Group Processes

Question 1

what is a group?

Answer 1

two or more people who interact and are interdependent in the sense that their needs and goals cause them to influence each other

Question 2

why do people join groups?

Answer 2

1. accomplish objectives that would be more difficult to meet individually
2. innate need to belong
3. need to feel distinctive from those who do not belong to the same groups
4. define one’s identity
5. establish social norms

Question 3

what are social norms?

Answer 3

explicit or implicit rules defining what is acceptable behavior

Question 4

what are social roles?

Answer 4

shared expectations in a group about how particular people are supposed to behave

Question 5

what are the results of Zimbardo’s prison experiment?

what was the criticism of the study?

Answer 5

1. participants’ personal identities and sense of decency got lost
2. participants figured out what the study was about and role-played in manner that they thought was expected of them

Question 6

what is group cohesiveness?

Answer 6

qualities of a group that bind members together and promote liking between them

Question 7

how does reason for group formation affect group cohesiveness?

Answer 7

1. group formed for social reasons → increased cohesiveness → members likely to stay in group, take part in group activities, and try to recruit new like-minded members
2. group formed to solve problems
   - if task requires close cooperation → increased cohesiveness → perform well
   - if relations of group members more important than finding solution to problem → cohesiveness can affect optimal performance

Question 8

how does diversity affect a group?

Answer 8

diversity might decrease group’s cohesiveness and morale but predicts improved performance in terms of group creativity, information sharing, and flexible problem solving

Question 9

what is social facilitation?

Answer 9

when people are in presence of others and individual performance can be evaluated, tendency to perform better on simple tasks and worse on complex tasks

Question 10

why does social facilitation occur?

Answer 10

presence of others increases physiological arousal

Question 11

why does presence of others cause arousal?

Answer 11

1. other people cause us to become particularly alert and vigilant
2. other people make us apprehensive about how we’re being evaluated
3. other people distract us from the task at hand

Question 12

what is social loafing?

Answer 12

when people are in presence of others and individual performance cannot be evaluated, tendency to perform worse on simple or unimportant tasks but better on complex or important tasks

Question 13

how does social loafing work?

Answer 13

being with other people means we can merge into a group, becoming less noticeable than when we are alone, we should become relaxed -> decreased arousal

Question 14

what is relational interdependence?

Answer 14

tendency to focus on and care about personal relationships with other individuals (women > men in this)

Question 15

what is deindividuation?

Answer 15

loosening of normal constraints on behaviour when people can’t be identified

Question 16

what are the effects of deindividuation?

Answer 16

• makes people less accountable
• increases obedience to group norms

Question 17

what is process loss?

Answer 17

any aspect of group interaction that inhibits good problem solving

Question 18

why does process loss occur?

Answer 18

• failure to share unique information
• groupthink

Question 19

what is transactive memory?

Answer 19

combined memory of a group that is more efficient than the memory of the individual members

Question 20

how does failure to share unique information affect groups?

how to resolve this problem?

Answer 20

• groups tend to focus on information they already collectively share, talking less about unique information
• unique information is more likely to be brought up later in discussion - group discussions should therefore last long enough
• leverage transactive memory and assign members to specific areas of expertise so they know they alone are responsible for certain types of information

Question 21

what is groupthink?

Answer 21

kind of decision process in which maintaining group cohesiveness and solidarity is more important than considering the facts in a realistic manner

Question 22

what are the antecedents of groupthink?

Answer 22

• highly cohesive group (group is valued and attractive, people want to be part of it)
• group is isolated from contrary opinions
• ruled by directive leader
• high stress (members perceive threats to the group)
• poor decision making procedures (no standard methods to consider alternative viewpoint)

Question 23

what are ways to reduce groupthink?

Answer 23

• remain impartial
• seek outside opinions
• create subgroups
• seek anonymous opinions

Question 24

what is group polarisation?

Answer 24

tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclinations of their members

Question 25

how does group polarisation affect groups?

Answer 25

- if the individual members are leaning toward a risky decision, group discussion will exaggerate that risky tendency - if people are inclined to be conservative, groups tend to make even more conservative decision than individuals do

Question 26

why does group polarisation occur?

Answer 26

- persuasive arguments - social comparison

Question 27

what is the great person theory? | does it work?

Answer 27

- idea that certain key personality traits make a person a good leader, regardless of the situation - not proven as few personality characteristics correlate strongly with leadership effectiveness

Question 28

what is a transactional leader?

Answer 28

set clear, short-term goals and reward people who meet them

Question 29

what is a transformational leader?

Answer 29

inspire followers to focus on common, long-term goals

Question 30

what is the contingency theory of leadership?

Answer 30

The effectiveness of a leader depends both on how task- or relationship-oriented the leader is and on the amount of control the leader has over the group

Question 31

what are task-oriented leaders and when are they effective?

Answer 31

- task-oriented leaders are more concerned with getting the job done than with workers’ feelings and relationships, clear delegation of tasks - work well in high and low-control work situations

Question 32

what are relationship-oriented leaders and when are they effective?

Answer 32

- relationship-oriented leaders are more concerned with workers’ feelings and relationships - do well in moderate-control work situations, where the leader can promote strong relations between individual employees

Question 33

what is social dilemma?

Answer 33

A conflict in which the most beneficial action for an individual will, if chosen by most people, have harmful effects on everyone

Question 34

how to increase cooperation in prisoner's dilemma?

Answer 34

- change norms of expected behaviour - tit for tat strategy - allow individuals rather than groups to resolve a conflict

Question 35

what is the tit-for-tat strategy?

Answer 35

encouraging cooperation by at first acting cooperatively, but always responding the way your opponent did on the previous trial

Question 36

what are the results of Deutsch and Krauss Trucking Game?

Answer 36

- both sides lost money when one side had gate, both sides had gates, being able to communicate (people used the opportunity to threaten each other) - however, when people were instructed on how to communicate and to work our a fair solution, communication did help to foster trust

Question 37

what is negotiation?

Answer 37

communication between opposing sides in a conflict in which offers and counteroffers are made and a solution occurs only when both parties agree

Question 38

what is in integrative solution?

Answer 38

a solution to a conflict whereby the parties make trade-offs on issues, with each side conceding the most on issues that are unimportant to it but important to the other side

Question 39

what are symptoms of groupthink?

Answer 39

1. illusion of invulnerability 2. belief in the moral correctness of the group 3. stereotyped views of out-group 4. self-censorship 5. direct pressure on dissenters to conform 6. illusion of unanimity 7. mindguards

Question 40

what are consequences of groupthink?

Answer 40

1. incomplete survey of alternatives 2. failure to examine risks of favoured alternative 3. poor information search 4. failure to develop contingency plans