Chapters 7-9 Flashcards
(145 cards)
1
Q
collectivism
A
a cultural orientation in which independence, autonomy, and self-reliance take priority over group allegiances
2
Q
compliance
A
changes in behaviour that are elicited by direct requests
3
Q
conformity
A
the tendency to change our perceptions, opinions, or behaviour in ways that are consistent with group norms.
4
Q
door-in-the-face technique
A
a two-step compliance technique in which an influencer prefaces the real request with one that is so large that it is rejected
5
Q
foot-in-the-door technique
A
a two-step compliance technique in which an influencer sets the stage for the real request by first getting person to comply with a much smaller request
6
Q
informational influence
A
influence that produces conformity when a person believes others are correct in their judgments
7
Q
minority influence
A
the process by which dissenters produce change within a group
8
Q
low-balling
A
a two-step compliance technique in which the influencer secures agreement with a request but then increases the size of that request by revealing hidden costs
9
Q
minority influence
A
the process by which dissenters produce change within a group
10
Q
public conformity
A
a superficial change in overt behaviour, without a corresponding change of opinion, produced by real or imagined group pressure.
11
Q
obedience
A
behaviour change produced by the commands of authority
12
Q
social impact theory
A
the theory that social influence depends on the strength, immediacy, and number of source persons relative to target persons
13
Q
that’s-not-all technique
A
a two-step compliance technique in which the influence4r begins with an inflated request, and then decreases its apparent size by offering a discount or bonus
14
Q
that’s-not-all technique
A
a two-step compliance technique in which the influence4r begins with an inflated request, and then decreases its apparent size by offering a discount or bonus
15
Q
Define social influence.
A
The term social influence refers to ways in which people are affected by the real and imagined pressures of others.
16
Q
Distinguish three forms of social influence: conformity, compliance, and obedience.
A
Conformity, compliance and obedience vary in the degree of pressure exerted on an individual. They are not distinct “types” of influence. The influence may emanate from a group, a person, or an institution. The behaviour in question may be constructive (helpful), destructive (hurtful), or neutral. Social influence varies, as points along a continuum, according to the degree of pressure exerted on the individual. We do not always succumb to pressure. People may conform to maintain their independence from others; they may comply with direct requests or react with assertiveness; they may obey commands of authority or oppose powerful others in an act of defiance.
17
Q
Distinguish between normative and informational influence.
A
Informational influence is the influence that produces conformity when a person believes others are correct in their judgments.
Normative influence is the influence that produces conformity when a person fears the negative social consequences of appearing deviant.
18
Q
Distinguish between public conformity and private conformity.
A
Private conformity is the change in beliefs that occurs when a person privately accepts the position taken by others.
Public conformity is a superficial change in overt behaviour, without a corresponding change of opinion, produced by real or imagined group pressure.
19
Q
Distinguish between majority and minority influence. Explain the different processes by which majorities and minorities can exert pressure to affect people’s behaviour.
A
Conformity increases with group size, but only to a point. Beyond the presence of three or four, additions to a group, are subject to the law of diminishing returns.
Ex: When a second light bulb is added to a room, the results are dramatic. When a tenth light is added, you can’t notice it.
Also, when more and more people express the same opinion, an individual is likely to suspect that they are acting either “in collusion”, or as a “spineless sheep”.
The size of the majority may influence the amount of pressure that is felt, but social norms give rise to conformity only when we know about and focus on those norms. (ex: See trash on the ground at an event, conform to littering, or, everyone is drinking at a party, might as well do it too).
This seems obvious, but people often misperceive what is normative-especially if others are too shy or embarrassed to publicly present their true feelings and thoughts.
Minority Influence:
The process by which dissenters produce change within a group.
Style: Majorities are powerful by virtue of their sheer numbers alone, while nonconformists derive power from the style of their behaviour. To exert influence, those in the minority must be forceful, persistent, and unwavering in support of their position. Yet at the same time, appear flexible and open-minded.
Why does a consistent behaviour style prove effective? Unwavering repetition draws attention from those in the mainstream, which is a necessary first step to social influence. Consistency also signals that the dissenter is unlikely to yield. 247
Majorities and minorities exert influence in very different ways. Majorities, because they have power and control, elicit public conformity by bringing stressful normative pressures to bear on the individual. But minorities, because they are seen as seriously committed to their views, produce a deeper and more lasting form of private conformity, or conversion, by leading others to rethink their original positions.
20
Q
Explain how normative and informational influence and public and private conformity operate in Sherif’s and Asch’s studies.
A
Sherif’s study is an example of informational influence and private acceptance. He used an ambiguous task, so others provided a source of information and influenced the participants’ true opinions.
Asch’s study is an example of normative influence and public conformity. He used a task that required simple judgments of a clear stimulus, so most participants exhibited occasional public conformity in response to normative pressure but privately did not accept the groups’ judgments.
21
Q
Compare several two-step request techniques that are effective in influencing compliance.
A
The foot in the door technique: A two-step compliance technique in which an influencer sets the stage for the real request by first getting a person to comply with a much smaller request.
Low Balling: A two-step compliance technique in which the influencer secures agreement with a request but then increases the size of that request by revealing hidden costs.
The door in the face: A two-step compliance technique in which an influencer prefaces the real request with one that is so large that it is rejected.
That’s Not All, Folks! A two-step compliance technique in which the influencer begins with an inflated request, and then decreases its apparent size by offering a discount or bonus.
22
Q
Explain why the foot-in-the-door technique works.
