Group Processes

Question 1

Categorisation

Answer 1

two or more individuls who percieve themselves to be members of the same social category

Question 2

communication

Answer 2

two or more people who think of themselves as a group, are interdependent and communicate with one another

Question 3

influence

Answer 3

two or more persons who are interacting with one another in such a manner that the person influences and is influenced by each other person

Question 4

shared identity

Answer 4

two or more people possessing a common social identification

Question 5

shared tasks and goals

Answer 5

three or more people who work together interdependently on an agreed upon actitivy or goal

Question 6

interdependence

Answer 6

a dynamic whole based on interdependence rather than similarity

Question 7

what is not a group

Answer 7

-people who share some superficial similarity
-need for meaningul social connection between group members
-family
-emotional relationships

Question 8

Forsyth’s definition of a group

Answer 8

a group is two or more inidviduals who are connected by and within social relationships

Question 9

group size

Answer 9

range in size from two members to many thousands

Question 10

connection

Answer 10

members of a group are connected to each other like series of networked computers

Question 11

social relationships

Answer 11

people in a group are linked by their membership

Question 12

list the main characteristics of groups

Answer 12

1. interaction
2. goals
3. interdependence
4. structure
5. cohesiveness

Question 13

interaction

Answer 13

create, organise and sustain relationship nd task interactions among members

Question 14

goals

Answer 14

groups have instrumental purposes

Question 15

interdependence

Answer 15

members of a group depend on each other

Question 16

structure

Answer 16

group members are connected to each other in organised and predictable patterns

Question 17

cohesiveness

Answer 17

closeness and solidarity of a group as a result of the development of strong and mutual interpersonal bonds among members

Question 18

why are groups important to investigate

Answer 18

-groups influence their memebrs and society

Question 19

social lofing

Answer 19

presence of other people can result in reduced effort of individual members

Question 20

variables that influence tendency to loaf

Answer 20

-identifiability
-individual responsibility
-commitment to task

Question 21

collective effort model

Answer 21

individuals will be willing to exert effort on a collective task only to the degree that they expect their efforts to be instrumental in obtaining valued outcomes.

Question 22

social loafing occurs when

Answer 22

people don’t believe that their individual efforts can result in acheiving valued outcomes
outcome of a group performance is viewed as trivial, not valued

Question 23

risky shift

Answer 23

Stoner found that groups made riskier decisions than individuals

Question 24

Group polarisation

Answer 24

a general tendency for group decision to be more extreme than the mean of its members position, in the direction favoured by the mean.

Question 25

what is key to group polarisation

Answer 25

discussion among group members is key

Question 26

why does group discussion lead to polarisation

Answer 26

the idea of INFORMATIONAL INFLUENCE persuasive arguments theory Group discussion brings to light previously unknown information that supports the individuals position

Question 27

normative influence - why does group discussion lead to polarisation

Answer 27

desire for social approval and wish to avoid social censure discussion reveals the socially desirable position and members of the group want to be seen to be adhering to this position

Question 28

social identity processes - why does group discussion lead to polarisation

Answer 28

individuals in the group create a group norm to define membership in the decision making group and then conform to that norm ingroup position is polarised away from outgroups self categorization produces conformity to the polarised ingroup norm

Question 29

Groupthink

Answer 29

group decision making process that produces poor decisions, a mode of thinking in which the desire to reach unanimous agreement overrides the motivation to adopt proper rational decision-making procedures.

Question 30

Conditions that foster group think

Answer 30

-a high degree of group cohesiveness -insulation of group from external information and influemce -lack of impartial leadership -absence of systematic decision-making procedures -high stress from external threat

Question 31

symptoms of groupthink

Answer 31

-illusion of invulnerability -illusion of unanimity -suppression of personal doubts -self appointed mindguards

Question 32

illusion of invulnerability

Answer 32

illusion of being invulnerable to dangers that might arise from risky action

Question 33

illusion of unanimity

Answer 33

members wrongly believing in group consensus

Question 34

suppression of personal doubts

Answer 34

in atmosphere of assumed consensus people suppress their objections

Question 35

self appointed mindguards

Answer 35

members of a cohesive group supress any deviations from the group norm by applying direct social pressure on dissidents

Question 36

stages of group think theory

Answer 36

antecedent conditions symptoms of group think poor decision making

Question 37

how to prevent groupthink

Answer 37

-leaders should encourage critical evaluation of decisions and be open to criticism of their own judgements -leaders should state issues in an impartial way -groups to brek into subgroups with seperate leaders in reviewing alternative options -discuss group decisions with non-group members -consult qualified individuals outside the group regularly - a group member assigned to the role of devils advocate -alternative courses of action that opponents could take shuld be reviewed.

Question 38

critical evaluation of groupthink theory

Answer 38

support from case studies, but limited support from lab research -importance of leadership in the quality of group decison making