Week 23: Social Thinking and People in Groups

Question 1

Groups

Answer 1

3+ people
- shared goals + needs
- permenant - familyy
- temporary - school team
- natural - family
- deliberate - employees

specific social norms in groups
- unwritten rules governing behaviour
- enhance survival/reproduction
- Can facilitate or inhibit various processes

Question 2

Social Facilitation

Answer 2

Happens when people are working alone
* but in the presence of an audience

Performance is enhanced on simple, well-learned tasks

Diminished on novel, complex tasks

Question 3

Triplett (1898)
Co-action effect

Answer 3

Cycling: Individual times slower than group times

He observed same thing with kids
reeling in fishing lines
*When people doing the same thing, most people perform faster

Limitation:
Sometimes we do worse in groups than alone

Question 4

Zajonc (1965)
Dominant Response

Answer 4

Reformulation in terms of facilitation of one’s dominant response

Dominant Response Strong
- anything practiced and really well learned is a dominant response

Dominant Response Weak
- first time learner or less practiced

Question 5

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Answer 5

Arousal due to mere presence of others affects performance

Dominant Response Strong will make us perform really well in presence of others

Dominant Response Weak will make us even more stressed and perform not well

*Optimal arousal is medium
* high will cause anxiety, stress
* low will cause boredom, sleepiness

Question 6

Zajonc’s modified Yerkes-
Dodson Law
- Different types of tasks have
different optimal levels of arousal
ORIGINAL YERKES-DODSON LAW

Answer 6

• Optimal arousal actually on lower end when less practiced
• Optimal arousal actually on higher end when more practiced

Ex. Pool players example

• good players got better with audience
• bad players got worse with audience

Question 7

Evaluation Apprehension - arousal

Answer 7

worried about other people judging our performance

Question 8

Distraction - arousal

Answer 8

less focus on task, due to other stimuli

Question 9

Competition - arousal

Answer 9

others doing same task effect our performance

Question 10

Social Loafing
&
Diminished Performance

Answer 10

Happens when people are working together towards some goal
- The more people in the group, the less each individual contributes

Question 11

Ringelmann’s (1880s)
research on pulling strength and diminished performance

Answer 11

Mechanism Question
- Coordination loss vs. loss of motivation?

participant pulling rope by themselves

IV - researchers would either be present not pulling rope (pretending to pull) or not present at all

DV - pulling power diminished

Question 12

Diffusion of evaluation

Answer 12

people think their one individual self has less impact

Question 13

How to deal with social loafing

Answer 13

monitor each individual output in the group

Question 14

stats on who aloafs

Answer 14

men more than women

boring less than interesting tasks

strangers more than friends

individualistic cultures vs. collective cultures

Question 15

Group think

Answer 15

Social cohesion is favoured over factual information

“Go along to get along”

Occurs when group is
- Homogenous
- Isolated from contradictory opinion
- Lead by directive leader
- High stress
- Poor procedures

Results in
- Perception of invulnerability
- Belief in correctness
- Elimination of dissenters

▪ Creates illusion of unanimity
- Self-censorship
- Mindguarding the leader

Titanic Situation
“Even God Himself would not sink this ship”
- Illusion of invulnerability
- Belief in correctness
- Elimination of dissenters (binocular guy continued his job without tool)
- Self-censorship
- Mindguards (people didn’t warn captain of shit going on)

Question 16

Avoiding group think

Answer 16

• Impartial leadership
• Consulting outside sources
• Creating sub-committees
  E.g. “red teaming”
• Soliciting anonymous feedback

Question 17

Group Polarization

Answer 17

“risky shift” phenomenon
- individuals after consulting with group would make more risky or extreme choices

• Enhancement of individual members’ initial
  position

Positive (on its own) or negative
E.g. judges took extreme action in 30% of cases
when alone vs. in 65% when in group of 3

Question 18

Myers & Bishop 1970
Test on Racial prejudice for group polarization

Answer 18

All students filled out racial attitude survey

First time: on their own
Then grouped together with similar scoring people

Second time: racial attitudes measured again

Less prejudice people became EVEN LESS so

More prejudice people became EVEN MORE so

Question 19

Learning Objectives:

Define social psychology.