A
One reason is based on self-perception theory- people infer their attitudes by observing their own behaviour. This is a two-step process at work. First, but observing your own behaviour in the first situation, you come to see yourself as the kind of person who is generally cooperative when approached with a request.
Second, when confronted with the heavier request, you seek to respond in ways that confirm this new self-image.
23
Q
Explain why the low-balling technique works.
A
Even though people may suspect that they have been misled, they still go along with the sale. Why? One reason appears to be based on psychological commitment. Once people make a decision, they justify it to themselves by thinking of all its positive aspects. As they grow increasingly committed to a course of action, they grow resistant to changing their mind.
Another form of commitment is also at play. People feel a nagging sense of unfulfilled obligation to the person with whom they negotiated.
24
Q
Explain why the door-in-the-face technique works.
A
One reason why this technique works may involve the principle of perceptual contrast. To the person exposed to a very large initial request, the second request seems smaller.
Another explanation for the effect involves the notion of reciprocal concessions. This refers to the pressure to respond to bargaining position. When a person backs down from a large request to a smaller one, we view that move as a concession that we should match by our own compliance.
25
Explain why the "that's-not-all" technique works.
This request attempts to use concession without first eliciting refusal.
26
Briefly describes the hypothesis, research design, procedure, and results of Stanley Milgram's original experiment on obedience to authority.
Milgram (1963) wanted to investigate whether Germans were particularly obedient to authority figures as this was a common explanation for the Nazi killings in World War II. Milgram selected participants for his experiment by newspaper advertising for male participants to take part in a study of learning at Yale University.
```
The procedure was that the participant was paired with another person and they drew lots to find out who would be the 'learner' and who would be the 'teacher.' The draw was fixed so that the participant was always the teacher, and the learner was one of Milgram's confederates (pretending to be a real participant).
The learner (a confederate called Mr. Wallace) was taken into a room and had electrodes attached to his arms, and the teacher and researcher went into a room next door that contained an electric shock generator and a row of switches marked from 15 volts (Slight Shock) to 375 volts (Danger: Severe Shock) to 450 volts (XXX).
Milgram (1963) was interested in researching how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person.
```
Stanley Milgram was interested in how easily ordinary people could be influenced into committing atrocities, for example, Germans in WWII.
Volunteers were recruited for a lab experiment investigating "learning" (re: ethics: deception). Participants were 40 males, aged between 20 and 50, whose jobs ranged from unskilled to professional, from the New Haven area. They were paid $4.50 for just turning up.At the beginning of the experiment, they were introduced to another participant, who was a confederate of the experimenter (Milgram).
They drew straws to determine their roles - learner or teacher - although this was fixed and the confederate was always the learner. There was also an "experimenter" dressed in a gray lab coat, played by an actor (not Milgram).
Two rooms in the Yale Interaction Laboratory were used - one for the learner (with an electric chair) and another for the teacher and experimenter with an electric shock generator.The "learner" (Mr. Wallace) was strapped to a chair with electrodes. After he has learned a list of word pairs given him to learn, the "teacher" tests him by naming a word and asking the learner to recall its partner/pair from a list of four possible choices.
The teacher is told to administer an electric shock every time the learner makes a mistake, increasing the level of shock each time. There were 30 switches on the shock generator marked from 15 volts (slight shock) to 450 (danger - severe shock).The learner gave mainly wrong answers (on purpose), and for each of these, the teacher gave him an electric shock. When the teacher refused to administer a shock, the experimenter was to give a series of orders/prods to ensure they continued.
There were four prods and if one was not obeyed, then the experimenter (Mr. Williams) read out the next prod, and so on.
Prod 1: Please continue.
Prod 2: The experiment requires you to continue.
Prod 3: It is absolutely essential that you continue.
Prod 4: You have no other choice but to continue.
65% (two-thirds) of participants (i.e., teachers) continued to the highest level of 450 volts. All the participants continued to 300 volts.
Milgram did more than one experiment - he carried out 18 variations of his study. All he did was alter the situation (IV) to see how this affected obedience (DV).
\*\*\*\*https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.htm
27
Describe the social impact theory. Identify the factors that influence the source's impact ad the target's resistance.
Social impact theory: The theory that social influence depends on the strength, immediacy and number of source persons relative to target persons.
The strength of a source is determined by his or her status, ability, or relationship to the target. The stronger the source, the greater the influence.
Immediacy refers to a source's proximity in time and space to the target. The closer the source, the greater its impact.
As the number of sources increases, so does their influence.
28
Briefly describes the hypothesis, research design, procedure, and results of Stanley Milgram's original experiment on obedience to authority.
Milgram (1963) wanted to investigate whether Germans were particularly obedient to authority figures as this was a common explanation for the Nazi killings in World War II. Milgram selected participants for his experiment by newspaper advertising for male participants to take part in a study of learning at Yale University.
```
The procedure was that the participant was paired with another person and they drew lots to find out who would be the 'learner' and who would be the 'teacher.' The draw was fixed so that the participant was always the teacher, and the learner was one of Milgram's confederates (pretending to be a real participant).
The learner (a confederate called Mr. Wallace) was taken into a room and had electrodes attached to his arms, and the teacher and researcher went into a room next door that contained an electric shock generator and a row of switches marked from 15 volts (Slight Shock) to 375 volts (Danger: Severe Shock) to 450 volts (XXX).
Milgram (1963) was interested in researching how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person.
```
Stanley Milgram was interested in how easily ordinary people could be influenced into committing atrocities, for example, Germans in WWII.
