Lecture 5: groups Flashcards
- intragroup processes
2. intergroup processes
- how the social group influences an individual
- how the individual perceives social groups
and
context in which the individual as a group member interacts with out-groups
intragroup processes
1. what is a group
- whats interdependence
- task interdependence
- social interdependence
- 2+ people who share common characteristics (or goal) that is socially meaningful to themselves or for others
- the extent to which each group member’s thoughts, feelings and actions impact the others
- reliant on each other for mastery of rewards through the performance of collective tasks
- reliant on each other for feelings of connectedness, respect and acceptance
= most skewed to either task or social interdependence
intragroup processes: types of groups
- primary or intimacy group
- secondary or task groups
- family, close circle
= social interdependence
= can solve problems or tasks together - work teams, committees
= task interdependence
= but social interdependece can influence performance
-> if members get along well, performance will improve
intragroup processes: entering and exiting a group
- new group formation: Tuckman
- effectiveness/performance at each stage
- series of stages, not all groups go through all of these stages or in the same order
forming -> storming-> norming-> performing-> adjourning
2.
forming = initial high effectiveness/performance
storming = drops
norming = climbing upwards
performing = highest effectiveness/performance
intragroup processes: entering and exiting a group
- what is forming
- form group
- members try to understand their interdependence -> is it social, task or a mix?
- structure, hierarchy
- what is the goal
- facilitated by assigning group leaders
= normally some confusing amongst group members while people are understanding the nature of the group
intragroup processes: entering and exiting a group
- what is storming?
- process of negotiation around the nature of the roles people occupy and responsibilities
- conflict can occur:
> relationships (personalities)
> task (different views on content, structure and goals)
> process conflict (strategies and tactics) - conflict can impact later performance and commitment
> relationship and process conflict decrease performance
> task conflict can increase performance
intragroup processes: entering and exiting a group
- What is norming?
- general tendencie for members to behaviour by undefined rules
- consensus, harmony, stability and coming to identify with the group
- disagreements resolved by consensual norms
- members feel sense of trust and liking
- commitment to group is high
intragroup processes: entering and exiting a group
- performing
- fulfil the primary goal
> solve problems, make decisions, produce outputs - exchange of information
- productive resolution of disagreements
- continued commitment to group goals
intragroup processes: entering and exiting a group
- what is adjourning
- Dissolution of group
> group has fulfilled its purpose
> reflection and evaluation of group performance
-> this can be stressful if commitment members identify strongly with the group and are very committed
what doesn’t Tuckman’s model account for?
- when an individual joins within an existing group
- > what a new member goes through as a new member enters the group
Group socialization theory
- -> what is it?
- -> Moreland and Leviene key idea
- investigation, socialisation and maintenance
(think of it as sororities)
- -> when an individual enters a pre-existing group
- -> involve the individual engaging with the group and the group shaping the individual
- mutual/bi-directional processes:
- investigation: potential member seeks information about a group; group seeks information about a potential member
- socialisation: group tries to mould the individual into one of them; member acquires and internalizes group knowledge, norms and form an identity
- maintenance: new member fully committed, takes on specific roles within a group
effects of the group on the individual
- social facilitation
- > Triplett
1. bike racers
- children - fishing line
- increase in the likelihood of highly accessible responses and decreases in the likelihood of less accessible responses, due to the presence of others
- >
- bicycle racers = fastest those racing against others
= presence of others improves task performance
- kids -> wind a fishing line
- > kids performed better in the presence of others compared to when they were alone
effects of the group on the individual
- when does the presence of others improve task performance, when does it make it worse?
- > Markus - results
- familiar task = taking off and putting on shoes
unfamiliar task = dressing/undressing with new items of clothing (novel items)
independent variables =
- familiarity and unfamiliarity
- alone, mere presence of others, attentive watching others
dependent = RT
2. familiar task results fastest: watched 2nd fastest: present last: alone
unfamiliar task results
fastest: alone
2nd fastest: present
last: watched
= mere presence of others and being watched improves the performance of familiar actions but impairs performance of unfamiliar actions
effects of the group on the individual
why when performing an unfamiliar task does the presence of others decrease performance?
when does (insert a physiological response) lead to better performance?
