~Class 15: Group Performance and Decision Making

Question 1

What are Intra-group processes?

Answer 1

The dynamics that operate within a given group, rather than the dynamics between two competing or opposing groups.

Question 2

What is Process Loss?

Answer 2

Process Loss occurs when groups perform more poorly than we would expect given the characteristics of their members. When process losses occur the actual output or the actual quality of the decisions that they make are lower than that theoretical maximum that they could reach.

Question 3

Where is Process Loss seen?

Answer 3

Seen in performance on physical tasks; brainstorming; decision-making…

Question 4

What two sources is Process Loss attributable to?

Answer 4

Coordination loss (Logistical) and Social loafing (Motivational)

Question 5

What is Coordination loss ?

Answer 5

Even if everybody wants to do their best on a given task, even if everyone’s giving it their all, working in groups requires a fair amount of coordination between individuals.

Question 6

The concept of Process Loss came from ___.

Answer 6

the Ringelmann effect

Question 7

Ringlemann observed that as he added more people to the rope pulling group, they pulled ___ than their theoretical max.

Answer 7

much less (37%)

Question 8

In the screaming experiment, people experienced coordination loss the most in the condition where ___.

Answer 8

they were alone, but thought they were performing with a group

Question 9

When brainstorming solutions to problems requiring innovation, groups produce ___ ideas, of ___, than individuals do.

Answer 9

fewer // lesser quality

Question 10

What is the Group Effecticity Illusion?

Answer 10

When we are part of a group, we tend to think that as a group, we’re doing really well and our productivity, our decisions are going to be stronger than what we could come up with as individuals.

We think the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Question 11

What is Poor Information Sharing?

Answer 11

Where different people have different pieces of information and there’s some concrete correct decision that could be made.

Question 12

What is Poor Information Sharing?

Answer 12

Where different people have different pieces of information and there’s some concrete correct decision that could be made.

Question 13

With Poor Information Sharing, what happens during brainstorming?

Answer 13

Groups are more likely to discuss information that is shared among most or all of the group, and information that individuals or a few members of the group might have that would be relevant to the problem or discussing that could indeed lead to more innovative and better solutions to the problem end up being left out and not discussed.

Question 14

What is Production Blocking?

Answer 14

When you’re in a group brainstorming context and you’re coming up with ideas, you’re generating these novel insights and proposing solutions to the problem, there’s the issue that you have to figure out when and how to share the information. You have to coordinate generating your own ideas with listening to others and figuring out when you might interjects to share your ideas with the group.

Question 15

What is Evaluation Apprehension?

Answer 15

The fear of evaluation by others of your ideas or actions, and so you are apprehensive to give/show them

Question 16

When do we see people making reduced contributions in group settings?

Answer 16

People make reduced contributions to the group discussion, throw out fewer ideas when they believe that they have less knowledge than their group members, when they believe that they are less capable in some way and when they have the sense that their ideas might be judged by others.

Question 17

Social Loafing is reduced when ___.

Answer 17

When individuals in the group know that their contributions are being monitored in some way. So when you make it harder to hide in the crowd, people put forth more ideas.

Question 18

What are the factors associated with reduced Social Loafing?

Answer 18

• The person’s contributions are identifiable within group effort
• The person’s efforts will make a difference to group’s success
• The group and/or its task is important to the individual
• The person values collectivism over individualism

Question 19

Social Loafing can be reduced when we make sure that we are giving people ___ that they can actually contribute to.

Answer 19

meaningful tasks

Question 20

There is minimal social loafing when task is ___ and ___, even if it will not be evaluated.

Answer 20

unique // important

Question 21

Social Loafing is reduced when we ___ and ___ with the task/group.

Answer 21

care // identify

Question 22

What type of evaluation can be used to avoid Social Loafing?

Answer 22

Peer evaluation

Question 23

Individuals who are high in ___ values are less likely to socially loaf than people who are high in ___ values.

Answer 23

collectivist // individualistic

Question 24

What is Group Polarization?

Answer 24

Group Polarization occurs when the initial tendencies of group members become more extreme following group discussion

Question 25

Where can Group Polarization be found?

Answer 25

• Risk evaluations
• Mock jury decisions
• Financial decisions
• Attitudes & opinions
• Political views

Question 26

How does Group Polarization Occur?

Answer 26

When you have groups that have some initial leaning toward a particular opinion or have some initial idea of what decision might be the best.

Question 27

What 3 causes work in concert to produce Group Polarization?

Answer 27

The Persuasive Arguments Account, the Social Identity Account, and the Normative Account

Question 28

What is The Persuasive Arguments Account?

Answer 28

Groups providing more persuasive arguments in favor of a particular position than an individual might come up with on their own. Think of it acting like an echo chamber

Question 29

For the Persuasive Arguments Account, reading others’ arguments is ___ to produce polarization effects

Answer 29

sufficient

Question 30

What is the Social Identity Account?

Answer 30

Group members attempt to differentiate their views from that of implied or actual outgroup

Question 31

For the the Social Identity Account, polarization effects are stronger when members have ___.

Answer 31

high social identification

Question 32

What is the Normative Account?

