Group Behaviour & Decisions Flashcards
What is a group
Hagger and Chatzisarantis (2005)
two or more people
interaction between people
awareness of common fate/goals, has a specific structure such as the role and status of individuals within the group and group norms”
Seven major characteristics of a group:
Johnson & Johnson 1987
1)Social unit of 2 or more individuals who perceived themselves as belonging to the group
2)Collection of individuals who influence each other
3) Interaction between individuals
4) Interdependence among group members
5)Seek to achieve group goals
6)Try to satisfy a need through their association
Maslow, 1943
7)Interaction and behaviours governed by group roles and norms
Group socialisation
- Many models have forgotten about the passing of time!
- Groups are not static entities – new members join, existing members leave.
- Group socialisation = dynamic relationship between the group and its members in terms of changes in roles and commitment.
- Tuckman’s (1965) model was among the first to map out the socialisation process that occurs in small interactive groups.
Group Socialisation
•Tuckman’s (1965) model of group socialisation:
- Forming – orientation and familiarisation
- Storming – working through disagreements
- Norming – group cohesion and common identity
- Performing – group performs optimally and smoothly
- Adjourning – group dissolves because goals have been achieved or members lose interest/motivation
Group Socialisation
- Moreland and Levine’s (1982, 1984) model explains group dynamics across the lifespan of a group.
- Evaluation – Group members (& potential group members) evaluate the rewards of group membership. Individuals are evaluated in terms of their contribution to the group.
- Commitment – Evaluation affects investment in the group (or individual). It is highest when individuals and groups agree on goals and values.
- Role transitions: Change in the role of a group member - central to Moreland and Levine’s model
Group Socialisation
Moreland and Levine’s (1982,1984) model of group socialisation
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Group Cohesiveness
•“The property of the group that affectively binds people, as group members, to one another and to the group as a whole, giving the group a sense of solidarity and oneness”
(Hogg & Vaughan, 2014, p. 288)
•Also called: solidarity, team spirit, group morale
•Focus on the psychological processes that makes a group or team cohesive in the workplace, in social situations, or in sport etc.
•HARD TO DEFINE & MEASURE!
Group Cohesiveness
Field of forces Attractiveness • of group • of group members Mediation of goals: • social interaction per se • individual goals requiring interdependence
= Cohesiveness
= Behaviour
• Membership continuity
• Adherence to group
standards
Group Cohesiveness
- Cohesiveness is usually measured by averaging interpersonal attraction across the whole group (summation).
- Research reveals that cohesiveness is determined by factors influencing interpersonal attraction:
- Similarity
- Cooperation
- Perceived acceptance by other group members
- Shared threat
Cohesiveness predicts:
- Conformity to group norms
- Accentuated similarity (self-stereotyping and in-group member stereotyping)
- Improved intragroup communication (use of jargon; ‘in-jokes’)
- Enhanced liking of group members
- Hogg (1993) cohesiveness an‘elusive’concept based on idiosyncratic characteristics:
- Need to distinguish between:
•Personal attraction:
based on close relationships and idiosyncratic preferences
•Social attraction:
Inter-individual liking based on perceptions of self and others not in terms of individuality but group norms and prototypes
•This shows how you can like someone a group member, but not as a person (or vice versa).
Group norms
rules and standards of behaviour that are understood by group members and guide or constrain social behaviour (Cialdini & Trost, 1998).
Specifically, norms:
- define what is acceptable, and what is not, in a group
- reduce uncertainty by promoting socially appropriate actions
- can be enforced by laws/legitimacy, or implied and taken for granted (Garfinkel, 1967)
- can lead to vilification and derogation if violated
- have a strong effect on peoples’ behaviour (e.g., Siegel & Siegel, 1957)
Group norms
Siegal and Siegal 1957
Effects of dormitory political norms on students level of conservatism
Group structure:
Division of the group into different roles that often differ with respect to status and prestige
Roles
Patterns of behaviour that distinguish between different activities within the group, and people adopt for the greater good of the group.
•Roles tend to emerge in groups for three reasons:
•Division of labour
•Provide clear-cut social expectations of members
•Give members self-definition and place within group
•Roles facilitate group functioning and effectiveness.
Status
prestige of a particular role in a group or the prestige of a group and its members as a whole.
•Not all roles in a group are equal in terms of status!
Expectation States Theory (Berger et al., 1977) –
roles in groups are assigned based on expectations of peoples’ performance.
