like a lot of it is based on the work of mccleland and mcadams