Chapter 7: Group Influence Flashcards
1
Q
What is a Group?
A
- 2 or more people who interact with and influence one another
- The idea of “us” and “them”
- Meet various needs (affiliation, achieving, social identity)
2
Q
Social Facilitation: The “Mere” Presence of Others
A
- We are often influenced by the presence of others
- CO-ACTORS: People that are present in a situation as a passive audience
- Co-actors’ presence often improves performance (even in animals)
3
Q
Social FacilitationTheory
A
- The increased likelihood of responses due to the presence of others
- Co-actors don’t even need to be visible
- (Zajonc) Social arousal facilitates dominant (most likely) responses, so it can either help or hinder performance
4
Q
Social Facilitation: Crowding
A
- Presence of others promotes sweat, fast breath, tense muscles, higher BP, and faster heart rate
- The more people, the more likely we are to mess up simple functions
- Crowds intensify reactions, positive or negative
- When in a smaller room, a group of people are more aroused, and social facilitation happens
5
Q
Why do Co-Actors Arouse us? Evaluation Apprehension
A
- We are aroused by our concern about others’ evaluation of our actions
- The presence of a blindfolded audience did not cause social an increase in dominant response
6
Q
Why do Co-Actors Arouse Us? Distraction
A
- Another theory posits that part of our arousal comes from the conflict of paying attention to others, whether its their performance, or their reactions to us
7
Q
Why do Co-Actors Arouse Us? Mere Presence
A
- Zajonc believed (since animals show social facilitation) that we have an innate social arousal mechanism
- Running with others causes us to run faster, even when they are not perceiving or competing us
8
Q
Scientific Theory: Social Facilitation Theory
A
- A simple summary of findings
- Offers clear predictions that help confirm, guide exploration, and suggest practical application
- Practical Application: Do open offices promote productivity while decreasing creativity on difficult problems?
9
Q
Social Loafing
A
- People tend to exert less effort when working in a team than when they are individually accountable
- Study found that participants pull 18% harder when they think others behind them are pulling as well
- Rather than feeling uninhibited by group tasks, people tend to slack off
10
Q
Social Loafing: Free Ride
A
- Giving less when benefiting from a group effort
- When rewards are divided equally, loafing allows more reward per amount of effort
11
Q
Social Loafing VS Facilitation
A
- When being observed increases evaluation concerns, social facilitation (increased dominant response) occurs
- When being lost in a crowd decreases evaluation concerns, social loafing occurs
12
Q
Social Loafing: Everyday Life
A
- Assembly line workers produced 16% more product when they were individually tracked, even when they knew their output would not affect them
- Collectivist cultures show slightly less social loafing due to their emphasis on loyalty to family and work groups
13
Q
Social Loafing: When it Doesn’t Happen
A
- People loaf less in groups when a common goal is challenging, appealing, or involving
- Hard work is positively correlated with achievement motivation, belonging in a group, reward perception, personal efficacy, feeling of importance within the group
14
Q
Deindividuation: Doing Things Together
A
- Loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension; occurs when groups foster anonymity
- Combination of social loafing (diffuses responsibility) and social facilitation (increases arousal) found in groups can be dangerous (Getting mad at refs, stealing)
- Groups can create a sense of excitement in the feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself
15
Q
Deindividuation: Group Attribution
A
- Actions are perceived as the group’s, not the individual
- Feelings of anonymity within a group can lead to attributing our behavior to a situation rather than ourselves
