Lecture 10 - Psychology Of Groups

Question 1

What is a “group”?

Answer 1

A group has been described as a collection of individuals who have relations to one another that make them interdependent to some significant degree.

Question 2

What were the findings of the Triplett study in performance in social situations?

Answer 2

• Observed that cyclists recorded faster times when competing against others than when racing alone.

Study;
- Asked children to wind fishing wheel as fast as possible. Children completed toast fast when they were co-acting with another child

Question 3

Name the concept:
- The enhancing effect of co-actors on performance

Answer 3

Social facilitation

Question 4

What were the findings of Zajonc about social facilitation?

Answer 4

1) the presence of others increases arousal
2) Arousal makes us more incline to do what we’re already inclined to do (dominant response)
3) Performance will depend on what the dominant response is in a given situation

Study findings:
- The presence of others is predicted to facilitate performance of easy tasks but may impair performance of difficult tasks

Question 5

What is the dominant response?

Answer 5

-For an easy or well-practiced toast, the dominant response is often correct
- For a difficult or novel task, the dominant response is often incorrect

Question 6

What is the updated definition of social facilitation?

Answer 6

The effect, positive or negative, of the presence of others on performance

Question 7

What is social loafing?

Answer 7

Tendency to exert less effort when performing as part of a group than when performing as an individual.

Question 8

What were the findings of Ringelmann’s Rope-Pulling experiment?

Answer 8

People’s efforts when pulling a rope by themselves was more important than when they were pulling ropes as a group. The group performance increased as the group grew bigger, but not as much as it should have if we took individual performances together.

Question 9

How do we minimize social loafing?

Answer 9

• Have people work on an interesting project
• Make the project personally relevant to the group
• Hold individuals accountable for contributions (clear expectations for who does what)

Question 10

What is groupthink?

Answer 10

Groups that are highly cohesive can produce poor group decisions because striving for unanimity may override motivation to evaluate alternative courses of action and make an accurate judgment
- Solidarity holds the group together, but can cause group members’ thinking to get stuck

Question 11

What are the symptoms of groupthink?

Answer 11

• Illusion of invulnerability
• Belief in inherent morality of the group
• Self-censorship
• Self-appointed mindguards

Question 12

What is the illusion of invulnerability in groupthink?

Answer 12

• Everything is going to work out all right because we are a special group

Question 13

What is the belief in inherent morality of the group in groupthink?

Answer 13

• Members automatically assume the rightness of their cause

Question 14

What is self-censorship in groupthink?

Answer 14

• Withholding information or opinions in group discussions

Question 15

What are self-appointed mindguards in groupthink?

Answer 15

Members of the group appoint themselves to protect a leader from assault by troublesome ideas that might threaten group complacency

Question 16

What are the factors that make groupthink more likely?

Answer 16

• high-cohesiveness
• Homogeneity in group members’ social backgrounds and ideology
• Directive leadership
• Lack of procedures for information search and appraisal
• Insularity of the group
• High stress from external threats combined with low hope of finding a better solution than the leader’s

Question 17

How to prevent groupthink?

Answer 17

• Group leaders should refrain from making their opinions known at first and periodically leave the group is group members can discuss their views without constraint
• Bring in outside opinions
• Assign people to play “devil’s advocate”

Question 18

Name the concept:
- The tendency for people to become more extreme in their positions after discussion with like-minded others

Answer 18

Group polarization

Question 19

What is the “persuasive arguments” explanation?

Answer 19

-Exposure to additional arguments in favour of one’s preexisting opinion strengthens that opinion

Question 20

What is the social comparison interpretation?

Answer 20

• Compare self to others, with the drive to outdo others
• If others express similar opinions, we may take a more extreme position to differentiate ourselves

Question 21

What are hierarchies?

Answer 21

• Groups tend to evolve into hierarchies and to select leaders
• Generally adaptive because it helps to avoid conflict, gives structure to discussion and decision making, helps coordinate group actions, provides impetus for action

Question 22

What are the characteristics of leaders?

Answer 22

• Expertise, knowledge, technical skill
• Social skills
• Those who share resources with others more likely to rise to a leadership role

Question 23

What is the definition of power?

Answer 23

The ability to control one’s own outcomes and those of others, the freedom to act

Question 24

What is status?

Answer 24

• Refers to respect and prominence

Question 25

What is authority?

Answer 25

• Power that derives from institutional roles

Question 26

What is dominance?

Answer 26

• Behaviour that has acquisition of power as its aim

Question 27

What is the approach/inhibition theory of power?

Answer 27

One influential theory suggests that we posses two behavioural systems that help us navigate our world
- behavioural approach system —> moves us toward desired outcomes
- behavioural inhibition system —> moves us away from threats

• Power influences balance of the tendencies to approach and inhibit
• Elevated power activated approach-related tendencies
• Lack of power is associated wit increased inhibition

Question 28

What does the approach/inhibition theory of power’s model predict?

Answer 28

It predicts that power should make people behave in less constrained and at times more inappropriate ways

Question 29

Does power necessarily corrupt?

Answer 29

• Study by Chen about sitting in a royal chair
• High-power condition vs low-power condition
  Power doesn’t corrupt, it reveals

Question 30

Name the effect:
- The conviction that others are paying more attention to oneself than they actually are

Answer 30

Spotlight effect

Question 31

Name the theory:
- When people focus their attention on themselves, they engage in more self-evaluation and become more concerned about whether their current behaviour conforms to their standards and values

Answer 31

Self-awareness theory

Question 32

Name the concept:
- A reduced sense of individual identity accompanied by diminished self-regulation that can come over people when they are in a large group

Answer 32

Deindividuation

Question 33

What are the characteristics of deinviduation?

Answer 33

• Decreased self-observation and self-evaluation
• Decreased concern with social evaluation

Question 34

What are the consequences of deindividuation?

Answer 34

• Impulsivity
• Irrationality
• Emotionality
• Antisocial behaviour

Question 35

What are antecedent conditions to deindividuation?

Answer 35

• Energizing effect of others
• Sensory overload
• Diffusion of responsibility
• Anonymity

Question 36

What causes anonymity?

Answer 36

• Crowds are thought to offer anonymity, which leads to deindividuation

Question 37

What were the findings of the Halloween study by Diener?

Answer 37

• bowls of candy and coins at 27 homes
• Children arrived in groups or alone and told to take one piece of candy
• Children more prone to taking more than one piece if in groups and with anonymity