Group Psychology

Question 1

Social Action

Answer 1

• actions and behaviors that individuals are conscious of and performing because others are around
• humans behave in different ways based on their social environment and how their behavior will affect those around them
• not same as social interaction because only considers the individual that is surrounded by others
• includes: social facilitation, deindividuation, bystandard effect, social loafing, peer pressure

Question 2

Social Facilitation

Answer 2

• tendency for people to perform better on simple tasks when in presence of others
• performance sparks a perceived evaluation in the individual performing

Question 3

Yerkes-Dodson Law of Social Facilitation

Answer 3

being in presence of others will significantly raise arousal which enhances the ability to perform tasks one is already good at (simple tasks) and hinders the performance of less familiar tasks (complex tasks)

Question 4

Deindividuation

Answer 4

• social phenomenon that occurs when individuals are in group settings
• individual behavior is dramatically different in social environments because of the presence of a large group that provides anonymity and causes a loss of individual identity
• can lead to behavior against the norm
• enhanced when individuals are in ouniform or masked
• Ex. violent behavior of individuals in crowds and riots; Stanford Prison Experiment

Question 5

Bystander Effect

Answer 5

• occurs in social groups wherein individuals do not intervene to help victims when other are present
• likelihood and timeliness of response is inversely related to the number of bystanders – more people standing by = less likely any one of those people is to help
• more likely to provide aid in high danger scenarios compared to low danger scenarios

Question 6

Social Loafing

Answer 6

-tendency of individuals to put in less effort when in a group setting than individually

Question 7

Peer Pressure

Answer 7

• the social influence placed on an individual by a group of people or another individual
• can lead to changes in behaviors, attitudes or beliefs to conform to the norms of the group

Question 8

Identity Shift Effect

Answer 8

• mechanism behind peer pressure
• when an individual’s state of harmony is disrupted by a threat of social rejection the individual will often conform to the norms of the group which may lead the individual to experience internal conflict because the behavior is outside the norm of the individual

Question 9

Cognitive Dissonance

Answer 9

• the simultaneous presence of two opposing thoughts or opinions
• generally leads to an internal state of discomfort which may manifest as anxiety, fear, anger, or confusion
• individuals try to reduce discomfort by changing, adding to, or minimizing one of the dissonant thoughts
• Ex. person smokes but knows that smoking causes cancer so person may say things like “I don’t smoke that often” or “I exercise a lot so it doesn’t matter that I smoke”

Question 10

Social Interaction

Answer 10

• explores ways in which two or more individuals can both shape each other’s behaviors
• includes: group polarization, groupthink

Question 11

Group Polarization

Answer 11

• tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the individual ideas and inclinations of the members within the group
• can lead to riskier or more cautious decisions based on the initial tendencies of the group members toward risk or caution
• Ex. group of jurors that initially favor a high punishment may deliberate and decide upon an even high punishment after discussion

Question 12

Groupthink

Answer 12

• social phenomenon in which desire for harmony or conformity results in a group of people coming to an incorrect or poor decision
• attempt to eliminate/minimize conflict among group members so consensus decisions are reached without alternative ideas being assessed
• group isolated and ignores external viewpoints, seeing their ideas as correct without question
• influenced by group cohesiveness, group structure, leadership and situational context

Question 13

What are the 8 factors that are indicative of groupthink?

Answer 13

• illusion of invulnerability
• collective rationalization
• illusion of morality
• excessive stereotyping
• pressure for conformity
• self-censorship
• illusion of unanimity
• mindguards

Question 14

Illusion of Invulnerability

Answer 14

creation of optimism and encouragement of risk-taking

Question 15

Collective Rationalization

Answer 15

ignoring warnings against the ideas of the group

Question 16

Illusion of Morality

Answer 16

the belief that the group’s decisions are morally correct

Question 17

Excessive Stereotyping

Answer 17

the construction of stereotypes against outside opinions

Question 18

Pressure for Conformity

Answer 18

the pressure put on anyone in the group who expresses opinions against the group, viewing the opposition as disloyal

Question 19

Self-Censorship

Answer 19

the withholding of opposing views

Question 20

Illusion of Unanimity

Answer 20

the false sense of agreement within the group

Question 21

Mindguards

Answer 21

the appointment of members to the role of protecting against opposing views

Question 22

Mass Hysteria

Answer 22

• a shared, intense concern about the threats to society
• many features of groupthink lead to a shared delusion that is augmented by distrust, rumors, propaganda, and fear mongering
• Ex. Salem witch trials

Question 23

Culture

Answer 23

• the beliefs, behaviors, actions, and characteristics of a group or society of people
• passed from generation to generation

Question 24

Cultural Assimilation

Answer 24

• the process by which an individual’s or group’s behavior and culture begin to resemble that of another group
• can occur when groups with different cultures merge into one, with one culture typically dominating over the other
• creates a melting pot

Question 25

What are the 4 primary factors that can be used to assess the completeness of assimilation?

Answer 25

• SES
• geographic distribution
• language attainment
• intermarriage

Question 26

Ethnic Enclaves

Answer 26

• locations (usually neighborhoods) with a high concentration of one specific ethnicity
• slows the process of assimilation
• Ex. Chinatown, Little Italy

Question 27

Multiculturalism

Answer 27

• communities or societies containing multiple cultures
• encourages, respects and celebrates cultural differences
• mixture of cultures and ethnic groups that coexist in society – cultural mosaic

Question 28

Subcultures

Answer 28

• refer to groups of people within a culture that distinguish themselves from the primary culture to which they belong
• symbolic attachment to things like clothing or music can differentiate the group from the majority
• can be formed based on race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and other differentiating factors from societal norm

Question 29

Counterculture

Answer 29

• subculture gravitates toward an identity that is at odds with the majority culture and deliberately opposes the prevailing social mores
• Ex. Defund the police movement, feminist movements

Question 30

Ringelmann Rope-Pulling Experiemnt

Answer 30

• it is the tendency for individual members of a group to become increasingly less productive as the size of their group increases
• saw that larger groups will have more social loafing compared to small groups
• incorporated confederates into this experiment to test that your dependent variable is actually what you want to measure

Question 31

Differentiation

Answer 31

occurs when an individual changes their mind/their decision to fit in with their beliefs about what they think their group will decide

Question 32

Persuassion

Answer 32

occurs when an individual changes their mind because of what they hear

Question 33

Comparison

Answer 33

occurs when an individuals conforms to perceived group norms