Chapter 8 Flashcards
The tendency for groups to spend more time discussing shared information (information already known by all or most group members) than unshared information (information known by only one of a few group members.)
Biased sampling.
A technique that attemps to increase the production of creative ideas by encouraging groups members to speak freely without criticizing their own or other contributions.
Brainstorming.
The theory that individuals will exert effort on a collective task to the degree that they think their individual efforts will be important, relevant, and meaninigful for achieving outcomes that they value.
Collective effort model.
The general ability of a group to perform well across a wide range of different tasks.
Collective intelligence.
The loss of a persons sense of individuality and the reduction of normal contraints against deviant behavior.
Deindividuation.
The theory that the presence of others will produce social fascilitation effects only when those other distract from the task and create attentional conflict.
Distraction-conflict theory.
The theory that the presence of others will produce social dacilitation effects only when those others are seen as potential evaluators.
Evaluation apprehension theory.
A set of individuals who interact over time and have shared fate, goals, or identity.
Group.
The extent to which forces push group members closer together, such as through feelings of intimacy, unity, and commitment to group goals.
Group cohesivness.
The exaggeration of initial tendencies in the thinking of group members through group discussion.
Group polarization.
Specailized interactive computer programs that are used to guide group meetings, collaborative work, and decision making processes.
Group support systems.
A group decision making style chracterized by an excessive tendency among group members to seek concurrence.
Groupthink.
A negotiated resolution to a conflict in which all parties obtain outcomes that are superior to what they would have obtained from an equal division of the contested resources.
Integrative agreement.
The proposition that the mere presence of others is sufficient to produce social facilitation effects.
Mere presence.
A type of dilleme in which one part must make either cooperative or competitive moves in relation to another party. The dilemma is typically designed so that the competitive move appears to be in one’s self interest, but if both sides make this move, both suffer more than if both had cooperated.
Prisoners dilemma.
The increase in group performance so that the group outperforms the individuals who make up the group.
Process gain.
The reduction in group performance due to obstacles created by group processes, such as problems of coordination and motivation.
Process losss
Social dilemmas involving how tow or more people will share a limited resource.
Resource dilemmas.
A situation in which a self interested choice by everyone will create the worst outcome for everyone.
Social dilemma.
A process whereby the presence of others enhances performance on easy tasks but impairs performance on difficult tasks.
Social faciliation.
A model of group behavior that explains deindividuation effects as the result of a shift from personal identity to social identity.
Social identitity model of deindividuation effects. (SIDE)
A group procued reduction in individual output on tasks where contribtuions are pooled.
Social loafing.
A shared system for remembering information that enables multiple people to remember information together more efficiently than they could do so alone.
Transactive memory.
Distinguish between a group and a collective? (Long answer)
A group may be characterize as a set of individual who have direct interactions with each other over a period of time and share a common fate, identity, and set of goals.
A collection is people engaging in a common activity but having little direct interaction with each other.
Why do people join a group? (Long Answer)
Evolutionarily its because it increases our likelihood of survival and reproduction.
People identity and self worth come from identification with a particular group.
Describe the function of roles, norms, and the cohesiveness of a group, and explain their influence on group behaviour.(Long Answer)
Roles in groups can be formal or informal (Designated by titles, etc.) there are two fundemental types of roles… Insturmental role to help the group achieve its task and an expressive role to provide emotional support and maintain morale.
Groups establish norms, rules of conduct for their members, which can either be formal or informal. These norms provide individuals with a sense of what it means to be a good group member. Figuring out the inwritten rules of the group can take time and cause anxiety.
Group cohesiveness refers to the forces exerted on a group that push its members closer together. When a group is cohesive it tends to often improve performance, when a group performs well it tends to become more cohesive.
Define social facilitation. Explain how, according to Zajonc, the mere presence of others affects performance of different tasks. (Long answer)
Social faciliation: The tendency for people to perform better at certain tasks while in the presence of others, compared to when they are alone.
According to Zajonc…
- The presence of others creats general physiological arousal, which energizes behaviour. All animals, including humans become aroused when in the presence of members of their own species.
- Increased arousal enhances an individuals tendency to perform the dominant response. The cominant response is the reaction elicited most quickly and easily by a given stimulus.
- The quality of indivduals performance varies to the type of task. On an easy taks, the odminant response is usually correct or successful. On harder tasks, the dominant response is usually incorrect or unseucessful.
Describe two alternative explanations for the social facilitation phenomenon. (Long answer)
Evaluation apprehension theory: Which proposes that performance will be enhanced or impaired only in the presence of others who are in a position to evaluate that performance.
Distraction conflict theory: A theory that the presence of others will produce social faciliation effects only when those others distract from the task and create attentional conflict.
Describe the social loafing phenomenon. Identify factors that can reduce the likelihood of social loafing occurring when in a group. (Long answer)
Social loafing: A group produced reduction in individual output on tasks where contributions are pooled.
Praveen Aggarwal and Connie O’Brien poposed that you could do three things to reduce social loafing:
- Limit the scope of the project - project that are very large and complex should be broken into smaller componenents.