Review the history of the field of social psychology and the topics that social psychologists study.

Summarize the principles of social psychology.
Describe and provide examples of the person-situation interaction.

Review the concepts of (a) social norms and (b) cultures.

Question 20

Kurt Lewin

Answer 20

Father of Social Psychology

*systematically and formally measure the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of human beings

Question 21

Leon Festinger
Wrote: Research Methods in the Behavioral Sciences

Answer 21

stressed the need to measure variables and to use laboratory experiments to systematically test research hypotheses about social behavior.

Question 22

Adolf Hitler’s role in Social Psychology

Answer 22

Researchers wanted to understand how such extreme obedience and horrendous behaviors in his followers during the Second World War

Question 23

Philip Zimbardo
Standford Prison Experiment

Answer 23

found that ordinary male college students who were recruited to play the roles of guards and prisoners in a simulated prison became so involved in their assignments, and their interaction became so violent, that the study had to be terminated early

*powerful role of the social situation on human behavior

Question 24

John Darley and Bibb Latané

Answer 24

model that helped explain when people do and do not help others in need

Question 25

Leonard Berkowitz

Answer 25

pioneered the study of human aggression.

Question 26

Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case

Answer 26

helped end racial segregation in U.S. public schools

Question 27

Leon Festinger’s (1957) important cognitive dissonance theory

Answer 27

when two beliefs are inconsistent, individuals experience negatively arousing cognitive conflict (called dissonance). Because the dissonance is aversive, the individuals try to reduce it by changing one or the other beliefs.

Question 28

Social Cognition

Answer 28

The study of how people think about the social world.

Question 29

Social Neuroscience

Answer 29

The study of how our social behavior both influences and is influenced by the activities of our brain

Question 30

Social Psychology

Answer 30

study of the dynamic relationship between individuals and the people around them

Question 31

Define one’s Social Situation

Answer 31

The people with whom we interact every day

Question 32

Social influence

Answer 32

The process through which other people change our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and through which we change theirs

Question 33

Person-situation interaction
Kert Lewin

Answer 33

The joint influence of person variables and situational variables

Behavior = f (person, social situation).

Lewin’s equation indicates that the behavior of a given person at any given time is a function of (depends on) both the characteristics of the person and the influence of the social situation.

Question 34

Social Support

Answer 34

The perception or actuality that we have a social network that can help us in times of need and provide us with a variety of useful resources (e.g., advice, love, money).

Question 35

social norms

Answer 35

The ways of thinking, feeling, or behaving that are shared by group members and perceived by them as appropriate

Question 36

culture

Answer 36

A pattern of shared meaning and behavior among a group of people that is passed from one generation to the next.

Question 37

individualism

Answer 37

Belief system that exalts freedom, independence, and individual choice as high values.

Western Cuture

Question 38

Collectivism

Answer 38

Belief system that emphasizes the duties and obligations that each person has toward others.

East Asian Culture

Question 39

Key take aways of Social Psychology

Answer 39

The history of social psychology includes the study of attitudes, group behavior, altruism and aggression, culture, prejudice, and many other topics.

Social psychologists study real-world problems using a scientific approach.

Thinking about your own interpersonal interactions from the point of view of social psychology can help you better understand and respond to them.

Social psychologists study the person-situation interaction: how characteristics of the person and characteristics of the social situation interact to determine behavior.

Many human social behaviors have been selected by evolutionary adaptation.

The social situation creates social norms—shared ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Cultural differences—for instance, in individualistic versus collectivistic orientations—guide our everyday behavior.

Question 40

In Social Psychology, the relationship between people and the situation is considered to be:

a. dynamic
b. constant
c. unchanging
d. stable

Answer 40

a. dynamic

Question 41

Learning Objectives:

Define the concept of attitude and explain why it is of such interest to social psychologists.

Review the variables that determine attitude strength.

Outline the factors affect the strength of the attitude-behavior relationship.

Question 42

attitude (in social psychology context)

Answer 42

A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor.