Volunteers were recruited for a lab experiment investigating "learning" (re: ethics: deception). Participants were 40 males, aged between 20 and 50, whose jobs ranged from unskilled to professional, from the New Haven area. They were paid $4.50 for just turning up.At the beginning of the experiment, they were introduced to another participant, who was a confederate of the experimenter (Milgram).
They drew straws to determine their roles - learner or teacher - although this was fixed and the confederate was always the learner. There was also an "experimenter" dressed in a gray lab coat, played by an actor (not Milgram).
Two rooms in the Yale Interaction Laboratory were used - one for the learner (with an electric chair) and another for the teacher and experimenter with an electric shock generator.The "learner" (Mr. Wallace) was strapped to a chair with electrodes. After he has learned a list of word pairs given him to learn, the "teacher" tests him by naming a word and asking the learner to recall its partner/pair from a list of four possible choices.
The teacher is told to administer an electric shock every time the learner makes a mistake, increasing the level of shock each time. There were 30 switches on the shock generator marked from 15 volts (slight shock) to 450 (danger - severe shock). The learner gave mainly wrong answers (on purpose), and for each of these, the teacher gave him an electric shock. When the teacher refused to administer a shock, the experimenter was to give a series of orders/prods to ensure they continued.
There were four prods and if one was not obeyed, then the experimenter (Mr. Williams) read out the next prod, and so on.
Prod 1: Please continue.
Prod 2: The experiment requires you to continue.
Prod 3: It is absolutely essential that you continue.
Prod 4: You have no other choice but to continue.
65% (two-thirds) of participants (i.e., teachers) continued to the highest level of 450 volts. All the participants continued to 300 volts.
Milgram did more than one experiment - he carried out 18 variations of his study. All he did was alter the situation (IV) to see how this affected obedience (DV).
\*\*\*\*https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.htm
29
List the variables that affected the level of obedience in Milgram's series of experiments on obedience to authority. Summarizes how each of these variables affected the level of obedience in the studies.
office building: when Milgram diminished the experimenter's status by moving his lab from the distinguished surroundings of Yale University to a rundown urban office building the rate of total obedience dropped to 48%
ordinary person in charge: when the experimenter was replaced by an ordinary person there was a reduction to 20% obedience.
experimenter in remote location: when the experimenter issued his commands by telephone, only 21% fully obeyed.
victim in the same room as a participant: only 40% fully obeyed.
participant required to touch victim: full obedience dropped to 30%
two confederates rebel: reduced to 10% obedience
30
Describe how the participants in the Milgram study behaved differently from the participants in the Gamson et al, study, and explain why.
Milgram's study produced passive obedience and Gamson's study produced passionate revolt.
One key difference is that people in Milgram's studies took part alone, and those in Gamson's were in groups.
31
Describe the social impact theory. Identify the factors that influence the source’s impact and the target’s resistance.
Latane (1981) proposed social impact theory - states that social influence of any kind, the total impact of others on a target person - is a function of the others' strength, immediacy, and number.
Social impact theory also predicts that people sometimes resist social pressure. According to Latane, this resistance is most likely to occur when social impact is divided among many strong and distant targets.
32
Explain how the social impact theory is relevant to conformity, compliance, and obedience.
conformity - when people view the other members as competent, they are more likely to conform in their judgments.
compliance - sources enhance their strength by making targets feel obligated to reciprocate a small favour.
obedience - is elicited when authority figures gain strength by wearing uniforms or flaunting their presigious affiliations.
33
Group members' attitudes about a course of action usually becomes more moderate after group discussion.
FALSE - Group discussion often causes attitudes to become more extreme as the initial tendencies of the group are exaggerated.
34
Groups are less likely than individuals to invest more and more resources in a project that is failing.
FALSE - Although individuals often feel entrapped by previous commitments and make things worse by throwing good money (and other resources) after bad, groups are even more prone to having this problem.
35
Large groups are more likely than small groups to exploit a scarce resource that the members collectively depend on.
TRUE - Large groups are more likely to behave selfishly when faced with resource dilemmas, in part because people in large groups feel less identifiable and more anonymous.
36
biased sampling
The tendency for groups to spend more time discussing shared information (information already known by all or most group members) than unshared information (information known by only one or a few group members).
37
brainstorming
A technique that attempts to increase the production of creative ideas by encouraging group members to speak freely without criticizing their own or others' contributions.
38
collective
People engaged in common activities but having minimal direct interaction.
39
collective effort model
The theory that individuals will exert effort on a collective task to the degree that they think their individual efforts will be important, relevant, and meaningful for achieving outcomes that they value.
40
deindividuation
The loss of a person's sense of individuality and the reduction of normal constraints against deviant behaviour.
41
distraction-conflict theory
A theory holding that the presence of others will produce social facilitation effects only when those others distract from the task and create attentional conflict.
42
escalation effect
The condition in which commitments to a failing course of action are increased to justify investments already made.
43
evaluation apprehension theory
A theory holding that the presence of others will produce social facilitation effects only when those others are seen as potential evaluators.
44
graduated and reciprocated initiatives in tension-reduction (GRIT)
A strategy for unilateral, persistent efforts to establish trust between opposing parties.
45
group cohesiveness
The extent to which forces exerted on a group push its members closer together.
46
group polarization
The exaggeration through group discussion of initial tendencies in the thinking of group members.
47
groupthink
A group decision-making style characterized by an excessive tendency among group members to seek concurrence.
48
integrative agreement
A negotiated resolution to a conflict in which all parties obtain outcomes that are superior to what they would have obtained from an equal division of the contested resources.
