multimi Flashcards
how do we act in the presence of others
we act differently in the presence of others
what is social facilitation
Roach was put in maze which was transparent
When roach is in empty glass, the roach moved slower
The presence of other roaches facilitated solving the maze unless the maze was difficult. Presence of others in easy maze made roach faster. The roach was slowed when maze was difficult.
When we solve a task in the presence of others we do it faster unless the task is difficult
how does performance differ on simple vs difficult tasks in terms of arousal
when task is easy: arousal is high and so is performance; arousal is low and so is performance. so increase in arousal increases performance
when task is difficult: inverted U shape. medium level of arousal for optimal performance. when arousal is too high or too low, performance is low
how was social loafing experimented in humans
humans were expected to pull a rope
the more people were in the group, the lower the exerted force per person was
When we are given a task to solve with others we slack
what is deindividuation
occurs when people are part of a group
the loosening of normal constraint on behaviour when people can’t be identified (such as when they are in a crowd), leading to an increase in impulsive acts
makes ppl feel less accountable for their actions
losing your sense of self and conforming to the group norm
makes information processing more difficult and increases likelihood of informative and normative social influence
what is study example of deindividuation
assigned people to dress like a Klu Klux Khan member or a nurse, and assigned people to wear mask or no mask
those who were mask and in KKK costume delivered higher shocks to another person
delivered less shocks if in nurse uniform
what is informative social influence
people conform because they believe the group has the correct information, particularly when the situation is ambiguous
what is normative influence
people conform to the group norm to fit in, the feel good, and to be accepted by the group
e.g. teenagers engaging in risky behavaviour due to peer pressure
what is example of normative influence
Asch
Task was easy
Which of the 3 comparison lines was most similar to the standard line
Told it was task of visual perception
They did it in groups but in each group there was 1 TRUE participants, the rest confederates
Confederates gave incorrect responses 12/18 trials
Results:
25% remained independent throughout
50% conformed in 6 or more trials
5% conformed in all 12 trials
average conformity rate 33%
In a variant:
Participants arrived late and Asch asked them to write down their responses in a corner. Conformity dropped to 12.5%
So giving your response publicly increases the degree of conformity
what happens to conformity as group size increases
conformity increases
what is an example of informative influence
Sherif (1935)
Uncertain task-
ppts asked to estimate how much a light moves - an optical illusion it wasn’t actually moving
Sherif tested college students individually over several trails, and each student perceived the light to move a different amount.
Later the students were randomly placed into groups of 3 and made further judgements. As group members heard one another’s judgement over several sessions, their judgements converged and a group norm evolved.
ppts were tested next day while they were alone, they still conformed to this group norm when judging the movement of the light.
what are group norms
implicit rules that inform people what is expected of them
what is a group
more than 2 poeple who define themselves as a group different from other groups
why do people form groups
Need to belong
Social groups satisfy basic psychological needs: for self-esteem, control
Need for affiliation – we are predispose to form relationships with others
Groups are sources of self knowledge and self esteem- help us define our identity
Provide us with frameworks for interpreting reality
what are the characteristics of groups
essentialism
entitativity
what is essentialism
a belief group’s shared biology - all group members share characteristics that are grounded in their biology, genes
what is entitativity
the extent to which groups are seen as a coherent whole or entity
are 2 or more heads better than one
most important decisions in the world today are made by groups
in general, groups will do better than individuals if they rely on the person with the most expertise and are stimulated by each other’s comments
what is groupthink
faulty decision-making in a highly cohesive group
groups do not consider all alternatives and they desire unanimity at the expense of quality decisions
occurs when groups are highly cohesive and when they are under considerable pressure to make a quality decision
what is group polarization
When ppl get chance to discuss opinion in groups
Rather than working out a common understanding, they get entranched in their opinions
They hear what other ppl have to say so they get more arguments
what is an example of group polarization
Moscovici
examined French student’s attitudes toward Americans (negative) and toward de Gaulle (positive)
Attitudes toward americans became more negative after the discussion
Attitudes toward the Gaulle became more positive after the discussion
what is another example of polarization -best feeding in public
those who thought it is unacceptable before discussion, their belief increased even more after discussion
those who believed it’s acceptable before discussion stayed relatively the same after discussion but decreased slightly
what is polarization
moving away from the middle, toward either extreme
what are the mechanisms of polarization
social comparison
social influence
persuasive argument theory
what is social comparison
people learn about and assess themselves by comparison with other people
what is social influence
people want to appear desirable
what is persuasive argument theory
people weigh pro and con arguments they remember; they give each other new arguments for the group tendency