*Attitudes are evaluations

Ex. your attitude towards something can be either negative or positive

Question 43

attitude object

Answer 43

A person, a product, or a social group

Question 44

Heritability of Some Attitudes

Answer 44

Attitude Heritability
Abortion on demand 0.54
Roller coaster rides 0.52
Death penalty for murder 0.5
Open-door immigration 0.46
Organized religion 0.45
Doing athletic activities 0.44
Voluntary euthanasia 0.44
Capitalism 0.39
Playing chess 0.38
Reading books 0.37
Exercising 0.36
Education 0.32
Big parties 0.32
Smoking 0.31
Being the center of attention 0.28
Getting along well with other people 0.28
Wearing clothes that draw attention 0.24
Sweets 0.22
Public speaking 0.2
Castration as punishment for sex crimes 0.17
Loud music 0.11
Looking my best at all times 0.1
Doing crossword puzzles 0.02
Separate roles for men and women 0
Making racial discrimination illegal 0
Playing organized sports 0
Playing bingo 0
Easy access to birth control 0
Being the leader of groups 0
Being assertive 0

Question 45

Our attitudes are made up of cognitive, affective, and behavioral components.

Example using ice cream

Answer 45

In terms of affect:

I LOVE it!

In terms of behavior:

I frequently eat chocolate ice cream.

In terms of cognitions:

Chocolate ice cream has a smooth texture and a rich, strong taste.

Question 46

Attitude Strength

Answer 46

The importance of an attitude, as assessed by how quickly it comes to mind

Question 47

Different components of attitude and individual component contributes to attitude strength

Answer 47

My affect toward chocolate ice cream is positive—I like it a lot. On the other hand, my cognitions are more negative—I know that eating too much ice cream can make me fat and that it is bad for my coronary arteries. And even though I love chocolate ice cream, I don’t eat some every time I get a chance. These inconsistencies among the components of my attitude make it less strong than it would be if all the components lined up together.

Question 48

ABC’s Affect

Answer 48

Social psychology is based on the ABCs of affect, behavior, and cognition (Figure 1.2 “The ABCs of Affect, Behavior, and Cognition”). In order to effectively maintain and enhance our own lives through successful interaction with others, we rely on these three basic and interrelated human capacities:

Affect (feelings)
Behavior (interactions)
Cognition (thought)

Question 49

attitude consistancy

Answer 49

For any given attitude object, the ABCs of affect, behavior, and cognition are normally in line with each other

Question 50

Theory of planned behaviour
Martin Fishbein and Izek Ajzen

Answer 50

The relationship between attitudes and behavior is stronger in certain situations, for certain people and for certain attitudes

BASICALLY, the stronger your attitudes the more predicatable your behaviour when…

When attitudes are strong, rather than weak

When we have a strong intention to perform the behavior

When the attitude and the behavior both occur in similar social situations

When the same components of the attitude (either affect or cognition) are accessible when the attitude is assessed and when the behavior is performed

When the attitudes are measured at a specific, rather than a general, level

For low self-monitors (rather than for high self-monitors)

Question 51

Attitude-Behavior Consistency

Answer 51

Current cognitive accessibility of the underlying affective and cognitive components of the attitude.

Question 52

Self- monitoring

Answer 52

Individual differences in the tendency to attend to social cues and to adjust one’s behavior to one’s social environment

Question 53

high self-monitors

Answer 53

Those who tend to attempt to blend into the social situation in order to be liked

Question 54

low self-monitors

Answer 54

Those who are less likely to attempt to blend into the social situation in order to be liked

Question 55

Attitude key take aways

Answer 55

The term attitude refers to our relatively enduring evaluation of an attitude object.

Our attitudes are inherited and also learned through direct and indirect experiences with the attitude objects.

Some attitudes are more likely to be based on beliefs, some more likely to be based on feelings, and some more likely to be based on behaviors.

Strong attitudes are important in the sense that we hold them with confidence, we do not change them very much, and we use them frequently to guide our actions.

Although there is a general consistency between attitudes and behavior, the relationship is stronger in some situations than in others, for some measurements than for others, and for some people than for others.

Question 56

Learning Objectives

Outline how persuasion is determined by the choice of effective communicators and effective messages.

