Group Behaviour Flashcards
Group behaviour
Behaviour displayed by people who are acting within, and as, a group.
Group action
Behaviour by group members that is coordinated in order to achieve a common goal.
Co-presence
Performing a task in the presence of other people.
Social facilitation
The process by which the presence of others can facilitate behaviour.
Mere presence
Social facilitation effects need not necessarily be competitive. The simple presence of others is enough to facilitate behaviour.
Co-actors
People performing the same task at the same time but not performing the task collectively.
Social inhibition
The process by which the presence of others can hinder behaviour.
Drive
A negative state of tension associated with an unsatisfied need and motivates efforts to satisfy the need.
Evaluation apprehension
Concern about being evaluated by observers when performing a task.
Ringelmann effect
The observation that as group size increases, individual effort in the task decreases.
Social loafing
The tendency for people’s performance to decrease in a group when they are not individually responsible for their actions.
Free rider effect
The tendency for people to take advantage of a shared resource without having made an appropriate contribution.
Output equity
People like everyone to pull their weight on tasks but generally perceive that others loaf.
Contagion
Le Bon argued that this process leads to ideas being ‘spread’ unpredictably and rapidly through crowds.
Individuation
The process of differentiating between people. This is essentially the opposite of deindividuation.
Attentional cues
Features of the environment that draw attention away from the self.
Accountability cues
Factors that determine what behaviours people can ‘get away with’ in a social context.
Emergent norm theory
Theory of crowd behaviour which argues that rather than being a product of randomness and process loss, behaviour in crowds is a result of social norms.
Social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE)
Theory of deindividuation phenomena arguing that such phenomena are largely a result of increased group focus rather than a loss of individual focus.
Risky shift
The finding that groups seem to make riskier decisions than individuals.
Group polarization
Group interaction strengthens the initial leanings of group members so that attitudes (and decisions) become polarized.
Pluralistic ignorance
A situation where a majority of group members privately reject a norm, but assume (incorrectly) that most others accept it.
Groupthink
The mode of thinking that groups engage in when cohesion seems more important than making the right decision and considering alternatives.
Brainstorming
Process of groups getting together and discussing a problem openly, allowing (many) ideas to flow freely.
Great person theory
Theory of leadership asserting that leaders have an ideal combination of personality traits that enables them to be effective.
Contingency theory of leadership
Theory arguing that leadership success is dependent on how task related or relationship oriented the leader is, and the amount of influence they have over the group.