49
integrative agreement
A negotiated resolution to a conflict in which all parties obtain outcomes that are superior to what they would have obtained from an equal division of the contested resources.
50
When all members of a group give an incorrect response to any question, most people most of the time conform to that response.
FALSE
51
An effective way to get someone to do you a favour is to make a first request that is so large the person is sure to reject it.
TRUE
52
In experiments on obedience, most participants who were ordered to administer severe shocks to an innocent person refused to do so.
FALSE
53
As the number of people in a group increase, so does the impact on an individual.
FALSE
54
Conformity rates vary across different cultures and from one generation to the next.
TRUE
55
mere presence theory
A theory holding that the mere presence of others is sufficient to produce social facilitation effects.
56
prisoner's dilemma
A type of dilemma in which one party must make either cooperative or competitive moves in relation to another party; typically designed in such a way that competitive moves are more beneficial to either side, but if both sides make competitive moves, they are both worse off than if they both cooperated.
57
process loss
The reduction in group performance due to obstacles created by group processes, such as problems of coordination and motivation.
58
resource dilemmas
Social dilemmas concerning how two or more people share a limited resource.
59
social dilemma
A situation in which a self-interested choice by everyone creates the worst outcome for everyone.
60
social facilitation
A process whereby the presence of others enhances performance on easy tasks but impairs performance on difficult tasks.
61
social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE)
A model of group behaviour that explains deindividuation effects as the result of a shift from personal identity to social identity.
62
social loafing
A group-produced reduction in individual output on easy tasks where contributions are pooled.
63
transitive memory
A shared system for remembering information that enables multiple people to remember information together more efficiently than they could alone.
64
attachment style
The way a person typically interacts with significant others.
65
communal relationship
A relationship in which the participants expect and desire mutual responsiveness to each other's needs.
66
companionate love
A secure, trusting, stable partnership.
67
equity theory
The theory that people are most satisfied with a relationship when the ratio between benefits and contributions is similar for both partners.
68
exchange relationships
A relationships in which the participants expect and desire strict reciprocity in their interactions.
69
exchange relationships
A relationships in which the participants expect and desire strict reciprocity in their interactions.
70
People seek out the company of others, even strangers, in times of stress. T/F
True - Research has shown that external threat causes stress and leads people to affiliate with others who are facing or have faced a similar threat.
71
Infants do not discriminate between faces considered attractive and unattractive in their culture.
FALSE - Two-month-old infants spend more time gazing at attractive than unattractive facing, indicating that they do make the distinction.
72
People who are physically attractive are happier and have higher self-esteem than those who are unattractive.
FALSE - Attractive people are at an advantage in their social lives, but they are not happier, better adjusted, or higher in self-esteem.
73
When it comes to romantic relationships, opposites attract.
FALSE - Consistently, people are attracted to others who are similar - not opposite or complimentary - on a whole range of dimensions.
74
Men are more likely than women to interpret friendly gestures by the opposite sex in sexual terms.
TRUE - Experiments have shown that men are more likely than women to interpret friendly opposite-sex interactions as sexual come-ons.
75
After the honeymoon period, there is an overall decline in levels of marital satisfaction.
TRUE - High marital satisfaction levels among newlyweds are often followed by a measurable decline during the first year and then, after a period of stabilization, by another decline at about the eighth year - a pattern found among parents and non-parents alike.
76
excitation transfer
The process whereby arousal caused by one stimulus is added to arousal from a second stimulus and the combined arousal is attributed to the second stimulus.
77
hard-to-get effect
The tendency to prefer people who are highly selective in their social choices over those who are more readily available.
78
intimate relationship
A close relationship between two adults involving emotional attachment, fulfillment of psychological needs, or interdependence.
79
loneliness
A feeling of deprivation about existing social relations.
80
matching hypothesis
The proposition that people are attracted to others who are similar in physical attractiveness.
81
mere exposure effect
The phenomenon whereby the more often people are exposed to a stimulus, the more positively they evaluate that stimulus.
82
need for affiliation
The desire to establish and maintain many rewarding interpersonal relationships.
83
passionate love
Romantic love characterized by high arousal, intense attraction, and fear rejection.
84
reciprocity
A mutual exchange between what we give and receive - for example, liking those who like us.
85
self-disclosure
Revelations about the self that a person makes to others.
86
sexual orientation
One's sexual preference for members of the same sex, the opposite sex, or both sexes.
87
social exchange theory
A perspective that views people as motivated to maximize benefits and minimize costs in their relationships with others.
88
triangular theory of love
A theory proposing that love has three basic components - intimacy, passion, and commitment - which can be combined to produce eight subtypes.
89
what-is-beautiful-is-good stereotype
The belief that physically attractive individuals also possess desirable personality characteristics.
90
Distinguish between a group and a collective.
Define social facilitation. Explain how, according to Zajonc, the mere presence of others affects performance of different tasks.
91
Describe two alternative explanations for the social facilitation phenomenon.
The two alternative explanations for social facilitation phenomenon are mere presence theory, evaluation apprehension theory, distraction-conflict theory.
Mere presence theory is a theory holding that the mere presence of others is sufficient to produce social facilitation effects.
Evaluation apprehension theory proposes that performance will be enhanced or impaired only in the presence of others who are in a position to evaluate that performance.
Distraction-conflict theory is a theory holding that the presence of others will produce social facilitation effects only when those others distract from the task and create attentional conflict.
92
Describe the social loafing phenomenon. Identify factors that can reduce the likelihood of social loafing occurring when in a group.