Review the conditions under which attitudes are best changed using spontaneous versus thoughtful strategies.

Summarize the variables that make us more or less resistant to persuasive appeals.

Question 57

Being a good persuader

Answer 57

We must first get people’s attention, then send an effective message to them, and then ensure that they process the message in the way we would like them to. Furthermore, to accomplish these goals, persuaders must take into consideration the cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of their methods. Persuaders also must understand how the communication they are presenting relates to the message recipient—his or her motivations, desires, and goals.

*more effective when they help their recipients feel good about themselves—that is, by appealing to self-concern.

Question 58

Expert communicators

Answer 58

Perceived as trustworthy because they know a lot about the product they are selling

Ex.
- Micheal jordon in basket ball shoes ad
- Race car drivers selling cars

Question 59

what can make a communicator seem more like an expert?

Answer 59

Taking regular speech and speeding it up by deleting very small segments of it, so that it sounds the same but actually goes faster, makes the same communication more persuasive

Question 60

the sleeper effect

Answer 60

Attitude change that occurs over time

Ex.
When we first hear that person’s communication we appropriately discount it and it therefore has little influence on our opinions. However, over time there is a tendency to remember the content of a communication to a greater extent than we remember the source of the communication. As a result, we may forget over time to discount the remembered message.

**You know when you tell your friends a fun fact but don’t remember where you got that fact, then later you remember where, and the source was not reliable? yeah same…

Question 61

Spontaneous attitude change (direct affective response)
vs.
Thoughtful attitude change

Answer 61

Spontaneous attitude change steps:
1. Message
2. Happy listener
3. Attitude change

Thoughtful attitude change steps:
1. Message
2. Cognitive Elaboration
3. Attitude change

Question 62

Spontaneous processing

Answer 62

Direct, quick, and often involves affective responses to the message

Question 63

Thougthful processing

Answer 63

Controlled and involves a more careful cognitive elaboration of the meaning of the message

Question 64

Spontaneous message processing

Answer 64

When we accept a persuasion attempt because we focus on whatever is most obvious or enjoyable, without much attention to the message itself.

*More focus on provoking emotion; less on actual content
- Successful advertisers tailor their messages to fit the expected characteristics of their audiences.

Question 65

Thoughtful message processing

Answer 65

When we think about how the message relates to our own beliefs and goals and involves our careful consideration of whether the persuasion attempt is valid or invalid

*If we can get the listener to process these strong arguments thoughtfully, then the attitude change will likely be strong and long lasting.

Question 66

Cacioppo, and Goldman (1981)

Message Strength
Source Expertise
Personal Relevance

Answer 66

Message strength. The message contained either strong arguments (persuasive data and statistics about the positive effects of the exams at other universities) or weak arguments(relying only on individual quotations and personal opinions).

Source expertise. The message was supposedly prepared either by an expert source (the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, which was chaired by a professor of education at Princeton University) or by a nonexpert source (a class at a local high school).

Personal relevance. The students were told either that the new exam would begin before they graduated (high personal relevance) or that it would not begin until after they had already graduated (low personal relevance).

Findings:

• high personal relevance less influenced by expertise (i dont care who you are)
• low personal relevance more influenced by expertise (ok, so you’re smort, idc… sure)
• high personal relevance more influenced by message strength (oh shit you kinda valid)
• low personal relevance less influenced by message strength (I DONT GIVE AF bro, I’m already living it up)

Question 67

Avoiding Persuasion - Forewarning

Answer 67

Giving people a chance to develop a resistance to persuasion by reminding them that they might someday receive a persuasive message, and allowing them to practice how they will respond to influence attempts

Question 68

Avoiding Persuasion - Inoculation

Answer 68

Building up defenses against persuasion by mildly attacking the attitude position

Question 69

Psychological reactance

When persuading to make someone’s attitude stronger be careful; they might rebel; boomerang

Answer 69

A reaction to people, rules, requirements, or offerings that are perceived to limit freedoms.

Ex.
Perhaps you can remember a time when you felt like your parents or someone else who had some power over you put too much pressure on you, and you rebelled against them.

