Chapter 12 - Groups

Question 1

social facilitation

Answer 1

Initially a term for enhanced performance in the presence of others; now a broader term for the effect, positive or negative, of the presence of others on performance.

Question 2

dominant response

Answer 2

In a person’s hierarchy of possible responses in any context, the response that person is most likely to make.

Question 3

evaluation apprehension

Answer 3

People’s concern about how they might appear in the eyes of others, or be evaluated by them.

Question 4

social loafing

Answer 4

The tendency to exert less effort when working on a group task in which individual contributions cannot be monitored.

Question 5

groupthink

Answer 5

Faulty thinking by members of highly cohesive groups in which the critical scrutiny that should be devoted to the issues at hand is subverted by social pressures to reach consensus.

Question 6

self-censorship

Answer 6

Withholding information or opinions in group discussions.

Question 7

group polarization

Answer 7

The tendency for group decisions to be more extreme than those made by individuals; whatever way the group as a whole is leaning, group discussion tends to make it lean further in that direction.

Question 8

power

Answer 8

The ability to control one’s own outcomes and those of others; the freedom to act.

Question 9

status

Answer 9

The outcome of an evaluation of attributes that produces differences in respect and prominence.

Question 10

authority

Answer 10

Power that derives from institutionalized role or arrangements.

Question 11

dominance

Answer 11

Behavior enacted with the goal of acquiring or demonstrating power.

Question 12

approach/inhibition theory

Answer 12

A theory maintaining that high-power individuals are inclined to go after their goals and make quick (and sometimes rash) judgments, whereas low-power individuals are more likely to constrain their behavior and pay careful attention to others.

Question 13

deindividuation

Answer 13

A reduced sense of individual identity accompanied by diminished self-regulation that can come over people when they are in a large group.

Question 14

individuation

Answer 14

An enhanced sense of individual identity produced by focusing attention on the self, which generally leads people to act carefully and deliberately and in accordance with their sense of propriety and values.

Question 15

self-awareness theory

Answer 15

A theory maintaining that when people focus their attention inward on themselves, they become concerned with self-evaluation and how their current behavior conforms to their internal standards and values.

Question 16

spotlight effect

Answer 16

People’s conviction that other people are paying attention to them (to their appearance and behavior) more than they actually are.

Question 17

Open-plan offices, where large communal desks are used in place of private rooms or cubicles, are becoming increasingly popular. From the perspective of Zajonc’s social facilitation theory, do you think open-plan offices are likely to facilitate or hinder performance and productivity? Why or why not? How might it depend on the type of work being conducted?

Answer 17

According to Zajonc’s social facilitation theory, the presence of others tends to increase physiological arousal, which facilitates performance on well-learned, reflexive tasks but can impair performance on more complex tasks. Open-plan offices may therefore facilitate performance and productivity for employees who work at simple, repetitive tasks, whereas they may hinder performance for those who work on novel, unpredictable, and highly challenging tasks. For the latter group, private rooms may be more beneficial.

Question 18

Can you think of any examples in your own life where groupthink has taken place? What factors contributed to groupthink in these situations? What kinds of safeguards could you put in place in similar future situations to promote better decision making?

Answer 18

Examples relevant to students could involve decisions made by a close group of friends, a student organization, a sports team, or a group working on a project together. Groupthink refers to the tendency for highly cohesive groups to make poor decisions when critical scrutiny of the issues at hand is subverted by social pressures to reach consensus. Factors that can contribute to groupthink include the presence of a strong leader, a sense of invulnerability and moral superiority, a narrow consideration of alternatives, and self-censorship of important information and conflicting viewpoints for fear of disrupting group harmony. Approaches that have been shown to reduce groupthink include designating “devil’s advocates” to take alternative positions and point out weaknesses in the plan, welcoming outside input to protect against insularity, and having group leaders refrain from making their opinions or preferences known at the beginning of the discussion.

Question 19

Suppose your company is trying to decide whether to make a risky new hire. Individually, most of the members of the hiring team lean toward hiring the candidate, as it could substantially increase revenues if it works out. When the hiring team gets together to discuss the potential hire, how might you predict that the attitudes of the individuals in the group will shift? What decision is likely to be made?

Answer 19

According to research on group polarization, group decisions tend to be more extreme than those made by individuals, and they tend to be extreme in whatever direction individuals are already leaning. In the hiring decision example, individuals are already leaning in favor of the risky hire, so the group discussion is likely to polarize individuals further in the direction of the hire and increase the likelihood that the hire will be made. Group polarization may be due in part to exposure to additional persuasive arguments from others and in part to the desire to measure up favorably in comparison with others (that is, to appear even more comfortable with risk than others if riskiness is valued).

Question 20

In The Prince, Machiavelli argued that people gain power through deception, manipulation, coercion, and the use of fear tactics. How does this perspective compare with research findings about who rises to power?

Answer 20

According to the research, people typically gain power by having knowledge and expertise that is relevant to the goals and identity of the group, by possessing strong social skills and building cooperative alliances among group members, and by demonstrating generosity and fairness. These findings suggest that Machiavelli’s perspective may apply on occasion but may not be generally accurate.

Question 21

Do you think it’s accurate to say that power corrupts? Why or why not? What factors influence the extent to which power leads to prosocial versus antisocial behavior?

Answer 21

Power involves the freedom to act on one’s own wishes, without being constrained by others’ wishes. According to the approach/inhibition theory of power, this lack of constraint and inhibition can lead high-power people to make impulsive decisions, stereotype others, feel less empathy, and engage in antisocial behaviors, such as sexual harassment and aggression. Low-power people, by contrast, need to be more cautious and socially attuned because their outcomes are more dependent on others. One factor that can counteract the disinhibiting effects of power is accountability, or a sense of responsibility toward others. Having a child, for example, can make powerful people less likely to engage in reckless behaviors. Another key factor is the extent to which a high-power individual has a communally oriented disposition to begin with: the acquisition of power can lead communally oriented individuals to behave more prosocially, rather than selfishly.

Question 22

What does research on deindividuation show about why crime rates are so high on Halloween?

Answer 22

Deindividuation refers to a reduced sense of individual identity accompanied by diminished self-regulation that can occur in a large group. Deindividuation is fueled by anonymity, diffusion of responsibility, and high levels of arousal, all of which are common on Halloween, when people are disguised in masks and costumes, shrouded in darkness, and likely to move around in large packs. As a result, people might be more prone to engage in destructive and illegal behaviors that they would not otherwise engage in, such as vandalism, theft, or assault.

Question 23

How could you use your knowledge of self-awareness theory to reduce cheating behavior on a test that relies on the honor system?

Answer 23

People are more likely to behave in line with their internal standards and values—and therefore behave more ethically—when they focus attention on themselves. One way to increase self-awareness and thereby reduce cheating could be to put a mirror in the testing room or have students walk by a mirror before taking the test. Another approach could be to display objects that look like eyes or faces in the room so students have the implicit sense that their behavior is being monitored. This approach has been shown to be effective for promoting contributions to an “honest box” in exchange for the use of shared resources, such as coffee in an office setting.