Chapter 12: Groups Flashcards
What is social facilitation?
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
What is “dominant response”?
In a person’s hierarchy of possible responses in any context, the response that person is most likely to make
What is evaluation apprehension?
People’s concern about how they might appear or be evaluated in the eyes of others (when someone evaluating you – more dominant response)
What is social loafing?
The tendency to exert less effort when working on a group task in which individual contributions cannot be monitored.
What is Zajonc’s Theory of Mere Presence?
mere presence of others, tends to facilitate performance on simple or well-learned tasks, but it hinders performance on difficult or novel tasks
What are the 3 components of Zajonc’s Theory of Mere Presence?
- people present = arousal
- arousal = more narrowly focused
- the increase in dominant response tendencies facilitates performance on simple tasks and inhibits performance on complex tasks
effect of mere presence vs evaluative presence>
well learned task: fast alone, faster in mere presence, fastest in evaluative presence
novel task: slow alone, slower in mere presence, slowest in evaluative presence
What is “groupthink”?
In decision-making groups, pressure to agree leading to inadequate appraisal of options and poor decisions
higher authority pressures spacecraft launch
Antecedents for groupthink?
- **directive leader **that openly expersses own opinions before discussion occurs
- high group cohesiveness
- high stress
Symptoms of groupthink?
- illusion of invulnerability and rationalization of warnings
-** unquestioned beleifs** of group’s morality -
pressure against challening consensis
- self-censorship of dissent causes illusion of unanimity - emergence of mindguard
How can you avoid groupthink?
- leadership should be nondirective
- anonymous opinions
- outside evaluators
What is group polarization?
group decisions tend to be more extreme than those made by individuals (intensifies when everyone thinks alike)
Why does group polarization occur?
- exposure to persuasive arguments (members learn new arguments from each other)
- trying to be a better group member (one-up each other with extreme comments)
Why is group polarization dangerous?
can lead to closed-mindedness, extremist
easy to isolate themselves with people that agree to an extreme extent
What is self-censorship?
withholding information or opinions in group discussions
What is power?
ability to control one’s own outcomes and those of others
What is social hierarchy?
an arrangement of individuals in terms of their rank, power, relative to the power of other group members
What are the 4 virtues that enable individuals to gain power within groups?
- courage
- humanity
- justice
- temperance
What are the 3 vices that enable people to gain power in groups?
- Machiavellianism (deception)
- narcissism
- psychopathy
What is the approach/inhibition theory?
A theory maintaining that high-power individuals are inclined to go a er their goals and make quick (sometimes rash) judgments, whereas low-power individuals are more likely to constrain their behaviour and pay careful attention to others
What is deindividuation?
A reduced sense of individual identity accompanied by diminished self-regulation that can come over people when they are in a large group
mob-mentality
What is individuation?
An enhanced sense of individual identity produced by focusing attention on the self, which generally leads people to act
carefully, deliberately, and in accordance with their sense of propriety and values
What is self-awareness theory?
A theory maintaining that when people focus their attention inward on themselves, they become concerned with self-
evaluation and how their current behaviour conforms to their internal standards and values
What is spotlight effect?
People’s conviction that other people are paying more attention to them (to their appearance and behavior) than they actually are
What is a group?
three or more persons who are interacting with and/or influencing one another
What groups are more group-like than others?
- intimacy groups (fam, friend)
- task groups (sport team, band)
- social categories (gender, religion, country)
- loose associations (people who like similar things)
Most intimacy groups range from — and tend to be
3-6 members
homogenous (alike in age, sex, beliefs, opinion) ie similar before joining the group
Why do people join groups?
- innate “need to belong” that is universal
- motivates collective action (ex. political movements)
- fulfills basic human need (evolutionary perspective)
The interesting thing about Zajonc’s theory is that
social facilitation applies to non-human animals
What does social facilitation depend on?
evaluation apprehesion:
- threatening situation: perform bad (noradreniline constricts blood vessels = less O2)
- challenging but doable: perform well (adreniline dilates blood vessels = more O2)
What are the reasons for social loafing?
- diffusion of responsibility
- lack of accountability
When does social loafing become less likely to occur?
- individual contributions are identifiable
- groups are small and cohesive
- task is challenging and important
deindividuation is accentuated by
wearing masks and costumes (Qanon, KKK, Anonymous)
deindividuation plays a role in – and –
this is more likely when:
internet flaming: derogatory lang to provoke a reaction
OR
suicide baiting
1. crowd is large
2. victim is higher up/farther away from crowd
3. nighttime
What are the 3 reasons for deindividuation?
- less personal accountability
- distracts people from their moral standards
- obedient to group norms
- induced by setting: spring break, festivals, concerts
What are the 4 conditions of MINORITY INFLUENCE?
- must be confident
- persistent
- reasonable/conciliatory (not combative)
- can stimulate divergent thinking