Question 70

Subliminal Advertising

Answer 70

Occurs when a message, such as an advertisement or another image of a brand, is presented to the consumer without the person being aware that a message has been presented

Question 71

Persuasion key take aways:

Answer 71

Advertising is effective in changing attitudes, and principles of social psychology can help us understand when and how advertising works.
Social psychologists study which communicators can deliver the most effective messages to which types of message recipients.

Communicators are more effective when they help their recipients feel good about themselves. Attractive, similar, trustworthy, and expert communicators are examples of effective communicators.

Attitude change that occurs over time, particularly when we no longer discount the impact of a low-credibility communicator, is known as the sleeper effect.

The messages that we deliver may be processed either spontaneously or thoughtfully. When we are processing messages only spontaneously, our feelings are more likely to be important, but when we process the message thoughtfully, cognition prevails.

Both thoughtful and spontaneous messages can be effective, in different situations and for different people.

One approach to improving an individual’s ability to resist persuasion is to help the person create a strong attitude. Procedures such as forewarning and inoculation can help increase attitude strength and thus reduce subsequent persuasion.

Taken together, the evidence for the effectiveness of subliminal advertising is weak, and its effects may be limited to only some people and only some conditions.

Although we might use the term in a different way in our everyday life (“Hey, he’s really got an attitude!”), social psychologists reserve the term attitude to refer to our relatively enduring evaluation of something, where the something is called the attitude object. The attitude object might be a person, a product, or a social group (Albarracín, Johnson, & Zanna, 2005; Wood, 2000). In this section we will consider the nature and strength of attitudes and the conditions under which attitudes best predict our behaviors.

Question 72

Attitudes are:

a. generally positive or negative dispositions.

b. a special type of personality traits.

c. relatively enduring evaluation of something.

d. individual differences in outlooks on life

Answer 72

c. relatively enduring evaluation of something.

Question 73

“I love dogs!” This statement demonstrates which component of attitudes?

a. Affective.

b. Behavioural.

c. Cognitive.

d. Social

Answer 73

a. Affective.

Question 74

Jo has a positive attitude toward getting up early to exercise. Even though this attitude is positive, based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, unless Jo also has the following, they are less likely to follow through on getting up early to exercise.

a. habits

b. concrete plan for action.

c. intentions.

d. social support

Answer 74

c. intentions.

Question 75

Which question framing below is likely to elicit a measurement that is most likely to predict behaviour?

a. Do you like eating broccoli?.

b. Do you like eating broccoli for lunch?.

c. Do you like eating broccoli for lunch on a regular basis?.

d. Do you like broccoli?

Answer 75

c. Do you like eating broccoli for lunch on a regular basis?.

Question 76

Persuasive communicators may have the following characteristics, except:

a. they give gifts.

b. they speak slowly.

c. they are attractive.

d. they make recipients feel good about themselves

Answer 76

b. they speak slowly.

Question 77

____________ message processing is associated with long lasting attitude change.

Answer 77

thoughtful

Question 78

Learning Objectives:

Review the evidence that suggests humans have a fundamental need to belong to groups.
Compare the sociometer model of self-esteem to a more traditional view of self-esteem.

Use theories of social facilitation to predict when a group will perform tasks slowly or quickly (e.g., students eating a meal as a group, workers on an assembly line, or a study group).

Summarize the methods used by Latané, Williams, and Harkins to identify the relative impact of social loafing and coordination problems on group performance.

Describe how groups change over time.

Apply the theory of groupthink to a well-known decision-making group, such as the group of advisors responsible for planning the Bay of Pigs operation.

List and discuss the factors that facilitate and impede group performance and decision making.

Develop a list of recommendations that, if followed, would minimize the possibility of groupthink developing in a group.

Question 79

ostracism

Answer 79

Being excluded and ignored by others.

Question 80

Ostracism Impacts on these two specific areas of the brain

Answer 80

1. dorsal anterior cingulate cortex
2. the anterior insula

Areas of the brain are associated with the experience of physical pain sensations

*it literally hurts to be left out of a group

Question 81

social comparison
Leon Festinger

Answer 81

The process of contrasting one’s personal qualities and outcomes, including beliefs, attitudes, values, abilities, accomplishments, and experiences, to those of other people.

