LG 9: Small Groups

Question 1

What is the social facilitation effect and how can it be explained by an arousal account?

Answer 1

Social facilitation is the tendency for people to preform simple and well-learned task better when others are present. However, after several studies its more correct to say that social facilitation is the strengthening of dominant (prevalent, likely) responses in the presence of others.

Arousal facilitates the expression of dominant responses (dominant= simple and well learned responses). Others presence leads to arousal, which again strengthens the dominant response. Depending on the response it can either enhance easy behavior or impairing difficult behavior.

Question 2

What is social loafing and under what circumstances does it (/not) occur?

Answer 2

Social loafing is the tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts towards a common goal than when they are individually accountable. So working in a group and not being accountable leads to lower effort investment

Studies show that more loafing occurs when a individual thinks of oneself as having superior abilities.

Less loafing when
- the task is challenging (feeling that own effort is indispensable)
- the task is appealing or involving
- others are perceived as unreliable.
- High identification with the group (commitment to the team).

Question 3

How would you set up an experiment to test the group polarization effect?

Answer 3

Roberts cave experiment

p. 444 Mayers et al.

Question 4

What is group think and what is problematic with this “theory”?

Answer 4

Group think is a mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence-seeking (consensus) becomes so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisals of alternative courses of action. This can lead to disaster because the realistic approach is sat aside.

The problem with this theory is that it has been evolved in retrospect. That means that factors or evidence for group-think was identified retrospectively, the theory could pick supporting cases.

Question 5

What are factors to prevent group think?

Answer 5

Factors that can prevent group think is:
- Be an impartial leader – which mean do not endorse any position.

• Encourage critical evaluation (“devils advocate”)
• Occasionally subdivide the group, find differences in the group and then talk them through afterwards.
• Welcome critics from the outside experts and associates.
• Before implementing call for a “second chance” meeting to air any lingering doubts.

Question 6

Name and describe factors that impair the effectiveness of a group doing brainstorming?

Answer 6

There are several factors that can impair the effectiveness of a group doing brainstorming, like:
- Impression management
- Social loafing
- Production matching
- Production blocking: when one person’s opinions blocks others
- Individual train of thought.
- Fear of jugement/ rejection
- Whether you get “your turn”