Group Behavior

Question 1

What is Social Facilitation

Answer 1

improved performance on simple or well learned tasks in the presence of others.

Question 2

Why do we perform better when other people are there

Answer 2

Because when others observe us, we become aroused, and this arousal amplifies our other reactions. It strengthens our most likely response—the correct one on an easy task, an incorrect one on a difficult task.

Question 3

What is Social Loafing

Answer 3

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable.

Question 4

What 3 things cause social loafing

Answer 4

1. People acting as part of a group feel less accountable, and therefore worry less about what others think.
2. Group members may view their individual contributions as dispensable
3. When group members share equally in the benefits, regardless of how much they contribute, some may slack off (as you perhaps have observed on group assignments). Unless highly motivated and strongly identified with the group, people may free ride on others’ efforts.

Question 5

What is Deindividuation

Answer 5

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

Question 6

What is Group Polarization

Answer 6

the tendency for groups to show a shift towards the extremes of decision-making when compared to decisions made by individuals

Question 7

What is Groupthink

Answer 7

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Question 8

What is the difference between social control and personal control

Answer 8

Social control (the power of the situation) trying to change the behavior of others to fit your wishes, and personal control (the power of the individual) trying to change for own behavior for a particular reason, interact

Question 9

What is minority influence

Answer 9

a form of social influence, takes place when a member of a minority group influences the majority to accept the minority’s beliefs or behavior.

Question 10

What is Culture

Answer 10

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Question 11

What are Norms

Answer 11

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe “proper” behavior.