Question 82

downward social comparison

Answer 82

In some cases, we also prefer to join with others who are even worse off than we are.

Your test is marked 85%. Do you want to affiliate with a friend who got a 95% or a friend who got a 78%? To maintain a sense of self-worth, people seek out and compare themselves to the less fortunate.

Question 83

Social Identity Theory

Answer 83

A theoretical analysis of group processes and intergroup relations that assumes groups influence their members’ self-concepts and self-esteem, particularly when individuals categorize themselves as group members and identify with the group.

Question 84

Collective self-esteem

Answer 84

Feelings of self-worth that are based on evaluation of relationships with others and membership in social groups.

Question 85

Sociometer model
Mark Leary

Answer 85

A conceptual analysis of self-evaluation processes that theorizes self-esteem functions to psychologically monitor of one’s degree of inclusion and exclusion in social groups.

*self-esteem is part of a sociometer that monitors peoples’ relational value in other people’s eyes

Question 86

Evolutionary Advantages of Group Living

Answer 86

individuals in groups can secure advantages and avoid disadvantages that would plague the lone individuals.
*individuals who carried genes that promoted solitude-seeking were less likely to survive and procreate compared to those with genes that prompted them to join groups

Joiners vs. loners

Question 87

Norman Triplett - cyclists & group performance
Reel study - competition between children

Social Facilitation

Answer 87

Noticed Cyclists were faster when they competed against other racers than when they raced alone against the clock.
*measured how quickly children turned a fishing reel, he confirmed that children performed slightly better when they played the game in pairs compared to when they played alone

Social Facilitation:
Improvement in task performance that occurs when people work in the presence of other people.

Question 88

When Solcial facilitation exists and when it doesn’t

Answer 88

Depends on the task: other people facilitate performance when the task is so simple that it requires only dominant responses (something we can do with ease)

But others interfere when the task requires nondominant responses. (something we cannot do with ease)

Question 89

evaluation apprehension

Answer 89

we feel that our individual performance will be known to others, and those others might judge it negatively

*oh shit I’m being watched

Question 90

Watchers as a negative distraction

Answer 90

we can lose our ability to concentrate and process information

Question 91

Social Loafing

Answer 91

Groups, though, tend to be underachievers.
*People carrying out all sorts of physical and mental tasks expend less effort when working in groups, and the larger the group, the more they loaf

Question 92

coordination loss in social loafing

Answer 92

three-person group is stronger than a single person, but not three times as strong.

Question 93

teamwork

Answer 93

The process by which members of the team combine their knowledge, skills, abilities, and other resources through a coordinated series of actions to produce an outcome.

Question 94

two key ingredients to effective teamwork

Answer 94

1. Shared mental representation of the task
2. Group unity

Question 95

shared mental model

Answer 95

Knowledge, expectations, conceptualizations, and other cognitive representations that members of a group have in common pertaining to the group and its members, tasks, procedures, and resources.

Question 96

Group Cohesion

Answer 96

The solidarity or unity of a group resulting from the development of strong and mutual interpersonal bonds among members and group-level forces that unify the group, such as shared commitment to group goals.

Note: performance quality influences cohesion more than cohesion influences performance

Question 97

Phases of a functioning group (SIMPLE)

Answer 97

Forming phase - the members become oriented toward one another.

Storming phase - the group members find themselves in conflict, and some solution is sought to improve the group environment.

Norming phase - standards for behavior and roles develop that regulate behavior.

Performing phase - the group has reached a point where it can work as a unit to achieve desired goals

Adjourning phase ends the sequence of development; the group disbands.

Question 98

Group Development Stages and Characteristics

Answer 98

Stage 1 – “Forming”. Members expose information about themselves in polite but tentative interactions. They explore the purposes of the group and gather information about each other’s interests, skills, and personal tendencies.

Stage 2 – “Storming”. Disagreements about procedures and purposes surface, so criticism and conflict increase. Much of the conflict stems from challenges between members who are seeking to increase their status and control in the group.

Stage 3 – “Norming”. Once the group agrees on its goals, procedures, and leadership, norms, roles, and social relationships develop that increase the group’s stability and cohesiveness.