The social loafing phenomenon is a group-reduced reduction in individual output on easy tasks when contributions are pooled.
Factors that can reduce the likelihood of social loafing occurring when a group are:
- people believe that their own performance can be identified and thus evaluated, by themselves or others.
- the task is important or meaningful to those performing it.
- people believe that their own efforts are necessary for a successful outcome.
- the group expects to be punished for poor performance.
- the group is small.
- the group is cohesive - that is, membership in the group is valuable and important to the members, and the individuals like each others.
93
Explain how the collective effort model is used to account for both social facilitation and social loafing.
This model asserts that individuals try hard on a collective task when they think their efforts will help them achieve outcomes that they personally value.
If the outcome is important to members of the group, and if they believe that they can help achieve the desired outcome, then these individuals are likely to engage in social compensation - by increasing their efforts on collective tasks to try to compensate for the anticipated social loafing or poor performance of other group members.
Conversely, if the outcome is not personally important to individual members, if they believe that their contribution won't affect the outcome very much, or if they feel they are unable to compensate for the anticipated social loafing of other members, then they are likely to exert less effort. This is sometimes called the sucker effect.
94
Define deindividuation.
Deindividuation is the loss of a person's sense of individuality and the reduction of normal constraints against deviant behaviour.
95
How can environmental cues and a sense of social identity affect the deindividuation process?
Two type of environmental cues - accountability cues and attentional cues - can affect eh individuation process.
Attentional cues focus a person's attention away from the self. In the "deindividuated state," the individual attends less to internal standards of conduct, reacts more to the immediate mutation, and is less sensitive to long-term consequences of behaviour.
Sometimes becoming less accountable, or less self-aware, allows us to be more responsive to the needs of others. According to the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE), whether deindividuation affects people for better or for worse seems to reflect the characteristics and norms of the group immediately surrounding the individual, as well as the group’s power to act according to these norms
96
Why do people join a group?
people may have an innate need to belong to groups, stem- ming from evolutionary pressures that increased people’s chances of survival and reproduction when they lived in groups rather than in isolation.
attraction to group life serves not only to protect against threat and uncertainty in a physical sense, but also to gain a greater sense of personal and social identity.
self-worth
understanding of self
social identity and connectedness
97
Outline the socialization process of new members to a group.
Once an individual has joined a group, a process of adjustment takes place.
The individual assimilates into the group, making whatever changes are necessary to fit in.
At the same time, the group accommodates the newcomer, making whatever changes are necessary
to include that individual.
Socialization of a new member into a group often relies heavily on the relationship between newcomers and established members.
Newcomers model their behaviour on what the old-timers do; old-timers may hold explicit training sessions for new- comers, serve as mentors, or develop close personal relationships with them to help them be successful in the group.
Effectively socializing new members can produce short-term and long-term benefits for the group as a whole.
Conversely, poor socialization can lead to many bad outcomes, including suppressing the potential contributions of newcomers or creating a lot of turnover and instability in the group.
98
Describe the stages in a group development process.
Stages of Group Development
■ Forming: Members try to orient themselves to the group. They often act in polite, exploratory ways with each other.
■ Storming:Memberstrytoinfluencethegroupsothatitbestfitstheirownneeds. They become more assertive about the group’s direction and what roles they would like to play in the group. A great deal of conflict and hostility may arise, along with feelings of excitement about what might be achieved.
■ Norming: Members try to reconcile the conflicts that emerged during storming and develop a common sense of purpose and perspective. They establish norms and roles and begin to feel more commitment to the group.
■ Performing: Members try to perform their tasks and maximize the group’s per- formance. They operate within their roles in the group and try to solve problems to allow them to achieve their shared goals.
■ Adjourning: Members disengage from the group, distancing themselves from the other members and reducing their activities within the group. This may occur if members believe that the benefits of staying in the group no longer outweigh the costs.
(Based on Tuckman, 1965; Tuckman & Jensen, 1977.)
99
Describe the function of roles, norms, and cohesiveness in a group, and explain their influence on group behaviour.
Roles:
two fundamental types of roles:
1. an instrumental role to help the group achieve its tasks
2. an expressive role to provide emotional support and maintain morale.
Having a set of clear roles can be beneficial to a group.
Norms:
- Breaking a group norm can be very difficult and even traumatic for a group member.
- Co-workers are especially reluctant to report the unethical behaviour of others on their work teams, fearing the social consequences of reporting on a member of the group
Cohesiveness:
- make it hard to break group norms
- the forces exerted on a group that push its members closer together
- factors contributing to group cohesiveness are: commitment to the group task, attraction to group members, group pride, and number and intensity of interactions.
100
Define risky shift and group polarization. Are both the same phenomenon? Why, or why not?
The term "risky shift" was coined to describe the tendency for groups to become riskier than the average of the individuals.
Researchers concluded that group discussion tends to enhance or exaggerate the initial leanings of the group. Thus, if most group members initially lean toward a risky position on a particular issue, the group’s position becomes even riskier after the discussion; but if group members in general initially lean toward a cau- tious position, the group discussion leads to greater caution. This effect is called group polarization—the exaggeration through group discussion of initial tendencies in the thinking of group members
Risky shift is a form of group polarization.
101
Summarize the processes by which group polarization can be facilitated.
