6 - Presence of Others Flashcards
define group polarisation
group interaction with those who have similar attitudes strengthens indiv’s atts so they become more extreme
define risky shift
groups tending to make more risky decisions than indivs
how can attitudes become more reinforced by verbalising opinions
anticipating someone w an opposite view and assoc w those w a similar view means we prepare arguments and express view more strongly
how is normative influence a cause for group polarisation
express stronger att so like-minded like us or change att to avoid disapproval when comparing attitudes
define pluralistic ignorance
majority of group members privately rejecting a norm but mistakenly thinking the group accepts it
how can we get rid of pluralistic ignorance
through group discussion so we slowly see others’ attitudes and express if similar or conceal it or jump on the bandwagon
how is informational influence a cause of group polarisation
when unsure, majority will support dominant opinion when in group discussion
how can opinions become more extreme in group discussion
adding familiar arguments and new persuasive ideas can sway attitude
with conformity, what processes are involved in forming a representation of the group norm from opinions expressed in the ig vs og
identification means conforming to group norm
in identification what happens if the group norm is or isn’t polarised
is = group polarisation occurs isn't = take the mean group attitude
in Triplett’s social facilitation study, what were the findings
when in competition, half were facilitated, some were inhibited but practice effect was confounding
what did Zajonc’s social facilitation theory state
presence of observers leads to general drive state through physiological arousal
Zajonc said what happens if the responses are well learned
facilitation, enhanced performance, usually w easy tasks
Zajonc said what happens when the responses aren’t well learned
inhibition, worsened performance, usually w difficult tasks
what did Cottrell’s findings contradict about Zajonc’s theory
indiv must think the audience are watching and it’s not just mere presence affecting performance
describe evaluation apprehension
individuals become worried about how the audience will evaluate their performance on a task as self-presentation is important
what do performing well and badly lead to
well means praise and recognition
badly means embarrassment and shame
what different arousal types are there when we think we’ll do well or badly
challenge = good so facilitation threat = bad so inhibition
after evaluation apprehension what do we think about
whether we have enough resources for a sufficient performance
with evaluation apprehension, do we need observers
no bc we just worry about others’ evaluation whether they’re there or not
describe distraction theory
cog load taken up by attention split w distractor stimulus so have fewer resources for task at hand
in distraction theory, what will happen depending on whether the task is easy or not
well-learned = dominant means unaffected performance
hard/not well learned = non-dominant so worse performance
describe the self-awareness explanation
we compare actual and ideal performances
what do small and large discrepancies with performances cause
small = motivation = better performance large = give up as ideal performance hard to match
how does being self-conscious affect performance
worsens it even if well-learnt as worry about self-presentation so hindered performance is failure anticipated
