WEEK 6 - group processes Flashcards
What is a group?
set of individuals who interact over time and have shared
fate, goals, or identity
Why do people join groups?
- lack of choice, reach goals; uncertainty reduction (guidelines for how to behave)
- effects of not being in a group: social ostracism (exclusion from a group bycommon consent)
What is group cohesiveness:
extent to which forces push group members closer
together such as through feelings of intimacy, unity, and commitment to group goals
What are group roles?
set of expected behaviours; can be formal or informal
What is Zimbardo’s prison study (Kassin et al.) (in relation to group roles?)
*simulated prison in psychology department basement: students allocated as ‘prisoners’ or ‘guards’: study
halted early due to extreme role adoption
What is role status?
some roles/role occupant/groups have more prestige
What is Festinger’s (1954) social comparison theory
hold others who successfully compete with us in higher regard)
What are the two types of status characterstics?
specific (directly related role) vs. diffuse (generally valued role)
What are norms?
rules of conduct for group members
provide guidelines on how to behave as a typical group member
*can influence the individual in the absence of the group: the group is carried in the head of an individual in the form of a norm
*deviations from the norm can be tolerated especially by leaders (idiosyncrasy credits) and if group seen as one that has variability
What are the types of norms?
*can be formal or informal; descriptive and prescriptive
*explicit or implicit (violation of hidden norms to discover them)
What is social facilitation
process whereby the presence of others enhances performance on easy tasks but impairs performance on difficult tasks
What are the theories based on social facilitation
- Triplett’s (1898) experiment: people cycled faster when paced than alone
- Zajonc’s (1965) drive theory: arousal drives energy to produce dominant response (others’ mere presence
produces social facilitation) - Cottrell’s evaluation apprehension theory: attentive others produce fear of evaluation (not just mere presence)
- Baron’s distraction-conflict theory: attentional conflict - distraction from task the key (doesn’t need to be a person)
What is * Zajonc’s (1965) drive theory:
The prescence of others increases arousal which strengthens the dominant response to stimuli. On a easy task the dominant response is usually correct and therefore the presence of others enhances performance. Although, on difficult tasks the dominant response is usually incorrect nd therefore the presence of others impairs performance
What is social loafing
group-produced reduction in individual output on tasks where contributions are pooled
What is Ringelmann’s (1913) experiments (in relation to social loafing)
asked weather level of social loafing changed based on coordination or motivation loss?
What is Ingham et al. (1974) (in relation to social loafing)
ruled out coordination as an explanation of social loafing via rope pulling study
What is Latane’s clapping/cheering studies
In this study students were told to clap or cheer as loudly as they could. However, the noise of the claps decreased as the group of people clapping got bigger
What were the findings in Latane et al. (1974) (in relation to social loafing )
found that motivation loss = social loafing
to explain findings:
* output equity (expect others to loaf)
* evaluation apprehension
* matching to standard (no obvious performance standards to follow)
What are factors that influence loafing
greater anonymity: ↑ loafing
* valuing/involvement in task: ↓ loafing
* believing one can help achieve desired outcome: ↓ loafing
* intergroup comparison (vs. outgroup): ↓ loafing
* anticipated loafing of others (compensation): ↓ loafing
distinction between social loafing (reduced effort) vs. ‘free-rider’ (no effort)
What is deindividuation
loss of a person’s sense of individuality and the reduction of normal constraints against deviant behaviour
For example, in LeBon’s theory of crowd behaviour; people become barbaric!
What is Diener et al.’s ‘Halloween’ study
deindividuated children take more lollies… but other studies show not automatic relationship between anonymity and antisocial behaviours
What is the social identity perspective
not lost identity in a crowd, but shift from personal to shared social identity as crowd member
What is brainstorming
- technique that attempts to increase production of creative ideas by encouraging group members to speak freely without criticising their own or others’
contributions - increases cohesiveness
What is groupthink
group decision-making style characterised by an excessive tendency among group members to seek agreement
