Chapter 8 (BAL) Flashcards
Two or more people who interact and who influence one another; exists when two or more people interact for more than a few moments, affect one another in some way, and think of themselves as “us.”
Group
Co-participants working individually on a noncompetitive activity
Co-actors
Tendency of people to perform simple or well-learned tasks
better when others are present; strengthening of dominant (prevalent, likely) responses in the presence of others.
Social facilitation
The effect of others’ presence increases with their numbers; sometimes the arousal and self-conscious attention created by a large audience
interferes even with well-learned, automatic behaviors, such as speaking.
Crowding
Enhancement of dominant responses is strongest when people think they are being evaluated.
EVALUATION APPREHENSION
Conflict between paying attention to others and paying
attention to the task overloads our cognitive system, causing arousal.
DRIVEN BY DISTRACTION
Mere presence of others produces some arousal even without evaluation apprehension or arousing distraction.
Mere presence
Tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts
toward a common goal than when they are individually accountable.
Social loafing
People who benefit from the group but give little in return
free riders
Loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension; occurs in group
situations that foster responsiveness to group norms, good or bad.
Deindividuation
A group has the power not only to arouse its members but also to render them
unidentifiable; People’s attention is focused on the situation, not on themselves; because “everyone is doing it,” all can attribute their behavior to the situation rather
than to their own choices.
Group size
Aggressive outbursts by large groups are often preceded by minor actions that
arouse and divert people’s attention; there is a self-reinforcing pleasure in acting impulsively while seeing others do likewise; when we see others act as we are
acting, we think they feel as we do, which reinforces our own feelings
Arousing and Distracting Activities
A self-conscious state in which attention focuses on oneself. It makes
people more sensitive to their own attitudes and dispositions.
Self-awareness
Phenomenon where individuals become more extreme in their attitudes and
beliefs after discussing them with a group of like-minded individuals.
GROUP POLARIZATION
Deals with the arguments presented during a
discussion
Informational Influence
The other concern how members of a group view
themselves “vis-á-vis” the other members.
Normative influence
Evaluating our opinions and abilities by comparing our views with others
SOCIAL COMPARISON
The mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence-seeking
becomes so dominant in a cohesive group that it tends to override realistic
appraisal of alternative courses of action
GROUPTHINK
8 SYMPTOMS OF GROUPTHINK
An illusion of invulnerability
Unquestioned belief in the group’s morality
Rationalization
Stereotyped view of opponent
Conformity pressure
Self-censorship
Illusion of unanimity
Mindguards
Symptom of groupthink where all group members developed an excessive
optimism that blinded them to warnings of danger.
An illusion of invulnerability
Symptom of groupthink where group members assume the inherent
morality of their group and ignore-ethical and moral issues.
Unquestioned belief in the group’s morality
Symptom of groupthink where the groups discount by collectively justifying their decisions
Rationalization
Symptom of groupthink where groupthinkers consider their enemies too evil to
negotiate with it too weak and unintelligent to defend themselves against the planned
initiative.
Stereotyped view of opponent
Symptom of groupthink where group members rebuffed those who raised doubts about the
group’s assumptions and plans, at times by personal sarcasm.
Conformity pressure
Symptom of groupthink where to avoid uncomfortable disagreements, members withheld or
dis-counted their misgivings.
Self-censorship
Symptom of groupthink which is created by self-censorship and pressure not to puncture the consensus
Illusion of unanimity
Symptom of groupthink where some members protect the group from information that would call into
question the effectiveness or morality of its decisions.
Mindguards
3 ways to enhance
group brainstorming
Combine group and solitary brainstorming
Have group members interact by writing
Incorporate electronic brainstorming
More influential than a minority that wavers is a minority that sticks to its position
Consistency and persistence
Conveyed by consistency and persistence
SELF-CONFIDENCE
A persistent minority punctures any illusion of unanimity; when a minority
consistently doubts the majority wisdom, majority members become freer to
express their own doubts and may even switch to the minority position.
DEFECTIONS FROM THE MAJORITY
The process by which certain group members motivate and guide the group
Leadership
3 types of leadership
TASK LEADERSHIP
SOCIAL LEADERSHIP
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Leadership that organizes work, sets standards, and focuses on goals
TASK LEADERSHIP
Leadership that builds teamwork, mediates conflict, and offers support
SOCIAL LEADERSHIP
Motivates others to identify with and commit themselves to the group’s mission; leadership that, enabled by a leader’s vision and inspiration, exerts significant
influence.
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
