Chapter 12: Groups Flashcards
Define groups
a collection of individuals that who have relations to one another that make them interdependent to some significant degree
What are the benefits of groups?
-protection from predators
-assistance
-idea generations
-support
specialized jobs
-defense
Define social facilitation
the effect of the presence of others on performance
e.g: cyclists pedaled faster when they were around other people vs when they were alone
What is the fishing study (triplett 1898)?
- 40 kids turned fishing reels as fast as they could
- in trails 1-3, the children were alone; in trails 4-6 ,children were with others doing the same thing
- children turned the reels faster when they were around other kids doing the same thing
What is the undergraduate philosophy study?
- participants asked to refute phil arguments in five minutes
- they did better when they were alone
define mere presence theory
presence of others facilitates performance on well-learned tasks but hinders performance on novel or difficult tasks
Define dominant response
response that the person is most likely/used to make
what is the cockroach study?
- cockroaches placed in one of two mazes: a simple maze, complex maze
- cockroaches either alone or with another cockroach
- light shone on cockroaches so they would flee
- cockroaches w others did better on simple maze vs complex maze
what is the cockroach variation study?
-same as the original, BUT this time, observer cockroaches watched the participant through glass. same result: cockroaches did better when others were watching on simple maze but worse on complex maze
define evaluation apprehension
people’s concern about how they might appear in the eyes of others
What is the words and blindfold study?
- participants given a list of words and asked to pronounce 2 words, 1, 2, 5, 10, or 25 times
- told to identify words flashing on the screen for very brief intervals
- none of the presented words were actually on the study list
- participants either alone, two other part. watching. , or two other blindfolded participated
- there was an significant effect (higher number of dominant responses) when the two others watched
What is the true alone changing study (Markus 1978)? And what did we gather from it?
-participants told to change into clothes while other participants arrived.
-participants were either alone, experimenter watching, or repairman doing something in the room
-participants told to change back into their own clothes
-novel task: changing into lab clothes; difficult task: changing into own clothes
-participants showed greatest social facilitation effect for when experimenter watched. but still had an effect for mere presence as well
WHAT WE FOUND OUT: the mere presence of others is enough for social facilitation. Evaluation apprehension enhances this even further
define social loafing
the tendency to exert less effort when working on a group task in which individuals contributions cannot be monitored
When do people tend to make better decisions as a group?
- when the question has a PRECISE, factual answer
- they avoid the pitfalls of groupthink
define groupthink
faulty thinking that arises when members of cohesive groups are pressured to come a consensus
- vietnam war
- 9/11
- pearl harbor
What are some reasons for groupthink?
- conformity
- leadership
- self-censorship
- pluralistic ignorance
How do we avoid groupthink?
Leader impartiality Encouraging dissension Creating subgroups Anonymity Devil’s advocate Review Outside opinions
define group polarization
tendency for group decisions to be more extreme than those made by individuals
How does group polarization come about?
- persuasive arguments account: people exposed to new arguments in favor of their position
- social comparison interpretation: comparison with others-wanting to be the most correct; stand out; one-up everyone else
What are some characteristics of leaders?
Skills and expertise (Anderson & Brown, 2010) Socially skilled (Savin-Williams, 1977) Emotionally intelligent (Cote & Miners, 2006) Provide rewards (Willer, 2009)
define power
define status
define authority
define dominance
p: the ability to control one’s own and other’s outcome
s: respect and prominence from others
a: control over others that comes from institutionalized roles/arrangements
d: behavior enacted with the goal of acquiring or demonstrating control over others
define approach-inhibition theory of power
high power individuals are likely to go after goals and make quick judgements
- high power–> action, approach, touching
- low power–> inaction, inhibition, retreating
what are the two core elements of high power individuals?
- high power individuals are less careful and systematic in how they assess others (perceptions)
- high power individuals are more focused on their own goals; [less likely to take other people’s perspectives] (behavior)
What have studies found about powerful people (more likely to do what vs low power people)?
-more likely to touch others and approach them closely
-to think of others in a sexualized way
-to forwardly flirt with others
-are more likely to violate politeness-related norms of communication and act rudely towards others
-be more critical of others than themselves for the same behavior
[the higher their rank in a company, the more likely someone is to have an extramarital affair]
Low-power people
-are less likely to speak up & more likely to inhibit their speech
-restrict their body posture