Stage 4 – “Performing”. The group focuses its energies and attention on its goals, displaying higher rates of task-orientation, decision-making, and problem-solving.

Stage 5 – “Adjourning”. The group prepares to disband by completing its tasks, reduces levels of dependency among members, and dealing with any unresolved issues.

Question 99

Making Decisions in Groups

Answer 99

Groups not only generate more ideas and possible solutions by discussing the problem, but they can also more objectively evaluate the options that they generate during discussion. Before accepting a solution, a group may require that a certain number of people favor it, or that it meets some other standard of acceptability. People generally feel that a group’s decision will be superior to an individual’s decision.

Question 100

group polarization

Answer 100

The tendency for members of a deliberating group to move to a more extreme position, with the direction of the shift determined by the majority or average of the members’ predeliberation preferences.

Question 101

Common Knowledge Effect

Answer 101

The tendency for groups to spend more time discussing information that all members know (shared information) and less time examining information that only a few members know (unshared).

Question 102

hidden profile task

Answer 102

only select members know information for better option but the majority of members will discuss a worse option because of Common Knowledge Effect

Question 103

Groupthink
Irving Janis (1982)

Answer 103

A set of negative group-level processes, including illusions of invulnerability, self-censorship, and pressures to conform, that occur when highly cohesive groups seek concurrence when making a decision.

*To Janis, groupthink is a disease that infects healthy groups, rendering them inefficient and unproductive.

Question 104

Irving Janis (1982) four group-level factors that cause groupthink

Answer 104

Cohesion: Groupthink only occurs in cohesive groups. Such groups have many advantages over groups that lack unity. People enjoy their membership much more in cohesive groups, they are less likely to abandon the group, and they work harder in pursuit of the group’s goals. But extreme cohesiveness can be dangerous. When cohesiveness intensifies, members become more likely to accept the goals, decisions, and norms of the group without reservation. Conformity pressures also rise as members become reluctant to say or do anything that goes against the grain of the group, and the number of internal disagreements—necessary for good decision making—decreases.

Isolation. Groupthink groups too often work behind closed doors, keeping out of the limelight. They isolate themselves from outsiders and refuse to modify their beliefs to bring them into line with society’s beliefs. They avoid leaks by maintaining strict confidentiality and working only with people who are members of their group.

Biased leadership. A biased leader who exerts too much authority over group members can increase conformity pressures and railroad decisions. In groupthink groups, the leader determines the agenda for each meeting, sets limits on discussion, and can even decide who will be heard.

Decisional stress. Groupthink becomes more likely when the group is stressed, particularly by time pressures. When groups are stressed they minimize their discomfort by quickly choosing a plan of action with little argument or dissension. Then, through collective discussion, the group members can rationalize their choice by exaggerating the positive consequences, minimizing the possibility of negative outcomes, concentrating on minor details, and overlooking larger issues.

Question 105

Avoiding group polarization, Common Knowledge effect & groupthink

Answer 105

To avoid polarization, the common knowledge effect, and groupthink, groups should strive to emphasize open inquiry of all sides of the issue while admitting the possibility of failure. The leaders of the group can also do much to limit groupthink by requiring full discussion of pros and cons, appointing devil’s advocates, and breaking the group up into small discussion groups.

Question 106

To increase his self-esteem Sam chooses to play in a tennis league with players who are less skilled them himself. This is an example of:

Answer 106

Downward Social Comparison

Question 107

When golfing, Jill plays better when her teammates are watching than when she is by herself. This is an example of:

Answer 107

Social Facilitation

Question 108

The manager at the movie theater notices that a crew of 4 cleans a theater as quickly as a crew of 6. This is possibly due to ______.

Answer 108

social loafing

Question 109

fMRI brain scans of people who were excluded from groups showed:

Answer 109

Responses similar to physical pain

Question 110

An executive board makes a risky decision based on the CEO’s recommendation. ______ occurred because members did not speak out about their concerns.

Answer 110

groupthink

Question 111

Most of those attending pro-environment rally came away from the rally with an even stronger view on restricting garbage amounts due to the concept:

Answer 111

group polarization

Question 112

Learning Objectives:

Distinguish prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination.

