Group Behaviour

Question 1

Social Facilitation:

Answer 1

“The process by which the presence of others can facilitate behaviour (Gordon Allport, 1954, p. 46)

Question 2

Triplett’s study (1898)

Answer 2

Triplett concluded that ‘the bodily presence of another contestant participant simultaneously in the race serves to liberate latent energy not ordinarily available’ (p533)

Question 3

Social Inhibition:

Answer 3

The process by which the presence of others can hinder behaviour

Question 4

3 Explanations for Social Facilitation/Inhibition

Answer 4

Mere Presence:

• enough to increase drive and facilitate or hinder behaviour (Zajonc)
• E.g. Joggers running quicker around others
• But may be more complicated (PL has been unusual this year)

Evaluation apprehension:

• Concern about being evaluated by observers when performing a task.
• Dominant response & being watched/evaluated (Cottrell et al, 1968)

Distraction:
-People become concerned so: Distraction up, Performance down (Sanders, Baron and Moore, 1978)

Question 5

Social Loafing

Answer 5

The tendency for people’s performance to decrease in a group when they are not individually responsible for their actions.

Question 6

Ringelmann effect -

Answer 6

The observation that as group size increases, individual effort on the task decreases

Question 7

If presence of others increases evaluation apprehension……

Answer 7

social facilitation will occur

Question 8

If presence of others decreases evaluation apprehension……

Answer 8

social loafing will occur

Question 9

INCREASED EVALUATION CONCERNS …

Answer 9

• Facilitate on Easy task

- Inhibit on Hard Task

Question 10

DECREASED EVALUATION CONCERNS…

Answer 10

• Impairs performance on easy tasks due to low motivation

- Enhances performance on difficult tasks due to support from the group

Question 11

Factors that reducing Social Loafing

Answer 11

• Individual group performances is identifiable
• Taking responsibility out
• Task is challenging, appealing or involving
• People value the group with whom they are interacting
• General spirit of commitment to the ‘team’
• Strong personal work ethic
• High narcissist
• People of Eastern culture (e.g., China, Japan)
• Women

Question 12

Deindividuation

Answer 12

“Process whereby people lose their sense of socialised individual identity and engage in unsocialised, often antisocial, behaviours” (Hogg and Vaughan 2010: 421)

Lack of individualism causes people to act badly

Question 13

Deindividuation: ‘cloak of anonymity’

Answer 13

Removes individuals’ responsibility for actions by:

• Loss of a sense of identity
• Loss of concern for social evaluation (Zimbardo, 1970)
• Large groups & Night time → Atrocities/Level of violence/Encourage harming acts
• Lynch mobs more likely to do horrific things as the group gets bigger (Mullen, 1986)

Question 14

Deindividuation factors

Answer 14

Attentional cues:
Features of the environment that draw attention away from the self

Accountability cues:(Prentice-Dunn and Rogers 1982; 1983)
What behaviours people can ‘get away with’ in a social context

Accountability: Public vs private self-awareness:
Loss of public self-awareness (less aware of norms) - antisocial behaviour
Loss of private self-awareness – not necessarily antisocial (unless norm is)

Question 15

Le Bon wanted to show establishment how to…

Answer 15

control crowds

Question 16

Social Identity Theory

Answer 16

People have different levels of identity. Individual and (many) group levels

In crowds people shift from individual to specific group level identity (e.g. student)
Student/lecturer often opposite identities, but in this crowd become one ‘supporter of education’ identity

Different process to deindividuation

Question 17

Depersonalisation

Answer 17

Crowds encourage shared social identity

Individuals self categorise based on this group identity
Identity as ‘student’ becomes primed

Different to deindividuation
sense of self not lost
Social identity more relevant

Even in riots violence has a direction (Fogelson 1970)

Question 18

Group decision making

Answer 18

Risky shift: Groups can make riskier decisions than individuals (Stoner, 1961)
Not always and not always risky

Group Polarisation
Group interaction strengthens the initial leanings of group members so that attitudes (and decisions) become polarised.

Groupthink
The mode of thinking that groups engage in when cohesion seems more important than making the right decision and considering alternatives (Janis, 1971)

Question 19

Group Polarisation – Gender

Answer 19

Polarisation leads to the accentuating of gender-typical behaviour and gender roles (Maccoby, 2002)

Polarisation can have positive and negative consequences

Question 20

3 components of group polarisation

Answer 20

1.Normative influence:
the tendency to conform to the perceived norms of the group.
“we want the like-minded people to like us”

2. Informational influence:
   when the correct attitude or behaviour is unclear, people look to others for guidance.
3. Social conformity to group norm.
   Social categorisation theory

Question 21

Thee features of groupthink (Janis, 1971)

Answer 21

1. A cohesive group where people come from similar backgrounds
2. Group is isolated from outside opinions
3. No clear rules that guide decision making

Question 22

Symptoms of groupthinok

Answer 22

• Illusion of invulnerability
• Belief in morality of the group
• collective rationalization
• Stereotyped view of the outgroup
• Pressure for dissenters to conform
• self - censorship
• Illusion of unanimity
• Self - appointed ‘mindguards’

Question 23

Strategies for avoiding groupthink

Answer 23

1. Illusion of invulnerability - groups, especially leaders, need to be impartial and not endorse any one position from the outset
2. Stereotyped view of the outgroup - it is useful to divide groups, encourage members to seek advice from trusted outsiders and then reunite them to discuss any differences.
3. Self censorship - Groups should regularly invite critiques from outside experts who will challenge the groups decisions.

Question 24

Group cohesiveness doesn’t always lead to groupthink

True or false?

Answer 24

True

Question 25

Brainstorming -

Answer 25

Process of groups getting together and discussing a problem openly, allowing (many) ideas to flow freely

Question 26

Factors that make us both better and worse when we’re in groups

Answer 26

• Social facilitation
• Social inhibition and social loafing
• Deindividuation