Chapter 7: Group Influence Flashcards
1
Q
What is a Group?
A
- 2 or more people who interact with and influence one another
- The idea of “us” and “them”
- Meet various needs (affiliation, achieving, social identity)
2
Q
Social Facilitation: The “Mere” Presence of Others
A
- We are often influenced by the presence of others
- CO-ACTORS: People that are present in a situation as a passive audience
- Co-actors’ presence often improves performance (even in animals)
3
Q
Social FacilitationTheory
A
- The increased likelihood of responses due to the presence of others
- Co-actors don’t even need to be visible
- (Zajonc) Social arousal facilitates dominant (most likely) responses, so it can either help or hinder performance
4
Q
Social Facilitation: Crowding
A
- Presence of others promotes sweat, fast breath, tense muscles, higher BP, and faster heart rate
- The more people, the more likely we are to mess up simple functions
- Crowds intensify reactions, positive or negative
- When in a smaller room, a group of people are more aroused, and social facilitation happens
5
Q
Why do Co-Actors Arouse us? Evaluation Apprehension
A
- We are aroused by our concern about others’ evaluation of our actions
- The presence of a blindfolded audience did not cause social an increase in dominant response
6
Q
Why do Co-Actors Arouse Us? Distraction
A
- Another theory posits that part of our arousal comes from the conflict of paying attention to others, whether its their performance, or their reactions to us
7
Q
Why do Co-Actors Arouse Us? Mere Presence
A
- Zajonc believed (since animals show social facilitation) that we have an innate social arousal mechanism
- Running with others causes us to run faster, even when they are not perceiving or competing us
8
Q
Scientific Theory: Social Facilitation Theory
A
- A simple summary of findings
- Offers clear predictions that help confirm, guide exploration, and suggest practical application
- Practical Application: Do open offices promote productivity while decreasing creativity on difficult problems?
9
Q
Social Loafing
A
- People tend to exert less effort when working in a team than when they are individually accountable
- Study found that participants pull 18% harder when they think others behind them are pulling as well
- Rather than feeling uninhibited by group tasks, people tend to slack off
10
Q
Social Loafing: Free Ride
A
- Giving less when benefiting from a group effort
- When rewards are divided equally, loafing allows more reward per amount of effort
11
Q
Social Loafing VS Facilitation
A
- When being observed increases evaluation concerns, social facilitation (increased dominant response) occurs
- When being lost in a crowd decreases evaluation concerns, social loafing occurs
12
Q
Social Loafing: Everyday Life
A
- Assembly line workers produced 16% more product when they were individually tracked, even when they knew their output would not affect them
- Collectivist cultures show slightly less social loafing due to their emphasis on loyalty to family and work groups
13
Q
Social Loafing: When it Doesn’t Happen
A
- People loaf less in groups when a common goal is challenging, appealing, or involving
- Hard work is positively correlated with achievement motivation, belonging in a group, reward perception, personal efficacy, feeling of importance within the group
14
Q
Deindividuation: Doing Things Together
A
- Loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension; occurs when groups foster anonymity
- Combination of social loafing (diffuses responsibility) and social facilitation (increases arousal) found in groups can be dangerous (Getting mad at refs, stealing)
- Groups can create a sense of excitement in the feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself
15
Q
Deindividuation: Group Attribution
A
- Actions are perceived as the group’s, not the individual
- Feelings of anonymity within a group can lead to attributing our behavior to a situation rather than ourselves
16
Q
Deindividuation: Physical Anonymity
A
- Women dressed in coats delivered shocks twice as long as those who were visible and wearing large name tags
- When deindividuated, we no longer feel influenced by the same norms as everyday
- This can influence our behavior based on the cues of the situation (negative or positive: Klan vs Nurse uniforms)
17
Q
Deindividuation: Arousing & Distracting Activities
A
- Outbursts in crowds are often preceded by minor actions that arouse and divert people’s attention
- Doing an impulsive act along with others gives us a self-reinforcing pleasure
- Deindividuation can cause us to do things that we regret, or allow us to do things that provide freedom amongst a group
18
Q
Deindividuation: Diminished Self-Awareness
A
- Group experiences that diminish self awareness disconnect our behavior from our attitudes
- Social facilitation causes us to be more responsive and group loafing allows for less self-assessment
- Those made self-aware act in accordance with their attitudes
- Collectivist cultures have more self-awareness as they are more likely to consider how their actions appear to others
19
Q
Self Awareness VS Deindividuation
A
- Deindividuation increases when self-awareness is lowered (alcohol, uniforms, social pressure)
- Self-Awareness increases when deindividuation is lowered (mirrors, small towns, individual clothing)
20
Q
Group Polarization
A
- Group-produced enhancement of members’ pre-existing tendencies
- A strengthening of the members’ average tendency, not a split within the group
21
Q
Group Polarization: Everyday Life
A
- In schools
- In communities
- On the internet
- Terrorist Organizations
22
Q
Polarization: Informational Influence
A
- Active discussions can produce attitude changes more than passive listening
- The more group members rehearse an idea, the more likely they are to believe them
23
Q
Polarization: Normative Influence
A
- Social comparison: What do they do, what do I do
- Pluralistic ignorance: When everyone else does something, we infer that there’s something wrong with us. We don’t speak up because it seems normal to everyone else
24
Q
Groupthink
A
- Concurrence-seeking can become dominant when a cohesive in-group overrides realistic appraisals of alternate options
25
Q
Symptoms of Groupthink: Might and Right
A
- An illusion of invulnerability in a cohesive group
- This brings an unquestioned belief in a group’s morality
26
Q
Symptoms of Groupthink: Closemindedness
A
- Rationalize that “things have always been done this way”
- Opponents are seen as “them” who do things wrong
27
Q
Symptoms of Groupthink: Self-Sensoring
A
- Comformity pressure
- Self-censorship of views that go against the group
- Illusion of unanimity when really they all might be thinking differently
- Mindguards: protecting our minds from outside influences, no matter what they are
28
Q
Critiquing Groupthink
A
- Initially based on retrospective evidence
- Friendships need not breed groupthink
- What if one of the norms of the group is critical thinking
- Sometimes even good group procedures can lead to poor decisions
29
Q
Preventing Groupthink
A
- Be impartial
- Assign a devil’s advocate
- Subdivide the group
- Invite critiques from outside experts
- Call a “second-chance” meeting to air lingering doubts
30
Q
Group Problem-solving
A
- Combine group and solitary brain-storming
- Have group members interact by writing
- Incorporate electronic brainstorming
31
Q
Leadership
A
How certain group members motivate and guide the group
- Task leadership: organzation, setting standards, focusing on goal attainment
- Social Leadership: Focusing on building teamwork, mediating conflicts, and being supportive
32
Q
Transactional Leadership
A
- Concerned with how work is progressing
- Sensitive to the needs of their subordinates
33
Q
Transformational Leadership
A
- Consistently stick to their goals
- Self-confident charisma
- Vision, communication, and inspiration
34
Q
Minority Influence: Consistency
A
- Minority slowness effect
- Stimulating creative thinking
- Becoming the focus of debate
35
Q
Minority Influence: Self Confidence
A
Confident individuals are more likely to sway members of a group
36
Q
Minority Influence: Defections from the Majority
A
- Punctures illusions of unanimity
- Types of influence: informational/normative
