8 - Dynamics of Group Behaviour Flashcards
Group?
Two or more people who share a common definition and evaluation of themselves and behave in accordance with such definition
Entitativity?
The property of a group that makes it seem like a coherent, distinct and unitary entity
Common bond groups?
based upon attachment among members. prioritise personal goals over group goals, aiming to maximise individual rewards and minimise personal cost
Common identity groups?
based on direct attachment to the group. prioritise group goals, seeking to maximise group rewards and minimise its costs through individual contributions
Individualists?
view group behaviour as an extension of individual behaviour, believing that group processes are merely interpersonal interactions among multiple individuals
Collectivists?
group behaviour is shaped by distinct social processes and cognitive representations that emerge uniquely from within groups
Frank Johnson (1987): 7 major emphases. According to them, the group is:
- a collection of individuals who are interacting
- a social unit of two or more individuals who perceive themselves as belonging to a group
- a coll. of indiv. who are interdependent
- a coll of indiv who join together to achieve a goal
- a coll. of indiv. who are trying to satisfy a need through their joint association
- a coll. of indiv. whose interactions are structured by a set of roles and norms
- a coll. of indiv. who influence each other
Social Facilitation?
An improvement in the performance of well learned/easy tasks and a deterioration in the performance of poorly learned/hard tasks in the mere presence of members of the same species
Mere presence?
an entirely passive and unresponsive audience that is only physically present
Audience effects?
impact of the presence of other on individual task performance
Drive theory?
Zajonc’s theory that the physical presence of members of the same species instinctively causes arousal that motivates performance of habitual behaviour patterns. This arousan can lead to either social facilitation or social inhibition
Evaluation apprehension model?
The argument that the physical presence of members of the same species cause drive because people have learned to be apprehensive about being evaluated
Distraction conflict theory?
The physical presence of members of the same species is distracting and produces conflict between attending to the task and attending to the audience
Task taxonomy?
Categorises group tasks based on three questions:
1. is the task divisible or unitary?
2. Is it a maximising or an optimising task? (maximising: open ended, stresses quantity, optimising has a set standard, obj. i s to meet it)
3. how are individual inputs related to the group’s product? Additive, compensatory, disjunctive, conjunctive, discretionary
Process Loss?
Deterioration in group performance in comparison to individual performance due to the whole range of possible interferences among members
Coordination loss?
deterioration in group performance compared with individual performance, due to problems in coordinating behaviour
Ringelmann effect?
Individual effort on a task diminishes as a group size increases
Social Loafing?
A reduction in individual effort when working on a collective task (one which in our outputs are pooled with those of other group members) compared with working either alone or coactively (our outputs are not pooled)
Free-Rider Effect?
Gaining the benefits of group membership by avoiding costly obligations of membership and by allowing other members to incur those costs
What three reasons could explain social loafing?
- Output equity, reduction of effort to maintain perceived equity
- Evaluation apprehension, individuals might hold back when fearing evaluation
- Matching to standard, indiv. might not clearly understand group norms and standards
Social compensation?
Increased effort on a collective task to compensate for other group members’ actual , perceived or anticipated lack of effort or ability
Cohesiveness?
The property of a group that affectively binds people, as group members, to one another and to the group as a whole, giving the group a sense of solidarity and oneness.
Personal Attraction?
Liking for someone based on idiosyncratic (individual) preferences and interpersonal relationships
Social Attraction?
Liking for someone based on common group membership and determined by the person’s prototypicality of the group
Tuckman’s 5 stage developmental sequence for small interactive groups?
- forming - familiarisation
- storming - conflict stage
- norming - consensus, cohesion, community
- performing - smooth work as a unit w/ shared norms and goals
- adjourning - dissolving, goal has been accomplished
Group Socialisation?
Dynamic relationship between the group and its embers that describes the passage of members through a group in terms of commitment and of changing roles
3 fundamental processes of group socialisation?
- Evaluation - comparison between rewards from current group and other possible ones
- Commitment - arises when both parties agree on goals
- Role transition - different statuses of membership
5 phases of group socialisation?
- investigation
- socialisation
- maintenance
- resocialisation
- remembrance
Initiation Rites?
Often painful or embarrassing public procedures to mark group members’ movements from one role to another
Three essential functions of initiation rites?
- symbolism - public recognition
- apprenticeship - help with becoming accustomed
- loyalty elicitation - enhance commitment to group
Cognitive Dissonance?
State of psychological tension produced by simultaneously having two opposing cognitions. People often motivated to reduce tension often by changing or rejecting one of the cognitions. Festinger proposed that we seek harmony in our attitudes, beliefs and behaviours and try to reduce tension from inconsistency among these elements.
Norms?
Attitudinal and behavioural uniformities that define group membership and differentiate between groups
Ethnomethodology?
Devised by Garfinkel, method involving the violation of hidden norms to reveal their presence
Frame of reference?
Provided by norms, a complete range of subjectively conceivable positions on some attitudinal or behavioural dimensions, which relevant people can occupy in a particular context
Moral Principles?
Fundamental organising principles for our behaviour, which regulate behavioural activation (approach) and behavioural inhibition (avoidance)
Group Structure?
Division of a group into different roles that often differ with respect to status and prestige
Roles?
Patterns of behaviour that distinguish between different activities within the group, and that interrelate to one another for the greater good of the group
Correspondence bias?
General attribution bias in which people have an inflated tendency to see behaviour as reflecting (corresponding to) stable underlying personality attributes
Status?
Consensual evaluation of prestige of a role or role occupant in a group, or the prestige of a group and its members as a whole
Expectation states theory?
Theory of the emergence of roles as a consequence of people’s status-based expectations about others’ performance.
Specific status characterstics?
Attributes that relate directly to ability on the group task
Diffuse status characteristics?
Attributes that do not relate directly to ability ono the group task but are generally positively or negatively valued in society
Communication network?
Set of rules governing the possibility or ease of communication between different roles in a group
Schism?
Division of a group into subgroups that differ in their attitudes, values or ideology
Two types of members?
- those who best embody the group’s attributes - core members who are highly prototypical of the group
- those who do not - marginal or non-prototypical
Subjective Group Dynamics?
A process where normative deviant who deviate towards an outgroup (anti-norm deviants9 are more harshly treated than those who deviate away from the outgroup (pro-norm deviants)
Reasons for Joining groups?
Physical proximity, shared goals, mutual support, affiliation pleasure
Uncertainty Identity Theory?
To reduce uncertainty and to feel more comfortable about who they are, people choose to identify with groups that are distinctive, are clearly defined and have consensual norms
What can ostracism lead to?
Social pain, lack of meaningful existence and aggression