Answer 32

Discussion allows us to assess views of the group; express more extreme views in line with group norm

Question 33

What is Groupthink?

Answer 33

Groupthink is faulty thinking that occurs when maintaining group cohesiveness & consensus becomes more important than fully considering the facts and making the best decision

Groupthink occurs when you have a group of people who are perfectly capable of making a good, smart decision in any given situation, but they don’t necessarily take advantages of all of those potential strengths and instead wind up coming to a conclusion that is faulty in some way, or that, at the very least doesn’t lead to the best outcomes for the people involved.

Question 34

What are some of the circumstances that can lead to Groupthink?

Answer 34

• Incomplete survey of objectives
• Incomplete survey of alternatives
• Poor information search
• Biased processing of information at hand
• Failure to examine risks of preferred choices
• Failure to work out contingency plans

Question 35

What is Motivated reasoning?

Answer 35

Motivated reasoning is when you have information already in front of you and you interpret it in ways that fit your preferred option, fit the decision that you want to make.

Question 36

What are Antecedent Conditions?

Answer 36

These are the characteristics of the group and the situation in which they’re making a decision that increase the chances of groupthink occurring throughout the discussion process.

Question 37

Which Antecedent Condition is required in Groupthink?

Answer 37

A High degree of cohesiveness within the group

Question 38

What is High Degree Of Cohesiveness?

Answer 38

The members of the group who are working on a problem or trying to come to a decision care quite deeply about membership in that group. They value the group and its goals, and want to be respected by their group mates. Because cohesiveness and maintaining that connection within the group becomes a priority, it can overtake the motivation to make the best decision for its own purposes.

Question 39

What is Group Isolation atecendent?

Answer 39

The group is somewhat isolated from other potential sources of information or other ideas around the decision that they are making.

Question 40

What is directive leadership Antecedent?

Answer 40

When the group has a leader who is very hands on and directive in guiding the Decision-Making process, often the group members will just follow and do what they want instead of giving their opinions and ideas.

Question 41

What are symptoms of Groupthink?

Answer 41

• Illusion of invulnerability (group can do no wrong)
• Illusion of unanimity
• Belief in inherent morality of the group
• In-group bias; stereotypes of outgroup views
• Self-censorship (opt not to voice contrary views)
• Direct pressure on dissenters

Question 42

What is the Illusion of Invulnerability symptom?

Answer 42

Groups that end up making these faulty decisions often experience a sense of invulnerability, this illusion that they’re bound to get things right, they can’t help but succeed, the group can do no wrong.

Often that’s the type of thing that is sometimes reasonably inspired by the recognition that they’re all good, decent and capable people, they’re hardworking, they have good intentions, they want to do the right thing. And when you view yourself that way and you view other members of your group positively, then it’s easy to slip into the mindset where we can’t do the wrong thing here.

Question 43

What is the Illusion of Unanimity symptom?

Answer 43

An ilusion of unanimous consensus within the group. This can involve situations where the group will actively ignore or avoid dissenting voices that might start to creep in within the group.

Question 44

What is the belief in inherent morality of the group symptom?

Answer 44

In the context of things like government decision making and other similar examples of group think, one thing that’s often been identified, especially when talking to people who are parts of the decision making team, is that there’s sometimes this view that the group is on the right side of history and they have morality on their side, in particular, that came up in kind of the aftermath and like retrospective looks at the decisions to escalate the Vietnam War.

Question 45

What is the in-group bias symptom?

Answer 45

When the group becomes particularly insular and cohesive, you can construe any dissenters as being part of the other team, they’re not part of the group, they are other innocents. And it creates an us versus them that makes it easier to discount those dissenting voices

That can lead to things like stereotypes about the outgroups views.

Question 46

What is the self-censorship symptom?

Answer 46

With the dynamics of groupthink at work where you have this high push toward cohesiveness. One thing that can happen is that members of the group will decide to self-censor. So if they start to have doubts and if they have concerns, but they realize that this train is moving in one direction and their voice is likely to be, you know, viewed poorly, their dissent is not likely to be taken well, then you find situations where members of the group will choose not to voice those concerns.

Question 47

What is the Direct Pressure on Dissenters symptom?

Answer 47

Even if the individual is deciding not to self-censor and they are raising their concerns, groups that are involved in these groupthink processes will sometimes put direct pressure on dissenters, sometimes that’s outright like mockery and shunning them from the group. But it’s pushing back against the dissenting voices, against the people who are breaking that group cohesion.

Question 48

What are things that can be done to reduce Groupthink?

Answer 48

• Leaders should remain impartial and avoid a directive role
• Foster a group norm of constructive criticism; assign a devil’s advocate
• Seek outside opinions
• Recruit diverse members for varied perspectives
• Create subgroups that meet separately
• Seek anonymous opinions

Question 49

What are features of Antecedent Conditions?

Answer 49

• High cohesiveness (group membership valued & attractive to members)
• Group isolation
• Directive leadership (controls discussion & makes wishes known)
• Poor decision-making procedures (no methods for info search & appraisal)
• High stress & time pressures