Group Behavior Flashcards
Group
Two or more people who interact and are interdependent in the sense that their needs and goals cause them to influence each other
Why do people join groups?
It allows us to accomplish objectives that would be more difficult to meet individually. Forming relationships with other people also fulfills a number of basic human needs. so basic in fact that there may be an innate need to belong to groups.
What are the benefits of groups
They are important for our identity, helping us define who we are, and are a source of social norms, the explicit or implicit rules defining what is acceptable behavior. Groups also help us accomplish goals that we could not complete on our own
Social Norms
All societies have norms about which behaviors are acceptable, some of which all members are expected to obey and some of which vary from group to group the power of norms to shape behavior becomes clear when we violate hem too often, we are stunned by other group member and in extreme cases, pressured to leave the group.
Social Roles
Shared expectations in a group about how particular people are supposed to behave
Group Cohesiveness
Qualities of a group that bind members together and promote liking between them
Social facilitation
When people are in the presence of others their individuals performance can be evaluated, the tendency to perform better on simple tasks and worse on complex tasks.
Social Loafing
When people are in the presence of others and their individual performance cannot be evaluated, the tendency to perform worse on simple or unimportant tasks but better on complex or important tasks
De-individuation
The losing of normal constraints on behavior when people cant be identified (such as when they are in a crowd)
Why does deindividuation lead to and exacerbate impulsive (often violent behavior)
There is a reduced likelihood that any individual will be singled out and blamed leaves people feeling less accountable for their actions.
Does deindividuation increase obedience to group norms
Yes it does
Does deindividuation always lead to agressive and antisocial behavior
No, it depends upon what the norm of the group is.
Does de individuation require face to face contact
No, it in fact thrives with less physical forms of interaction e.g. youtube comments section
Process loss
Any aspect of group interaction that inhibits good problem solving
Transactive Memory
The combined memory of a group that is more efficient than the memory of the individual members
Groupthink
A kind of decision process in which maintaining group cohesiveness and solidarity is more important than considering the facts in a realistic manner
Group polarization
The tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclinations of their members
Great person theory
The idea that certain key personality traits make a person a good leader, regardless of the situation
Transactional leaders
Leaders who set clear, short term goals and reward people who meet them
Transformational leadership
Leaders who inspire follows to focus on common, long term goals
Contingency theory of leadership
The idea that the effectiveness of a leader depends both on how task oriented or relationship oriented the leader is and on the amount of control the leader has over the group
Task oriented leaders
Leaders who are concerned more with getting the job done than with workers feelings and relationships
Relationship oriented leaders
Leaders who are concerned more with workers feeling and relationships
Social dilemma
A conflict in which the most beneficial action for an individual will, if chosen by most people, have harmful effects on everyone
