1.1 GROUP PERFORMANCE

Question 1

potential group performance [PP]

Answer 1

likely outcome if all group members work as individuals

Question 2

actual group performance [AP]

Answer 2

actual productive outcome of group

Question 3

If AP>PP …?

Answer 3

group is facilitating/enhancing performance

Question 4

If PP>AP…?

Answer 4

group is hindering performance

Question 5

What is Steiner’s AP formula?

Answer 5

AP = PP - PL

Question 6

What is a unitary task

Answer 6

all members do the same thing

Question 7

what is a divisible task

Answer 7

people do different sub-tasks

Question 8

what are 2 types of task goals?

Answer 8

maximisation [quant] and optimisation [qual]

Question 9

what are the 3 types of tasks ?

Answer 9

additive, disjunctive, conjunctive

Question 10

Additive Task

Answer 10

*Group performance = sum of individual performances
*Unitary + maximisation
*E.g. Brainstorming, pulling a rope
*group potential is higher than what the best members could achieve alone

Question 11

Disjunctive Task

Answer 11

*Operate at level of the highest performer
*Group succeeds if a single group member succeeds
*Can still benefit from larger group, greater group size should add to performance, inc likelihood of correct answer statistically?
o Nb. No direct link to group size and success though
*Eureka effect: correct/best decision once found is immediately recognised by all as correct
*e.g. problem-solving, complex calculations
*basically just a group working on something that one person could do
*group potential = best individual performance

Question 12

Conjunctive Task

Answer 12

*Group members must be successful for the task to be completed
*E.g. mountain climbing team, keeping a secret, precision group work
*Team is only as fast as its slowest member
*Group potential decreases as group inc, more likely to have a weaker member
*Group potential = weakest individual performance

Question 13

social inhibition

Answer 13

group process losses, how groups hinder productivity

Question 14

what 3 things may cause social inhibition/process losses?

Answer 14

losses in coordination, motivation, or cognitive restriction

Question 15

the ringleman effect

Answer 15

each member adds less performance to the group than their prior, as group size increases, performance slows

Question 16

name 4 faults with brainstorming

Answer 16

production blocking, topic fixation, social inhibition, social loafing

Question 17

production blocking

Answer 17

listening to others ideas uses mental energy needed to think of new ideas, reduces creative output

Question 18

topic fixation

Answer 18

ideas tend to cluster to a few categories

Question 19

social inhibition

Answer 19

ideas are held back for fear of what other people will think

Question 20

social loafing

Answer 20

as responsibility is distributed, apathy sets in and individuals are less accountable for production, individual contribution cannot be easily assessed/distinguished from overall group

Question 21

motivation losses may be due to which 3 things

Answer 21

social loafing, dispensability effect, sucker effect

Question 22

for which type of tasks is social loafing an issue?

Answer 22

additive tasks

Question 23

dispensability effect

Answer 23

people think their individual effort makes no real contribution to outcome

Question 24

sucker effect

Answer 24

due to others social loafing, initial hard workers will reduce their efforts to not be suckers

Question 25

what is cognitive restriction

Answer 25

trapped in certain ways of thinking, thought process effected by being in a group setting

Question 26

2 examples of cognitive restriction

Answer 26

group think + risky shift

Question 27

group think

Answer 27

people tend to conform with group decisions to avoid being an outcast, which may lead to errors in decision making

Question 28

in which instances does group think especially occur

Answer 28

• group is cohesive
• powerful leader signalled what decision they favoured
• group regards itself as superior/elite

Question 29

what can be done to avoid groupthink?

Answer 29

oLeader must try to appear impartial
oAssign member as devil’s advocate to question assumptions/plans of group
oAny input should not be mocked or dismissed
oGroup should occasionally sub-divide before re-joining
oCall in outside experts to discuss decision

Question 30

risky shift

Answer 30

the tendency for decisions made in groups to be less conservative than the decision of the average group member

Question 31

which are riskier, groups or inidivduals?

Answer 31

groups

Question 32

what is a more accurate concept than risky shift

Answer 32

group polarisation

Question 33

group polarisation

Answer 33

groups more extreme than individual members views, any valenced opinion gets stronger in group setting

Question 34

what are two examples of group polarisation in the real world

Answer 34

• racial prejudice inc in group discussion with like-minded people
• gender – girls become more girly in all-girl groups, v/v for boys

Question 35

name 4 concepts involves in social facilitation

Answer 35

social competition, social compensation, kohler effect, cognitive stimulation

Question 36

what is social facilitation

Answer 36

how groups can enhance productivity

Question 37

social competition

Answer 37

o If individual contribution to group is assessed, competition, incentivisation
o Best when reward is tangible and members have equal abilities
o Actual group > potential group performance

Question 38

social compensation

Answer 38

o High performers work extra hard to overcome weaknesses of other members
o Overcompensation
o Occurs if stronger members believe goal of group is highly important; If not then strong may social loaf or sucker effect

Question 39

kohler effect

Answer 39

weaker members feel pressure to wor harder than they would individually, avoid blame for weak group performance. example: team rowing

Question 40

cognitive stimulation

Answer 40

o Opposite of inhibition
o Member may suggest something no other member has thought about
o Being in group could be more cog stimulating than being alone

Question 41

name 3 key people and what they are known for in group performance

Answer 41

Steiner - 3 dimensions of group task, actual group performance formula.
Stoner - risky shift.
Janis - Groupthink.