- dominant
- nondominant
the presence of others can increase arousal
-> evaluation apprehension and distraction
arousal can lead to better performance for well-rehearsed, accessible responses
= dominant responses
worse performance for a novel, complex and inaccessible responses
= nondominant responses
what is social loafing?
Latane, Williamd and Harkins
exerting less effort on a task when in a group compared to being alone
- clap or cheer as loudly as they could
> measured loudness
both clapping and cheering = decrease in task performance as the group gets bigger
maximum performance alone
exerts less effort the larger group
what can be done to reduce social loafing?
- changing the nature of the task
loaf less = when the task is interesting to the individual - increase the accountability of individual members
- reduce group size
- increase commitment to or identification with the group
> identifying with the group rather than the task
- > more prevalent in individualistic cultures
- > prevalent in collectivist cultures but not to the same extent
- what is de-individuation?
- what is it caused by?
- why do group norms become increasingly accessible?
- -> change the nature of the accessible self
-> group/social identity dominates individual identity
-> group norm become maximally salient
= one acts as a prototypical group member
2.
- anonymity (anonymous)
- wearing uniforms
- being in a crowd of group members
- one among similar others
- standards attached to personal values are downplayed and are less accessible
- group norm shape behaviour: this can be prosocial or antisocial
Acting on the basis of accessible norms
-> Johnson and Downing
- 2 variables
- what did they do
- results
(Q = how does the wearing of a uniform impact the accessibility of group norms)
1) 2 variables:
1. costume to wear either a nurse of KKK (representing group norms)
= both have strong norms
- kkk = aggressive
- nurse = positive, caring
- either wears a mask or no mask (representing individuation)
2) give shocks to a fellow participant
3) KKK - much stronger shocks compared to nurses
wearing a mask = group norm is exacerbated (effect of the norm is stronger)
e.g. nurses = anonymous (masks) gave a lot less shocks -> individuated
KKK = anonymous (mask) gave more shocks
Power and leadership
- what is leadership?
- what is power?
- a process in which one or more group members are permitted to influence and motivate others to help attain group goals
=its not static. It’s not something you are but it’s something you do
- the ability to provide or withhold rewards and punishments from others
= potential to influence others
= someone is power isn’t necessarily a leader
= people might resist/reject this influence and not recognise the powerful person as a leader
-> NOT everyone with power is in a leadership position
who become leaders?
- prototypical characteristics
- people view the best leaders as…
- we fall prey to…
- prototypical characteristics
- assertive behaviour
- dominant body behaviour
- frequent speech (people who talk a lot)
- gender (males) - people who are prototypical of the group
- share characteristics with the group stereotype
- high identifiers - perception bias
what do leaders do?
- leadership styles
leaders defined along connectedness (people) and mastery (results) (2 motivational principles)
Delegating = high directive, low supportive
Supporting = low directive, high supportive
Coaching (best) = high directive, high supportive
Directing = low directive, low supportive
What defines good leadership?
1. universalistic approach
- contingency approach
- leadership traits/ behaviours
- product of personality x skills x content
- > context = task, environment
- > followers = uniform/diverse
- > leader = change style based on contextual requirements of the group they are in
is the contingency approach related to better performance?
Homan and Greer
results:
1. consideration
2. diversity
- leaders who showed low consideration didn’t necessarily impact group performance -> trends downwards but isn’t significant
considerate relationship didn’t predict better performance
= overall effect of the considerate relationship wasn’t significant
2. homogenous groups ( low diversity) = consideration has no impact
heterogeneous groups (high diversity) = high consideration leadership results in better performance
contingency theories of leadership = impactful on heterogenous groups
defining leadership effectiveness, valuing “me and mine”
- transformational leadership
- identity leadership
1. Inspirational vision/moral direction > inspiration > group dedication > well-being and morale > highly attentive to group members needs
- embedded in social identity theory
> no sense of a group without a sense of social identity
> leaders should manage social identities effectively
> create, representing and advancing group identity
