Group Processes Flashcards
(31 cards)
What is a group? How is it different from a collective?
.Set of individuals w/ atleast 1 of following.direct interactions with each other over a period of time.joint membership in a social category based on sex, race, or other attributes.a shared, common fate, identity, or set of goals.collective: assembly of people engaging in a common activity, but little direct interaction
Explain how the presence of others affects task performance, and how Zajonc’s social facilitation model accounts for these effects.
.social facilitation, strengthens dominant response for any task.increases arousal, if an easy task, well learned or well practiced, enhances performance.hard task (or not learned well), impairs performance
What did Zajonc’s study with cockroaches reveal about social facilitation effects?
.social facilitation universal for other animals!.complex task, presence of audience cockroaches made task performance worse.simple task, presence made task performance better
Describe the three alternative accounts for social facilitation effects. Which theory is correct?
.Zajonc’s mere presence theory, ppl automatically increase arousal, arousal increases dominant response.Evaluation apprehension theory, person present must be in a position to evaluate performance.playing violin, someone who knows music, can judge good or bad.someone who doesnt know music, won’t be facilitated.Stereotype threat? ASK OK for third one
How does stereotype threat relate to social facilitation?
I believe threat increased arousal, which made easy tasks easier and hard tasks harder (spelling last name either normally, or backwards under a time limit)
Describe how working with others on a task affects productivity. Explain the concept of social loafing, and identify when it occurs
.social loafing: group-produced reduction in individual output on easy tasks in which contributions are pooled.occurs when task is easy, individual efforts could not be identified
What factors that can reduce the likelihood of loafing, and distinguish between situations likely to lead to social facilitation versus social loafing.
.people believe own performance can be identified.task is important.people believe efforts necessary for success.group punished for poor performance.group is small and/or cohesive.more interdependent in self-concept person
How does culture influence social loafing effects?
.prevalent world-wide, some cultural differences found.less prevelant among woman than men, collectivist cultures than individualist cultures.sometimes more social loafing in collectivist cultures, because don’t want to stand out, more concern with matching group norm, want ot be seen as fitting in
How can we unify the social facilitation and social loafing effects? What factors determine which outcome will result from the presence of others?
Individual evaluation: Easy task Social facilitation Enhanced Difficult task Social facilitation Impaired Group evaluation: Easy task Easy task Social loafing Social loafing Impaired Difficult task Social security EnhancedUNDERSTAND GRAPH IN NOTES
What is deindividuation and why does it occur?
.loss of person’s sense of individuality and the reduction of normal constraints against deviant behavior.caused by: arousal, anonymity, lack of individual responsibility
Describe how environmental cues and a sense of identity can affect this process.
.accountability cues: low, les likely to be caught and punished.deliberately engage in behaviours that usually would inhibit but are gratifying.attentional cues: less sensitive to internal standards, react more to immediate situation, act more impulsively
What does a classic study by Diener, et al. (1976) illustrate about how deindividuation can lead to such antisocial behavior?
.1300 trick or treating children.halloween, prime environment for individuation, in groups and wearing masks that obscure identity.some children came alone, some in groups.came to door, one condition, asked for name and where lived, another condition, didn’t.experimenter said only take one piece of candy and left, watched through camera.group and anonymous, much more candy, alone and not anonymous only one, right
Does a loss of personal identity always lead to antisocial behavior?
.no.sometimes being less accountable or self-aware allows us to be more responsive to the needs of others.you adopt whatever norm of group is most salient to you, if it’s positive, you’ll engage in positive behavior.like online comments, sometimes outrageously negative, sometimes crazily supportive and positive
What does the SIDE model predict about deindividuation effects?
That people do not always act in a negative fashion. They don’t just lose themselves in a mob, but instead take on the norm that is most salient to them at the time. If it is a mob of people cheering, they’ll cheer. If it is a mob of people rioting, they’ll riot.
What is the difference between the risky shift phenomenon and group polarization?
.risky shift: tendency for groups to be riskier than individual’s decisions (but subsequent studies found mixed support, so….).group polarization: exaggeration through group discussion of group members’ initial tendencies
Why does group polarization occur?
.Persuasive Arguments Theory: the greater the number and persuasiveness of the arguments, more extreme attitudes become, tons of justification for decision, intensifies decision.Social Comparison: we make a comparison between us and others, if already favouring a cautious position, make yourself more cautious to stand out as an individual wee woo.Social Categorization: overestimate group’s position to distinguish ingroup from outgroup
What does research comparing various perspectives indicate about the processes involved in group polarization?
.According to persuasive arguments theory, the greater the number and persuasiveness of the arguments to which group members are exposed, the more extreme their attitudes become. If most group members favor a cautious decision, for example, most of the arguments discussed will favor caution, giving the members more and more reasons to think caution is the correct approach.A second explanation is based on social comparison theory. As described earlier, individuals develop their view of social reality by comparing themselves with others. In the case of group discussions, as individuals learn that most of the other group members lean in one direction on some issue, they may adopt a more extreme attitude in this same direction. In other words, people who are members of a group that believes that X is good may be willing to state to the group that twice X is even better. By advocating for twice X, individuals can distinguish themselves in the group in a manner that is approved by the group..Additional: For example, groups may polarize as a way to differentiate themselves from other groups. Each of these accounts spotlights particular processes, but taken together they all seem to contribute to the emergence of group polarization
Define groupthink and its antecedents, behavioral symptoms, and consequences. Address how groupthink can be prevented.
.excessive tendency to seek concurrence among group members.emerges when need for agreement takes priority over the motivation to obtain accurate information and make appropriate decisions.antecedents: homogeneous members, group isolation, directive (as opposed to impartial) leadership, unsystematic procedures (don’t look at alternatives), stressful situation, time constraints.symptoms: overestimation of logic behind decisions, mindgaurds (ppl who pressure others towards conformity), self-censorship (don’t share contrary ideas), illusion of unanimity.prevention: consult widely with outsiders, leaders should explicitly encourage criticism (step back from initial meetings), establish a strong norm of critical review.divide big group into smaller groups, people given role of devil’s advocate in each group.second chance meetings, come back and think, concerns
What are escalation effects and when do they occur?
.aka ENTRAPMENT, occurs when commitment to a failing course of action is increased to justify prior investments.like the sunken-cost fallacy, but you keep sinking more funds to try and justify prior investments!.groups much more likely to do this, and in extreme ways
Describe the roles of biased sampling, information-processing biases, and transactive memory in group communication and performance.
.biased sampling of ideas: group members assume that others have the same knowledge that they do, so they are reluctant to introduce new information.information processing biases: groups are susceptible to same biases as individuals, like the base-rate fallacy
When is biased sampling less likely to occur?
.less likely to occur if leaders encourage group participation.groups gain more experience with each other
How is information processing in groups different and similar to the information processing done by individuals?
.Even if a group has all the available information, group members must process that information and use it to make judgments or perform tasks. How well do groups process information compared with individuals? In general, groups are susceptible to the same information- processing biases as individuals, only more so. If some bias, error, or tendency predisposes individuals to process information in a particular way, then groups exaggerate this tendency. However, if this bias, error, or tendency is unlikely among individuals processing the information ( e. g., less than half the sample), then groups are even less likely to process information in this fashion. One key advantage of groups is that they can divide a large body of information into smaller portions and delegate different members to remember these more manageable portions, ideally by matching information to individuals based on their expertise and interest. This shared process is known as transactive memory, which helps groups remember more information more efficiently than individuals.
What is transactive memory?
.transactive memory: individuals responsible for different information, each have a role
Define social dilemma.
.a situation in which what is good for one is bad for all, war between competing and cooperating
