Chapter 7—Group Influence Flashcards
What is a group?
Two or more ppl who interact with and influence each other, perceiving each other a ‘us’.
The group has some sort of shared goal
What is Social Facilitation and how does it work
In the presence of other people, our performance increases in things that are easy or that we excel at, and our performance decreases in things that are hard or unfamiliar.
- this happens because the presence of others is arousing
- we worry about how they evaluate us
- their presence is distracting
- may be evolutionary
What is social loafing, and why does it happen?
When people’s efforts are pooled and individual effort isn’t evaluated, people generally exert less effort in groups than individually.
Happens because:
- Diffusion of responsibility
- Not being evaluated
- Descriptive norm change (adjusting effort lvls based on perception of how much effort others put in)
What is deindividualization
A state where people lose their sense of individual identity and self-awareness
This leads to impulsive or atypical behavior.
Happens in group settings where people feel anonymous and less accountable for their actions, in larger groups (mobs)
How do groups intensify our opinions through group polarization, and why does this happen?
Through group polarization: people’s views/beliefs/behavs become more extreme after discussing them in a like-minded group
Why?
- Informational influence: conforming makes you assume the group’s belief is correct
- Normative influence: wanting to conform to be accepted
- Accentuation phenomenon on the macro level
What is groupthink?
When a group prioritizes harmony over realistic decision-making, bad decisions and ignored warning signs occur
Name some symptoms of groupthink
- Illusion of invulnerability (“the law cant confine us”)
- Excusing bad decisions (“it’ll work out”)
- Illusion of inherent moral superiority (“We’re justified”)
- Stereotyping out-groups (“They lame bcs they different”)
- Pressure to conform (“Get on board”)
- Self censorship of misgivings (“Don’t snitch”)
- An illusion of unamity (“We all agree, right?”)
- Information control (“Don’t tell them that”)
What is the role of leadership in groups?
Leaders motivate and guide the group
What makes individuals more likely to influence the group? How do these traits cause influence?
When they:
- are consistent
- have self-confidence
When they’re consistent and self-confident, it creates a space where defection from the majority viewpoint can occur
What is group cohesiveness?
The extent to which members of a group are bonded together, such as by attraction for one another
What are co-actors? What does it have to do with social facilitation/inhibition?
Co-actors are individuals who are performing the same task as you but are not competing directly against you.
Their mere presence can influence your performance due to social facilitation.
What is pluralistic ignorance, and how is it related to compliance?
A false impression of how other people are thinking, feeling or responding; everyone in a group misinterprets the group’s overall opinion.
As a result, people conform to a norm they privately disagree with, thinking they are the only ones who feel that way.
Ex. Teacher asks if anyone has any questions, and no one raises their hand because each student assumes everyone else understands—when in reality, many are confused but afraid to speak up.
What is ostracism, and why does it make us want to joint groups?
Ostracism is the continual exclusion from a group.
It makes us wanna joint groups because this exclusion is associated with a lot of negative feelings
