group structure and processes lecture 1 Flashcards
what is the main question we are looking into
what is it about a collection of people that makes it a group
what are some differences in groups
small vs large
organised vs loose
formal vs informal
long lived vs short lived
what is a group according to johnson and johnson 1987
groups…
-collective of interacting individuals
-two or more people
-collection of interdependent individuals
-individuals work toward a common goal
-roles and norms
-influence between individuals in a collection
what is group cohesiveness
how the group ‘hangs together’
hogg and vaughn 2018: property of group that binds people as group members to one another and to the group as a whole, giving solidarity and oneness
what is cohesiveness according to festinger 1950
-total field of forces which act upon a member to remain in the group
-looked into the bonds, attraction, friendships etc which is key to group solidarity
how did festinger look into group cohesiveness and what are the criticisms of the concept
evaluating how much each member likes others in the group
criticisms
-reducing cohesion to interpersonal attraction removes idea of the group
-focuses on individual bonds not group (Hogg and Turner)
+ Mudrack: psychology looks at individuals
-Hogg: individual attraction does not explain group solidarity, not everyone in the group will know each other e.g football fans (festinger)
self categorisation can account for…
(Turner 1985) group cohesiveness
what is the basic unit of categorisation
prototype
what is a prototype
fuzzy representation of an average or ideal object/group
how do groups and prototypes work together
people categorise based on how similar they are to the group’s prototype
-categorisation of people into groups de-emphasises individual differences between people due to depersonalisation
-allows us to perceive ourselves and others as part of a group
what is depersonalisation
people in a group are perceived as more similar than they actually are
how does the cognitive system facilitate categorisation
Turner
-maximising similarities between individuals who match a prototype (assimilation)
-maximising differences between individuals who match different prototypes (contrast) - people in diff groups seem more diff than they are
how does cognition and evaluation operate
-category relevant lines
-the category matters to the way info is processed and evaluated
-this accounts for prejudice to out groups members and favouritism to in group members
advantages of self categorisation for group cohesiveness
+ cohesiveness is not simply reduced down to interpersonal attraction
+ applicable to groups of all size
+ although its at the individual level it does not lose the group concept
what is group socialisation
-looks into the effect of group on behaviour
-Hogg and vaughn 2018: relationship between group and members describes passage of members through group with changing roles
what is moreland and levines 1982/1984 group socialisation model
-how people pass through groups
-bell shaped curve
-4 markers: entry, acceptance, divergence, exit
-5 stages: investigation (to be member), socialisation (new member), maintenance (full member), resocialisation (marginal member), remembrance (ex member)
what are norms 2008
-shared beliefs about appropriate conduct of group member (Hogg and vaughn)
definition for norms 2018
hogg and vaughn
-attitudinal and behavioural uniformities that define group membership and differentiate between groups
are norms influential in groups
yes, strongly influence behaviour
-framework of acceptable behaviours for group members
effects of group norms study
Newcomb 1965
-looked into political attitudes at liberal US college
-1st yrs favoured conservative candidate (parental/hometown influence)
-3rd and 4th yrs favour liberal candidate (taken the liberal norms of the college on board influencing voting behaviour)
2 studies showing norms and social influence
sherif autokinetic effect
asch line study
sherif autokinetic effect
1936
frame of distance closer to estimates of group than to personal frame of reference
-we look to other for cues in unknown situations and use them as a source of info
asch line study
1952
unambiguous task
-first few trials confederates call out correct answer, then all make the same mistake
-25% pp made no errors (no conformity to norms)
-28% pp made 8/12 errors
-47% made 1-7 errors
what are explicit norms
formalised rules governing behaviour of group
what are implicit norms
unwritten rules of social conduct
study for implicit norms
Harold Garfinkel 1967
-student pp violate everyday norms
-40 pp act as lodgers in their own home and engage in the act for 15 mins to 1hr
-pp instructed to conduct themselves in polite way, use formal address, speak only when spoken to in their own homes amongst their families
-caused rapid breakdown of cordial family relations
what are roles
differentiate group members/ division of labour in group eg. leader and followers
-roles function to further group goals
hogg and vaughn roles
patterns of behaviour that distinguish different activities within the group that interrelate to one another for the greater good of the group
roles and behaviour
-leadership is a group based role:influences leaders behaviour with respect to subordinates
gersick and hackman 1990
-describe how roles become routine which may cause a problem
-being in a role habit can cause mistakes eg. flight crew so into their given role they couldnt get out of the fixed role resulting in plane crash
study demonstrating roles and behaviour
zimbardo prison experiment
