Module 76: Group Behavior Flashcards
Social Facilitation
Improved performance on simple or well-earned tasks in the presence of others
How does social facilitation impact performance?
Skilled athletes often find they are “on” before an audience. What they do well, they do even better when people are watching
How does the presence of others amplify our reactions?
The presence of others strengthens our most likely response - the correct one on an easy task, an incorrect one on a difficult tasl
What if our skill or ability is lacking? Social Facilitation
The flip side to social facilitation is that if our likely response is poor, that too will be amplified.
Social Loafing
The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable
What causes social loafing in a group?
- members may feel less accountable and therefore worry less about what others think
- members may view their individual contributions as dispensable
- members may overestimate their own contributions, downplaying others’ actions
- members may slack off if they share equally in the benefits regardless of how much they contribute
Deindividuation
The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity
The process of losing self-awareness and self-restraints, called deindividuation, often occurs when group participation makes people both aroused and anonymous
Does deindividuation always result in violence?
Deindividuation can also result in prosocial actions. The releasing of self-restraint may allow an individual to dance like non one is watching, sing in a way they may not if not in the crowd
- when we shed self-awareness and self-restraint we become more responsive to the group experience - bad or good
Group Polarization
The enhancing of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion with in the group
- the belieds and attitudes we bring to a group grow stronger as we discuss them with like-minded others. This can have beneficial results, as when low-prejudice students become even more accepting while discussing racial issues
How does the internet increase group polarization?
The internet offers us a connected global world yet also provides an easily accessible medium for group polarization
- opinion bubbles
- sites and algorithms affirm shared views
- feed each other information and misinformation
How is the internet a social amplifier?
Individuals visit websites that reflect their interests and concerns and are supported by others with the same views
What are some pro-social and anti-social ways in which the internet impacts ideas?
Social media has been moving force behind many political independence movements in countries such as Egypt with oppressive rulers because it allows like-minded citizens to band together
- it has also fueled hate-driven, violent rallies that tear apart communities
Groupthink
The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire fr harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives
- often when a group is involved in decision making, the hope that the group can arrive at a decision may subtly influence dissenters of the group to decide to remain silent
Culture
The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
- ex. food at dinner, childhood songs, politics we supports, sense of independence or dependence
What is Culture Shock?
When we don’t understand what’s expected or accepted, we may experience culture shock.
When cultures collide, their differing norms often befuddle.
Knowing what sorts of gestures and compliments are culturally appropriate, we can relax and enjoy one another without fear of embarrassment or insult