- Keep the groups small.
- Use peer evaluations.
Define deindividuation. (Long answer)
The loss of a persons sense of individuality and the reduction of nomrla contraints against deviant behavior.
How can environmental cues and a sense of social identity affect the deindividuation process? (Long answer)
Arousal, anonymity, and reduced feeling of individual responsibility together contribute to deindividuation.
Accountability cues affects the individuals cost reward calculations, when accountability is low those who commit deviant acts are less likely to be caught and punished.
Attential cues focus a persons attention away from the self. The individual attends less to internal standards of conduct, reacts more to the immediate situation, and is less sensitive to long term consequences of behavior.
Social identity can affect deindividuation through a model known as social identity model of deindividuation effects or SIDE model. This model states that for better or worse deindividuation affects someone based on the characteristics or norms of the group. So if a group is prone to violence, chances are good that person will act violently. If the group is prone to altruism, chances are good that person will act altruistically.
Define process loss and process gain when working in a group. In what ways does group performance vary with the type of task performed in a group? (Long answer).
Process loss: The reduction in group performance due to obstacles created by group processes, such as a problems of coordination and motivation.
In additive tasks the group product is the sum of all the members contributions. However, as has been seen with social loafing, it can create process losses.
In conjunctive tasks, the group product is determined by the individual with the poorest performance (Eg. Mountain climbing teams or football players who operate based on the “weakest link” in the group.)
In disjunctive tasks, the group product is determined by the performance of the individual with the best performance. Trying to solve a problem or develop a strategy may be a disjuntive task: When the group needs a single successful answer regardless of the number of failures.
Process gain: The increase in group performance so that the group outperforms the individuals who make up the group.
Eg) Synergy in business.
Define group polarization. Summarize the explanations for group polarization occurring in group discussions. (Long answer)
Group polarization: The exaggeration of initial tendencies in the thinking of group members through group discussion. (Eg. A group that initially has cautious members moving to an even more catious position).
According to the persuasive arguments theory, the greater the number of persuasiveness of the arguments ot which group members are exposed, the more extreme their attitudes become.
It is false to assume the group members attitudes about a course of action usually become more moderate after group discussion.
Define groupthink. What are the antecedents, behavioral symptoms, and consequences of groupthink?
Groupthink: A group decision making style characterized by an excessive tendency among group members to seek concurrence.
Antecedents: High cohesiveness of a group, the groups structure consists of homogeneous members, directive leadership, and unsystematic procedures, and finally ends in a stressful situation.
Behavioral symptoms of groupthink include overestimating the group, close-mindedness, increased pressures toward uniformity, and defective decision-making.
The consequences are a high probability of a bad decision.
How can groupthink be prevented?
- Groups should consult widely with outsiders.
- Leaders should explicitely encourage criticism and not take a strong stand early in group discussions.
- Subgroups should critically discuss the same issue, a member should be assigned to play devils advocate and question all decisions and ideas, and a “second chance” meeting should be held to reconsider the group decision before taking action.
How do information sharing, transactive memory, and goal setting in a group affect the group’s performance?
Define a social dilemma. What are the variables that determine if people will compete or cooperate in a social dilemma?
Social Dilemma: A situation in which a self interested choice by everyone will create the worst outcome for everyone.
Individual differences:
1. Have a prosocial, cooperative orientation.
2. Trusting others.
Situational factors:
1. Having had successful experience managing resources and working cooperatively.
2. Being exposed to unselfish models.
3. Having reason to expect others to cooperate.
Group dynamics:
1. Acting as an individual rather than in a group.
2. Being in a small group rather than in a large group.
3. Sharing a social identitiy or superordinate goals.
Structural arrangments:
1. Creating a payoff structure that rewards cooperative behavior and/or punishes selfish behavior.
2. Removing resources from the public domain and handing them over to private ownership.
3. Establishing an authority to control the resources.
Describe the prisoner’s dilemma and the resource dilemma.
Prisoners dilemma: A type of dilemma in which on party must make either cooperative or competitive moves in relation to another party. The dilemma is typically designed so that the competitive move appears to be in one’s self interest, but if both sides make this move, both suffer more than if both had cooperated.
Resource dilemma: Social dilemmas involving how two or more people will share a limited resource. Comes in two basic types a commons dilemma and a public goods dilemma.
In a commons dilemma if people take as much as they want of a limited resource that does not replenish itself, nothing will be left for anyone.
In a public goods dilemma, all of the individuals are supposed to contribute resources to a common pool.
What is the benefit of reaching an integrative agreement in the resolution of a conflict? Why does such an agreement not happen often?
Integrative agreement: A negotiated resolution to a conflict in which all parties obtain outcomes that are superior to what they would have obtained from an equal division of the contested resource.
The benefit is that people can often achieve an agreement that works for both sides to the maximum benefit of each party. Such agreements rarely occur simply because people are not effective at listening to the other sides communicated position, as well as their goals.