What creates group polarization? Three processes are usually emphasized:
1. According to persuasive arguments theory, the greater the number and persuasiveness of the arguments to which group members are exposed, the more extreme their attitudes become. If most group members favour a cautious deci- sion, for example, most of the arguments discussed will favour caution, giving the members more and more reason to think caution is the correct approach
2. According to social comparison theory, in a group discussion, people may discover more support for their own opinion than they had originally anticipated. This discovery then sets up a new, more extreme norm and motivates group members to go beyond that norm. If believing X is good, then believing twice X is even better. By adopting a more extreme attitudinal position, people can distinguish themselves in the group in a manner
3. In addition, group polarization is influenced by social categorization, the tendency for people to categorize themselves and others in terms of social groups. The social categorization approach compares how individuals react to information from ingroups (to which they belong or want to belong) and outgroups (to which they don’t belong and don’t want to belong). Ingroup members may want to distinguish their group from other groups, and so they overestimate the extremity of their group’s position and distance themselves from the position of an outgroup
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Define groupthink. What are the antecedents, behavioural symptoms, and consequences of groupthink?
Groupthink: A group decision-making style characterized by an excessive tendency among group members to seek concurrence.
The antecedents of group think are: high cohesiveness, group structure, stressful situations.
The behavioural symptoms of groupthink are: • Overestimation of the group • Close-mindedness • Increased pressures toward uniformity
Mindguards and pressure on dissenters Self-censorship Illusion of unanimity
The consequences of groupthink are:
Defective decision making
Incomplete survey of alternatives Incomplete survey of objectives Failure to examine risks of preferred choice Failure to reappraise initially rejected alternatives Poor information search Selective bias in processing information at hand Failure to work out contingency plans
• High probability of a bad decision
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How can groupthink be prevented?
Three strategies:
- To avoid isolation, groups should consult widely with outsiders.
■ To reduce conformity pressures, leaders should explicitly encourage criticism and not take a strong stand early in the group discussion.
■ To establish a strong norm of critical review, sub- groups should separately discuss the same issue, a member should be assigned to play devil’s advocate and question all decisions and ideas, and a “second chance” meeting should be held to reconsider the group decision before taking action.
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In what ways does group performance vary with the types of tasks performed in a group?
i) Additive task: the group product is the SUM of all members contributions. People often indulge in social loafing.
ii) Conjunctive: the group product is determined by the individual with the poorest perfomance. Performance tends to be worse than the performance of a single average individual. Ex. mountain climbing
iii) Disjunctive: the group product is determined by the performance of the individual with the best performance. Groups have an edge on individuals in the performance of disjunctive tasks, the more people involved, the more likely it is that someone will make a breakthrough, but group process can interfere with coming up with ideas and getting them accepted
105
How does goal setting in a group affect the group's performance?
a) When goals are SMART and members are commited, groups tend to perform better
b) Goals are more effective than do your best or no goals sat all
106
Define a social dilemma.
A situation in which a self- interested choice by everyone creates the worst outcome for everyone.
107
Describe the prisoner's dilemma and the resource dilemma.
Prisoner's Dilemma:
a dilemma where one party must make either cooperative or competitive moves in relation to another party; designed in such a way that competitive moves are more beneficial to either side, but if both sides make competitive moves, they are both worse off than if they both cooperate (ex. Arms race)
Resource Dilemma:
a) social dilemmas concerning how two or more people share a limited resource.
i) Comes in two forms: commons dilemmas (if all take, everyone suffers), public goods dilemmas (if no one contributes, no one benefits)
108
Describe how threat capacity and perceptions of others can escalate group conflict.
Threat capacity--the ability to punish someone who engages in a prohibited behaviour can act as a deterrent to conflict escalation. Having the capacity to attack can present an irresistible temptation to do so. Once coercive means are available, people tend to use them, even when doing so damages their own outcomes
Perceptions of others-- negative views of "the other" can result in dehumanization, the perception that people lack human qualities or are subhuman can play a powerful role in escalating conflict and promoting prejudice or violence. Can result in dehumanization. Escalates conflict and promotes prejudice or violence
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What are the strategies that are commonly used to reduce group conflict?
a) graduated and reciprocated initiatives in tension reduction (GRIT)
i) strategy for unilateral persistent efforts to establish trust and cooperation between opposing parties. One group takes the first move toward cooperation by making the initial concession. The other groups responds to aggressiveness with aggressiveness and cooperativeness with cooperativeness
b) negotiation and compromise
110
What is the difference between an arbitrator and a mediator?
a) Arbitrator: the power to impose a settlement
b) Mediator: works with groups to try and reach a voluntary agreement
111
Describe the need for affiliation.
the desire to establish and maintain rewarding interpersonal relationship
lack of affiliation leads to loneliness.
112
Define social anxiety.
Intense feelings of discomfort in situations that invite public scrutiny
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What is the relationship between affiliation and stress?
- Stress increases the desire to affiliate, only when being with others is seen as useful in reducing the negative impact of the stressful situation.
- People experiencing imminent threat seek others (even strangers) in order to gain cognitive clarity about the danger they are in
- Under stress we adaptively become motivated to affiliate with others who can help us cope with an impending threat
- Misery loves the company of those in the same miserable situation
114
Define loneliness, and identify the factors that are associated with loneliness. What coping strategies do people use to combat loneliness?
a feeling of deprivation about existing social situations
i) Discrepancy between level of social contact that a person has and the level he or she wants
ii) The less social contact people have the lonelier they feel
iii) Most likely to occur during times of transition or disruption (moving out, breakups)
iv) People who are attached are less lonely than single people
v) Loneliest group are 18-30 years old
i) Try harder to be friendly to other people
ii) Reading or watching tv
iii) Try extra hard to succeed in other areas of life
iv) Distracting self
v) Improve physical appearance
vi) Talk to a friend or therapist
vii) people also use non-constructive coping strategies such as alcohol or drugs
115
What role do rewards play in interpersonal attraction?