Distinguish old-fashioned, blatant biases from contemporary, subtle biases.

Understand old-fashioned biases such as social dominance orientation and right-wing. authoritarianism.

Understand subtle, unexamined biases that are automatic, ambiguous, and ambivalent.

Understand 21st century biases that may break down as identities get more complicated.

Question 113

emotional prejudice

Answer 113

Prejudice is an evaluation or emotion toward people merely based on their group membership.

Question 114

mental stereotypes

Answer 114

Our general beliefs about the traits or behaviors shared by group of people.

Question 115

behavioural discrimination

Answer 115

Discrimination is behavior that advantages or disadvantages people merely based on their group membership.

Question 116

Blatant Bias

Answer 116

Blatant biases are conscious beliefs, feelings, and behavior that people are perfectly willing to admit, are mostly hostile, and openly favor their own group.

Question 117

Social Dominance Orientation (SDO)
Old-Fashioned bias 1

Answer 117

A belief that group hierarchies are inevitable in all societies and are even a good idea to maintain order and stability.

People with a social dominance orientation are more likely to be attracted to certain types of careers, such as law enforcement, that maintain group hierarchies.

Question 118

Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA)
Old-Fashioned bias 2

Answer 118

Endorses respect for obedience and authority in the service of group conformity

RWA respects group unity over individual preferences, wanting to maintain group values in the face of differing opinions.

Question 119

subtle biases

Answer 119

Subtle biases are automatic, ambiguous, and ambivalent, but real in their consequences.

Question 120

automatic biases

Answer 120

A behavior or process has one or more of the following features: unintentional, uncontrollable, occurring outside of conscious awareness, and cognitively efficient.

Question 121

Implicit Association Test

Answer 121

An implicit attitude task that assesses a person’s automatic associations between concepts by measuring the response times in pairing the concepts.

Question 122

Social Identity Theory

Answer 122

A theoretical analysis of group processes and intergroup relations that assumes groups influence their members’ self-concepts and self-esteem, particularly when individuals categorize themselves as group members and identify with the group.

For example, if two classes of children want to play on the same soccer field, the classes will come to dislike each other not because of any real, objectionable traits about the other group. The dislike originates from each class’s favoritism toward itself and the fact that only one group can play on the soccer field at a time.

Question 123

self-categorization theory

Answer 123

Self-categorization theory develops social identity theory’s point that people categorize themselves, along with each other into groups, favoring their own group.

*we tend to favor the groups with people like us and incidentally disfavor the others.

Question 124

Aversive racism

Answer 124

Aversive racism is unexamined racial bias that the person does not intend and would reject, but that avoids inter-racial contact.

Question 125

stereotype content model

Answer 125

Stereotype Content Model shows that social groups are viewed according to their perceived warmth and competence.

Warmth we feel towards group:
When people learn about a new group, they first want to know if its intentions of the people in this group are for good or ill.

Competence of that group:
After learning the group’s intentions, though, we also want to know whether they are competent enough to act on them

Question 126

stereotypes and their associated emotional prejudices

Answer 126

High Warmth + Low Competence
Paternalistic & Pity
Ex. Disabled people

Low Warmth + Low Competence
Contemptuous & Disgust
Ex. Homeless people

High Warmth + High Competence
Admiration & Pride
Ex. Students & ingroup members

Low Warmth + High Competence
Envy
Ex. Successful outsiders & wealthy

Question 127

______is a term for an emotional bias that involves an evaluation of people based merely on their membership in a given group.

a. prejudice

b. discrimination

Answer 127

Prejudice

Question 128

Bertram is a taxi driver in New York. He feels that businessmen are the biggest tippers. As a result, he does not stop to pick up casually dressed people. Bertram’s behaviors demonstrate ______.

a. social dominance

b. class stratification

Answer 128

a. social dominance

Question 129

A person who ranks high in ______would emphasize the importance of obedience to authority in the service of group conformity.

Answer 129

RWA - right-wing authoritarianism

Question 130

______biases are those that are unintended, immediate, and irresistible.

Answer 130

automatic