Chapter 8 Flashcards
Know the conditions under which Social Facilitation may occur, and the role of arousal
social facilitation - occurs when people are aroused by the presence of other people, and the arousal strengthens the dominant response (so if you’re not super good at something, you’ll do worse, but if you are good at something you’ll do better when there is a crowd that arouses you)
role of arousal - arousal is what drives the reaction of social facilitation
evaluation apprehension - have concern for how others are evaluating us
distraction - when in front of an audience, a performer/actor might wonder how the audience is reacting or how their co-actors are doing and so they are distracted by these thoughts and don’t focus full on what they are doing, lights can also cause distraction
mere presence - just the mere presence of people can cause us to perform differently - runners run better in groups than alone and even animals show effects of social facilitation
Know the conditions under which Social Loafing may occur and what can be done to reduce it
social loafing - tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts toward a common goal than when they are individually accountable
people from collectivist cultures and women tend to exhibit less social loafing though
social loafing is more likely to occur when a person is not individually accountable or can’t see their own efforts. To reduce social loafing, members of a group should be evaluated individually even if they are all working on the same project
people loaf less if the task is challenging, involving, or appealing
loaf less if group members are their friends or they identify with or feel indispensable to the group
What influence does deindividuation have?
deindividuation - loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension, occurs in group situations that foster responsiveness to group norms, good or bad
can cause people to do things in a group they would never do on their own
group size changes the effect - people feel that the actions are the group’s, not their own, and they are hidden by the group
anonymity - being anonymous lessens inhibitions. we’re more likely to do things that aren’t socially acceptable if we can’t be identified
Know the research on group polarization, it’s effect on risky shift and explanations for group polarization
effect on risky shift - groups usually make riskier decisions than an individual person, but this is dependent on how the situation is given. there are ways to present a situation in which groups will come up with a more cautious decision. What is actually happening is groups make people more more strongly towards the direction they were leaning in the first place
research on group polarization - discussion enhanced french students positive attitudes toward their president and negative attitudes toward americans
more judgements of guilty after discussing a traffic case
french students’ dislike for people increased after sharing negative impressions
when people are in groups of like minded people, they tend to develop more extreme positions, and people search out groups that think like them
explanations for group polarization
informational influence - a group will share their opinions and thoughts, and the group will converge on the dominant opinion. People will share arguments that others hadn’t thought about before, and the mere act of repeating opinions and ideas will strengthen the group’s opinion
normative influence - people compare their opinions to others, and will adjust based on the socially accepted norms
Know the symptoms of groupthink and ways of preventing it as well as how it played a role in history
symptoms of groupthink
- illusion of invulnerability
- unquestioned belief in the group’s morality
- rationalization of decisions
- stereotyped view of opponent
- conformity pressure: those who don’t conform are rebuffed or mocked
- self-censorship: people don’t raise opposing views to keep the peace
- illusion of unanimity: everyone seems to agree, though people might have personal reservations
prevention
- be impartial and don’t start out by endorsing positions, let all information be shared
- encourage critical evaluation by having a devil’s advocate or asking someone who dissents for their input
- subdivide the group and reunite to air differences
- welcome critiques from outside experts and associates
- before implementing, call a “second-chance” meeting to air any lingering doubts
roles in history
Pearl Harbor - complacent commanders didn’t take preventative action that would have stopped the bombing on Pearl Harbor or at least lessened the damage
Bay of Pigs - a group of leaders convinced each other that this would be a good idea, but ended up failing miserably
Vietnam War - leaders continued escalation of war despite warnings from intelligence agencies and Allies, caused a lot of problems in Vietnam and people were polarized Americans
