Chapter 9

Question 1

4 types of groups

Answer 1

1. Intimacy group
2. Task group
3. Social categories
4. Loose associations

Question 2

Entitativity

Answer 2

Degree to which a collection of people feels like a cohesive group

Question 3

Factors that make a group seem cohesive

Answer 3

1. Common bond: communal sharing, marketing price

2. Common identity

Question 4

Why can being a cohesive group be both a good and bad thing

Answer 4

Help reach goals
Or
Can undermine group performance

Question 5

5 stages of Group development (original)

Answer 5

Forming Stage 
Storming stage 
Norming stage
Performing stage
Adjourning stage

Question 6

revised stages of group development

Answer 6

Transforming stage
Performing stage
Reforming stage

Question 7

4 reasons people join groups

Answer 7

Promoting and achieving goals
Reducing uncertainty
Bolstering self-esteem
Managing mortality concerns

Question 8

social dilemmas

Answer 8

…

Question 9

Prisoner’s Dilemma

Answer 9

In the Prisoner’s Dilemma, you decide between cooperating and competing with a partner. Your decision depends on how much you trust your partner to cooperate with you.

Question 10

How can high cohesiveness sometimes undermine group performance?

Answer 10

By creating an atmosphere where new ideas that could help the group progress are shunned or looked down upon.

Question 11

Why do we identify with groups, even those groups that we are born into?

Answer 11

In order to develop and survive as a human race. We don’t survive very long without the communication and cooperation of others. Also, we join groups in order to accomplish goals that would be hard to accomplish on our own.

Question 12

What is the uncertainty-identity theory?

Answer 12

The theory that people join groups in order to reduce their negative feelings of uncertainty about themselves and others.

Question 13

How does belonging to a group reduce uncertainty?

Answer 13

Groups reinforce people’s faith in their cultural worldview and their valued place in it. The more people believe in your idea, the more that idea seems true. Groups also prescribe norms and rules.

Question 14

Increasing uncertainty about the self ______ group identification, but only when the group is high in______.

Answer 14

increases, entitativity

Question 15

What is social identity theory?

Answer 15

The theory that group identities are an important part of self-definition and a key source of self-esteem.

Question 16

What is ingroup bias?

Answer 16

A tendency to favor groups we belong to more than those we don’t because we associate a strong identity with our ingroup.

Question 17

What kinds of groups to people associate with in order to bolster their self-esteem?

Answer 17

Groups that are a good source of self-esteem, that enhance your self-image. Also, identifying with groups that are successful (like a basketball team) or high-status.

Question 18

How do people cope with the threatening knowledge of their mortality?

Answer 18

By faith in a cultural worldview and a sense of self-esteem. Groups help us feel connected to something bigger and longer than our personal existence (like a religion or genetic line).

Question 19

What is the commons dilemma and what are its consequences?

Answer 19

The commons dilemma refers to the idea that each individual takes from a community resource more than they should. Every other individual does the same, until the resource is completely depleted. It’s like saying, “I’ll just take a little more water than my share.. it won’t be a big deal.”

Question 20

What is the public good dilemma and give an example.

Answer 20

This is when a valued resource continues to exist when everyone is willing to pitch in. For instance, a blood bank.

Question 21

How do people decide whether to cooperate or compete against others?

Answer 21

When the norm is salient in the person’s immediate context, they will go with that. For example, the community game assumes that the game is about sharing rather than The Wallstreet Game.

Question 22

When do collectivist societies corporate more?

Answer 22

When they are in a setting with friends.

Question 23

What is social facilitation theory?

Answer 23

The theory that the presence of others increases a person’s dominant response in a performance situation - the response that is most likely for that person for that particular task (so if you are good at playing the piano, your dominate response will be to play well during this time). This is affected by how we perceive the audience as well - either a threat or challenge.

Question 24

What are some reasons why people slack off in groups (social loaf)?

Answer 24

They feel less accountable for their efforts, they feel that others will hold back efforts as well, their own efforts are not that important to the group outcome, and they value what they can do individually instead of as a group.

Question 25

What is disjunctive tasks and what kind of effort do skilled and unskilled performers put into the task?

Answer 25

Disjunctive tasks is where the most skilled members of a group determine the outcome. Therefore, the most skilled members of the group work the hardest and the less skilled work the least.

Question 26

What is conjunctive tasks and what kind of effort do skilled and unskilled performers put into the task?

Answer 26

Conjunctive tasks is where everyone in a group performs only as well as the worst performer (like rock climbing). In this situation, the most skilled members slack off and the least skilled members exert lots of effort.

Question 27

What is Deindividuation?

Answer 27

A tendency to lose one’s sense of individuality when in a group or crowd.

Question 28

What are two psychological processes that get in the way of clear thinking when it comes to group decision making?

Answer 28

Group polarization and groupthink

Question 29

What is a risky shift?

Answer 29

When participants make riskier decisions as a group than they do on their own.

Question 30

What is group polarization?

Answer 30

A tendency for group discussion to shift group members toward an extreme position.

Question 31

What is the concept of informational influence?

Answer 31

It is when you conform to others’ actions or attitudes because you believe they know something that you don’t.

Question 32

What is the concept of normative social influence?

Answer 32

When you conform to others’ actions or attitudes to be liked.

Question 33

What are two theory’s that explain why group polarization occurs?

Answer 33

The persuasive arguments theory (informational influence) and the social comparison theory (normative social influence)

Question 34

What is groupthink?

Answer 34

A tendency toward flawed group decision making when group members are so intent on preserving group harmony that they fail to analyze a problem completely.

Question 35

How do you avoid the pitfalls of groupthink and group polarization?

Answer 35

Increase group diversity (having people with different opinions), thinking about cohesiveness as reaching the best possible answer and not just coming to a consensus among group members, and encourage individuality.

Question 36

What does it mean that leaders are transformational?

Answer 36

They focus o their followers’ desires and abilities, they are willing to challenge their followers’ assumptions and behaviors, and they offer an inspiration visionary style.

Question 37

What are the top three type of leaders?

Answer 37

Charismatic, task-oriented, and relationship-oriented.

Question 38

What is the social dominance theory?

Answer 38

The theory that large societies create hierarchies, and that people have a general tendency to endorse beliefs that legitimatize that hierarchy.

Question 39

What is power distance?

Answer 39

Variation in the extent to which members of a culture or organization (especially those with less power) accept an unequal distribution of power. Mexico is less power, US is more power.

Question 40

What is social dominance orientation?

Answer 40

How much people value social hierarchy. Those with power want to keep hierarchy while those who are socially disadvantaged do not.

Question 41

What is the system justification theory?

Answer 41

The theory that negative stereotypes get attached to groups partly because they help to explain and justify why some individuals are more advantaged than others. For instance, saying homeless people are dim-witted and lazy. They get what they deserve.

Question 42

What are complementary stereotypes?

Answer 42

Both positive and negative stereotypes that are ascribed to a group as a way of justifying the status quo. Like when we see or hear about rich people also being miserable or untrustworthy.

Question 43

What is the relative deprivation theory?

Answer 43

A theory stating that disadvantaged groups are less aware of and bothered by their lower status because of a tendency to compare their outcomes only with others who are similarly deprived.

Question 44

What is individual mobility?

Answer 44

A strategy whereby individuals work within the system to achieve their own goals rather than those of the group.

Question 45

What is collective action?

Answer 45

Efforts by groups to resist and change the status quo in the service of group goals.

Question 46

What are schisms?

Answer 46

When a subgroup of people break away from a larger group and form their own group or join a different parent group.