8: Leadership and Group Decision Making Flashcards
Are people more creative in a group or when working alone?
There’s no difference
Do we contribute more ideas in a group or working alone?
We generate twice as many ideas when working alone
Why do we generate more ideas when working alone compared to in a group?
Evaluation apprehension
Social loafing
Production matching
Production blocking
How can evaluation apprehension be used as an explanation for coming up with less ideas in a group compared to working alone?
We’re concerned with making a good impression so worry they won’t like our ideas
How can social loafing be used as an explanation for coming up with less ideas in a group compared to working alone?
Motivation loss because of the collective nature of the task
How can production matching be used as an explanation for coming up with less ideas in a group compared to working alone?
We base our performance on the average of how the other members are performing
How can production blocking be used as an explanation for coming up with less ideas in a group compared to working alone?
We’re blocked by interruptions and taking turns to listen to others
What is groupthink?
A mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive group, where members strivings for unity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action
Overestimation of group work and dehumanizing outgroups
Close mindedness to new ideas
Pressure towards uniformity
What care the causes of groupthink?
High cohesiveness
Structural factors: Don’t think about the wider social context
High stress increases liklihood of groupthink
What are the problems with the theory of groupthink?
Based on observations and historical accounts
Analysis the process and no the outcome
It doesn’t always produce bad decisions
It’s the norms, not the groups that are the issue
What is the idea of group memory?
That people are more able to remember tasks if they are in a group than alone
What is transactive memory?
Relies on the assumption that different group members will remember different things
Allows group members to remember more
How are risky decisions affected by groups?
We make more risky decisions in a group
What is polarization in group discussion?
The tendency to produce a more extreme group decision to the member’s pre-discussion opinion
How can cultural value be used to explain polarization?
In public, we behave in ways that might not fit our internal ideas
We want to fit in with other people but also think our own opinions are correct
How can persuasion be used to explain polarization?
Individuals are exposed to new arguemtns for extreme positions
How does social identity explain polarization?
When focused on group membership, we shift towards the norm
What are some explanations for leadership?
Personality theory Leader behaviour Situational perspectives Contingency theory Leadership is a process
What is leadership?
The process where an individual influences a group in a way that inspires them to achieve the same goal they have defined as being important
What is the great man theory?
Leaders posess universal attributes which mean they are born great
What is the situational perspective of leadership?
Leaders are those that best meet the requirements of a group in that current situation
What is the atmosphere of an autocratic leader?
Aggression
Dependence
Self-orientated
What is the productivity of a group with an autocratic leader?
When leader is present, productivity is high
When leader is absent, productivity is low
What is the atmosphere of a democratic leader?
Friendly
Group orientated
Task orientated
What is the productivity of a group when they have a democratic leader?
High all the time
What roles do leaders take within the group?
Task specialist
Socioemotional specialist
What is a task specialist?
They initiate actions and get members to concentrate on the task
What is a socioemotional specialist?
They are in tune with how the group feels and how they respond to the task
Who came up with contingency theory?
Fiedler
What is contingency theory?
Effectiveness of task orientated vs socio-emotional leaders is contingent on their match with the situation
When situational control is at an extreme, task orientated leaders are most effective
What is leader-member exchange theory?
Relationships between leaders and followers vary
Low relationships means fewer recourses are offered to that member
High relationships increase performance
What is transformational leadership?
Leader inspires followers to adopt vision that involves more than self interest
