Group Influence Week 6 Ch 7 Flashcards
what is a group
two or more people who interact and influence one another
social facilitation
effect where performance improves when working with other people (or in the mere presence of people) compared to when alone
motivation, competition
arousal stimulates the dominant response in two ways:
on simple/well-learned tasks the dominant response is the correct response and performance is facilitated
on difficult/new tasks the dominant response is the incorrect response and performance is impaired
why do we join groups
evolutionary need to belong
ostracism hurts
additive tasks
tasks where contributions of many add together to progress toward a goal
do crowds enhance or decrease arousal
enhance
why are we aroused in the presence of others
evaluation apprehension
driven by distraction
what is social loafing
less effort from individuals when working in a group compared to when they work alone
-less evaluation apprehension
-can overcome by making individual performance identifiable, or when the task is challenging/appealing/involving
why does social loafing happen
diffusion of responsibility
reduced evaluation apprehension
descriptive norm change (seems like most people slack off so i will too)
how does identifying individual performance affect social facilitation/loafing
can identify: facilitation
cant identify: loafing
what causes deindividuation
doing together what you wouldn’t do alone
-group arousal and diminished responsibilities can combine to lose normal inhibitions and destructive behaviour can arise
-power and excitement of group
-anonymity in group size
diminished self-awareness
-more likely to act without thinking of values
what is deindividuation
people lose their sense of self and identity when they are in a group
loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension, fosters anonymity and draws attention away from individual
riots
group polarization
group’s opinions become more extreme after discussion
- expose us to new arguments and we socially compare
-if individual is risky, group is riskier
the accentuation phenomenon
becoming more polarized in views as time goes on and you are surrounded by the same people (political parties)
explaining group polarization
active discussion makes more polarizing change
normative influence
-inflate opinions to go with group
informational influence
-accept what seems to be common sense especially if we dont know - then more detailed knowledge gets added
pluralistic ignorance
occurs when people mistakenly believe that others have different opinions or beliefs than they do
groupthink
a group’s desire for harmony leads to irrational decisions
lead to bad ideas
-desire for cohesion
-isolation from other ideas
-leader signals what they want
how to prevent groupthink
be impartial
individual/small group brainstorming then reconvene
second-chance meeting
encourage critical evaluation
symptoms of groupthink
illusion of invulnerability
closed mindedness
pressure to conform
rationalization
belief in group morality
self-censorship of other ideas
illusion of unanimity
mindguards” who protect the group from unpleasant information.
task leadership vs social leadership
Task leadership
○ Organizing work
○ Setting standards
○ Goal attainment
§ Keep group attention and effort focused on mission
○ Directive style
○ Stereotypically men
Social Leadership
○ Democratic style
§ Delegates authority and welcome input
□ Less groupthink
○ Building teamwork, mediating conflicts, support
○ Good for morale
§ Motivated to achieve
transactional vs transformational leadership
Transactional leadership focuses on managing performance through rewards and punishments, adhering to established systems, and achieving short-term goals
transformational leadership aims to inspire and motivate followers by creating a shared vision, fostering creativity, and driving long-term change through empowering individuals to go beyond expectations
how do minorities influence the group
consistency
self confidence
defecting from the group
minority slowness effect
people with minority views express themselves less quickly than people in the majority