- According to one perspective people are attracted to others with whom a rewarding relationship seems possible.
- Rewards may be direct, (attention, support, money, status, info). Rewards can also be indirect, feels good to be with someone who is beautiful, smart, funny or who happens to be in our presence when times are good.
- A second perspective is evolutionary. Humans select mates that favor birth, conception, and survival of their offspring.
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What is the relationship between proximity and interpersonal attraction? Through what process does this relationship develop?
a) The best predictor of whether two people will get together is physical proximity-nearness. Our most impactful social interactions occur among people who are in the same place at the same time.
b) Where we live influences the friends that we make.
c) Proximity does not necessarily spark attraction to the extent that it increases frequency of contact, it's a good first step.
Develops through the mere exposure effect: phenomenon whereby the more often people are exposed to a stimulus, the more positively they evaluate that stimulus.
117
What are the objective factors that influence perceptions of beauty?
i) Weight, height, hair colour. Men are more drawn to an hourglass figure, seen in women of average weight whose waists are a third narrower than their hips. Women like men with a waist to hip ratio that forma a tapering V shape physique.
ii) Smooth skin on face, pleasant expression, youthfulness and a direct gaze. People like faces in which the eyes, nose, lips are not too different from the norm-familiarity.Symmetry.
iii) Infants spend more time looking at and tracking attractive faces, regardless of the age of the face.
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Why are people attracted to beautiful people?
a) It's inherently rewarding to be in the company of people who are aesthetically appealing, we derive pleasure from beautiful people the same way that we enjoy a breathtaking landscape or a magnificent work of art.
b) What is beautiful is good stereotype: the belief that physically attractive individuals also possess desirable personality characteristics.
119
Describe the what is beautiful is good stereotype
the belief that physically attractive individuals also possess desirable personality characteristics.
120
Describe the benefits and costs of being physically beautiful
a) Benefits: More popular, more sexually experienced, and more socially skilled.
Costs: Disadvantages: Can't always tell if the attention and praise they receive from others are due to their talent, or looks.
121
How do similarity and dissimilarity influence our attraction to people during initial encounters?
a) We are more likely to be drawn to those who are similar to us. We avoid associating with those who are dissimilar and then we are drawn to those who are most similar.
b) We avoid those we don't like and then, out of those left, we select who is the most similar to us.
Types of similarity/dissimilarity
- -Demographic (age, education, race, religion, economic status, shared opinions, interests and values) --\> drawn to those with similar backgrounds and beliefs as us
- -attitude similarity
- -Similarity in attractiveness
- -Subjective experience
122
Describe the matching hypothesis.
people tend to become involved romantically with others who are equivalent in their physical attractiveness.
123
Is there any research support for the complementarity hypothesis, that is, "opposites attract"?
No
124
Define reciprocity in relationships? What is it's role?
Reciprocity: A mutual exchange between what we give and receive- for example, liking those who like us.Liking is mutual, which is why we tend to like others who like us.
A state of balance exists when there's reciprocity
125
Describe the hard-to-get effect.
The tendency to prefer people who are highly selective/unavailable/non-responsive in their social choices over those who are more readily available.
BUT We are actually turned off by people who reject us.
126
Provide research evidence for an evolutionary perspective to mate selection
David Buss argues that people exhibit mate selection patterns that favour the conception, birth and survival of their offspring and women and me employ different strategies to achieve that common goal.
- Women must be more selective because they are biologically limited in the number of children they can have. She therefore has to find a mate that possesses economic resources and is willing to commit to those resources to support her offspring.
- Men seek out women who are young and physically attractive, attributes that signal health and reproductive fertility. They also favour chastity, so pursue women they think will be sexually faithful.
- Also consistent with evolutionary theories are the tendency for men to seek younger women (fertility) and women to desire older men (financial resources).
- These theories were tested in a survey of 10 047 people in 37 cultures. The results were consistent with the predictions.
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1) Explain the concepts of comparison level, comparison level alternatives, and investment in the social exchange theory. How do these concepts work together to influence the perceptions of and commitment to relationships?
Comparison Level: the average expected outcome in a relationship
i) High CL = high reward expectation (if a person has high comparison levels expects highly rewarding relationships)
ii) Low CL = low reward expectation. (a bad relationship can look good to someone with low CL)
Comparison Level Alternatives: people's expectations about what they would receive in an alternative situation. If the rewards are high elsewhere, the person is less likely to be committed to staying in the present relationship. If people perceive low comparison levels, they tend to remain, even in unsatisfying relationships.
Investment: something a person puts into a relationship that he or she cannot recover if the relationship ends. Investments increase commitment.
Commitment levels predict how long a relationship will last. The best outcomes are those in which each partner is committed and views the other as equally committed.
128
Describe the equity theory
the theory that people are most satisfied with a relationship when the ratio between benefits and contributions is similar for both partners
If one partner believes they make a greater contribution, than the balance is disturbed. Under-benefited partners feel angry and resentful and over-benefited partners feel guilty because they are profiting unfairly.
129
In what ways is equity theory similar to the social exchange theory?
Unlike Social Exchange Theory that argues how people try to maximise rewards and minimise costs in relationships, Equity Theory suggests that partners are concerned about fairness in relationships. Fairness is achieved when people feel they get approximately what they deserve from relationships.
