Lecture 10: Issues In Group Dynamics

Question 1

What is a social group?

Answer 1

• A collection of interdependent, interacting people

Question 2

What is an ingroup?

Answer 2

• A real or imagined group with whom you identify (not always present)
• Form social identity (influence you somewhat)

Question 3

What is social facilitation?

Answer 3

• Presence of others improves performance on a simple task
• Tripplet’s bicycle study
• Cockroach maze study
• The presence of others impairs performance on complex task
• Michael’s pool experiment (shots made, below avg vs. above avg, below worse, above better)

Question 4

Zajonc’s (1975) drive theory:

Answer 4

• Social presence increases arousal, therefore drive and enhance emission of dominant response
• Leads to social facilitation or social impairment

Question 5

The Social Loafing effect:

Answer 5

• The presence of others seems to impair your performance on a task
• (Drive) Evaluation possible, distraction, inc arousal, simple task facilitated, complex task impaired
• In a group, anonymity, no evaluation, relaxation, complex task facilitated, simple task impaired
• Three way interaction

Question 6

What is a nonsocial group?

Answer 6

• A collection of independent people who are not interacting (same place same time)

Question 7

Social Dilemmas:

Answer 7

• When the interests of the group contradict your own

Question 8

The prisoner’s dilemma:

Answer 8

• Imagine two people are arrested and separated and each offered a deal, just confess, they get a reduced or no sentence and the other person will go to prison, both can’t communicate but are faced with this dilemma
• Not confessing = cooperative
• If both people don’t confess they both only spend 3 years in jail vs. one free, one in for 30 years
• Rational choice is to confess
• Arms race, building more nuclear weapons is (confessing), disarming is cooperating
• Rational = build weapons

Question 9

What is the Commons Dilemma?

Answer 9

• There’s a shared limited resource, if everyone uses it as much as they want it runs out
• People classically have trouble managing the resources
• FISHING EXAMPLE IN PSYC111 LAB

Question 10

What is the free rider problem?

Answer 10

• Even though it’s not good if nobody has to contribute, not everyone has to contribute
• Everyone’s donating blood, there’s no need to donate my blood

Question 11

Panic problem:

Answer 11

• There’s a fire, an illuminated exit, irrational perspective is to climb over each other if you walk normally, everyone’s getting burned up
• Make a run for the door
• Slightly diff to prisoner’s dilemma

Question 12

How does Explicit Communication help?

Answer 12

• It doesn’t work necessarily, you’re still faced with the same dilemma when you go to actually make the decision
• The trucking game (communication between trucks) only worked when given specific instructions

Question 13

What is “Tacit” Communication?

Answer 13

• You get a phone call from an overseas friend “hey I’m going to be in Dunedin tomorrow, let’s meet up tomorrow!” “Ok where?” “Let’s go —”
• Shared belief on where to go?
• “Tit-for-tat” strategy, cooperative

Question 14

Solutions for social dilemmas:

Answer 14

• Changing the payoff matrix, parking too long, get ticket
• Change group membership
• Communication (not great)