Chapter 12: Groups

Question 1

What is 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

What is “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

What is evaluation apprehension?

Answer 3

People’s concern about how they might appear or be evaluated in the eyes of others (when someone evaluating you – more dominant response)

Question 4

What is 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

What is Zajonc’s Theory of Mere Presence?

Answer 5

mere presence of others, tends to facilitate performance on simple or well-learned tasks, but it hinders performance on difficult or novel tasks

Question 6

What are the 3 components of Zajonc’s Theory of Mere Presence?

Answer 6

1. people present = arousal
2. arousal = more narrowly focused
3. the increase in dominant response tendencies facilitates performance on simple tasks and inhibits performance on complex tasks

Question 7

effect of mere presence vs evaluative presence>

Answer 7

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

Question 8

What is “groupthink”?

Answer 8

In decision-making groups, pressure to agree leading to inadequate appraisal of options and poor decisions

higher authority pressures spacecraft launch

Question 9

Antecedents for groupthink?

Answer 9

1. **directive leader **that openly expersses own opinions before discussion occurs
2. high group cohesiveness
3. high stress

Question 10

Symptoms of groupthink?

Answer 10

• 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

Question 11

How can you avoid groupthink?

Answer 11

1. leadership should be nondirective
2. anonymous opinions
3. outside evaluators

Question 12

What is group polarization?

Answer 12

group decisions tend to be more extreme than those made by individuals (intensifies when everyone thinks alike)

Question 13

Why does group polarization occur?

Answer 13

1. exposure to persuasive arguments (members learn new arguments from each other)
2. trying to be a better group member (one-up each other with extreme comments)

Question 14

Why is group polarization dangerous?

Answer 14

can lead to closed-mindedness, extremist

easy to isolate themselves with people that agree to an extreme extent

Question 15

What is self-censorship?

Answer 15

withholding information or opinions in group discussions

Question 16

What is power?

Answer 16

ability to control one’s own outcomes and those of others

Question 17

What is social hierarchy?

Answer 17

an arrangement of individuals in terms of their rank, power, relative to the power of other group members

Question 18

What are the 4 virtues that enable individuals to gain power within groups?

Answer 18

1. courage
2. humanity
3. justice
4. temperance

Question 19

What are the 3 vices that enable people to gain power in groups?

Answer 19

1. Machiavellianism (deception)
2. narcissism
3. psychopathy

Question 20

What is the approach/inhibition theory?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

What is deindividuation?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

What is individuation?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

What is self-awareness theory?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

What is spotlight effect?

Answer 24

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

Question 25

What is a group?

Answer 25

three or more persons who are interacting with and/or influencing one another

Question 26

What groups are more group-like than others?

Answer 26

• intimacy groups (fam, friend)
• task groups (sport team, band)
• social categories (gender, religion, country)
• loose associations (people who like similar things)

Question 27

Most intimacy groups range from — and tend to be

Answer 27

3-6 members

homogenous (alike in age, sex, beliefs, opinion) ie similar before joining the group

Question 28

Why do people join groups?

Answer 28

• innate “need to belong” that is universal
• motivates collective action (ex. political movements)
• fulfills basic human need (evolutionary perspective)

Question 29

The interesting thing about Zajonc’s theory is that

Answer 29

social facilitation applies to non-human animals

Question 30

What does social facilitation depend on?

Answer 30

evaluation apprehesion:
- threatening situation: perform bad (noradreniline constricts blood vessels = less O2)
- challenging but doable: perform well (adreniline dilates blood vessels = more O2)

Question 31

What are the reasons for social loafing?

Answer 31

1. diffusion of responsibility
2. lack of accountability

Question 32

When does social loafing become less likely to occur?

Answer 32

1. individual contributions are identifiable
2. groups are small and cohesive
3. task is challenging and important

Question 33

deindividuation is accentuated by

Answer 33

wearing masks and costumes (Qanon, KKK, Anonymous)

Question 34

deindividuation plays a role in – and –

this is more likely when:

Answer 34

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

Question 35

What are the 3 reasons for deindividuation?

Answer 35

1. less personal accountability
2. distracts people from their moral standards
3. obedient to group norms
4. induced by setting: spring break, festivals, concerts

Question 36

What are the 4 conditions of MINORITY INFLUENCE?

Answer 36

1. must be confident
2. persistent
3. reasonable/conciliatory (not combative)
4. can stimulate divergent thinking