Equity theory is a specific version of how social exchange operates in interpersonal interactions
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How are communal relationships different from exchange relationships?
Communal relationships are those in which the participants expect and desire mutual responsiveness to each others needs. Partners respond to each other's needs and well-being over time, without regard for whether they have given or received a benefit.
Usually limited to close friends, romantic partners, and family members.
Exchange relationships are a relationship in which the participants expect and desire strict reciprocity in their interaction. Tit-for-tat repayament of benefits. People want costs to be quickly offset by compensation. FOund in business, strangers, and casual relationships.
131
What are the different types of attachment styles?
Secure attachment
Anxious attachment
Avoidance Attachment
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Describe secure attachment
child is comfortable with going out and exploring
sees the caregiver as reliable and a secure source of comfort
prefers the caregiver to strangers
secure = cry when mom leaves and beams with delight when returns.
Insecure = shows only one of the above.
Secure = Likely to be more positive in their outlook toward others. Satisfying relationships that are happy, friendly, based on trust, and enduring. Cognitively see people as good-hearted and believe in romantic love. Find it relatively easy to get close to others and are comfortable depending on them and having them depend on you. DOn't worry about being abandoned or about someone being too close.
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describe the anxious attachment style
cling and cry when mother leaves but then greet her with anger or apathy upon return. Report a love life full of emotional highs and lows, obsessive preoccupation, greater willingness than others to make long-term commitments, and extreme sexual attraction and jealousy. Perception of greater conflict than what is actually true.
Find that others are reluctant to get as close as they'd like. Worry that partner doesn't love you or won't want to stay with me. Want to merge completely with another person
134
Describe avoidance attachment
not reacting on either occasion. Fear of intimacy and believe that romantic love is doomed to fade. Detached.
Somewhat uncomfortable being close to others, difficulty trusting completely, difficult to depend on other people. Gets nervous when people get too close.
135
Describe the three basic components of triangular theory of love
intimacy: emotional component, involves liking and feelings of closeness
passion: the motivational component, contains drives that trigger attraction, romance, and sexual desire
commitment: the cognitive component, reflects the decision to make a long term commitment to a loved partner
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What are the types of love resulting from the combination of the triangular theory of love's three components? (show combinations)
Liking = intimacy alone
Romantic love = intimacy + passion
Infatuation = passion alone
Fatuous Love = Passion + Commitment
Empty Love = Commitment alone
Companionate love = Intimacy + commitment
Consummate love = Intimacy + Passion + Commitment
Non-Love = Absence of all three components.
137
Define passionate love
Romantic love characterized by high arousal, intense attraction, and fear of rejection. Emotionally intense and often erotic state of absorption in another person.
The stuff you see in romance novels, popular music, poems, and soap operas.
138
Define companionate love
Secure, trusting, stable partnership
139
Define excitation transfer. Describe the roles that arousal and excitation transfer play in the experience of passionate love.
a) Excitation transfer: the process where arousal caused by one stimulus is added to arousal from a second stimulus, and the combined arousal is attributed to the second stimulus.
Arousal leads to higher levels of attraction.
Ex. Sweaty palms, pounding heart, weak knees may be falsely attributed to an attractive person in the vicinity and misconstrued as passionate love.
Ex. Man crossing bridge that's scary is more likely to call the woman he conversed with than a man crossing a bridge that is stable.
Ex. Seeing a person after exercise and rating them as more attractive than when no/little exercise.
140
Define self-disclosure
revelations about the self that a person makes to others
141
Describe typical patterns of self-disclosure in the development of relationships.
Partners reveal more to each other as their relationship grows over time. Self-disclosure is a basic form of social exchange that unfolds as relationships develop.
Patterns of self-disclosure change according to the state of a relationship. First encounter: people tend to reciprocate other's self-disclosure with their own (polite to match self-disclosure). Once relationship is established, strict reciprocity occurs less. Couples in distress = breadth and depth decrease as partners withdraw from on another, for others the breadth decreases but the depth increases.
Individuals differ in the tendency to share private, intimate thoughts with others. Women tend to open up more than men. People self-disclose more to women than men.
142
Describe patterns of marital satisfaction and their relation to break-ups.
Marriage satisfaction declines after year one of marriage, again in 8th year, also after birth of first child. Satisfaction generally increases again when kids grow (empty nest).
143
Describe two communication patters that couples use in times of conflict and the consequences of using them.
Negative affect reciprocity: tit-for-tat exchange of expressions of negative feelings. Expressions of negative affect within a couple trigger more in-kind responses than do expressions of positive affect. More pervasive in couples that are unhappy, distressed, and locked into a duel. Ex. Not noticing smiles, but noticing every glare and disgusted look. results in inability to break vicious cycle and terminate unpleasant interactions.
Demand/withdraw interaction pattern: wife demands to discuss problems, only to become frustrated when husband withdraws. Female demand/male withdraw pattern. Results in "you don't understand" mentality.
144
Describe two attribution styles that couples use in times of conflict and the consequences of using those styles
Relationship-enhancing attributions: seeing partner's undesirable behaviours as caused by situation as opposed to internal factors. Good = internal, bad = situational. Seen in healthy couples
Distress-Maintaining attributions: not giving an inch, everything is attributed to the individual not the situation. Seen in unhappy couples.
145
What are the factors that influence how well a person copes with the ending of an intimate relationship?
a) Depends on the nature of the loss.
b) The more one incorporates a partner into the self, the more lasting the relationship is likely to be, but the more distress one anticipates if there is a break up.
c) The more interdependent couples are, the more devastated they become when it ends.
