PSYC*2310 Chapter 8: Group Processes Flashcards
What are intragroup processes?
Processes that occur within a group
What are intergroup processes?
Processes that occur between groups of people
How does Rupert Brown define a group?
As two or more people who define themselves as members of it and when its existence is recognized by at least one other
What is the main advantage of Rupert Brown’s definition of a group?
It refers to a group in relation to other groups, rather than as its own system
What type of learning is rooted in an experiential education that integrates the community with academics?
Community-based learning
Which type of learning is increases a second-language learner’s willingness to communicate, both inside and outside the classroom?
Community-based learning
What is social inhibition?
When people do worse on a task in the presence of others than they would have if they were alone
What is social facilitation?
When people do better on a task in the presence of others than they would have if they were alone
What was the main claim of Triplett’s theory of dynamogenesis?
That the presence of others increased motivation
What were two things that Triplett’s theory of dynamogenesis was unable to explain?
- Why the presence of others could at times facilitate performance and at other times inhibit it
- Why the quality of performance in the presence of others was influenced by the difficulty of the task
What did Zajonc propose in his social learning theory of social facilitation?
That the mere presence of others increases physiological arousal, which enhances a person’s dominant response
According to Zajonc, what is a dominant response?
The response that is easy to perform or well rehearsed
According to Zajonc, when is the dominant response the correct response?
On well-learned or easy tasks
Does high arousal lead to better or worse performance on well-learned and easy tasks?
Better performance
According to Zajonc, when is the dominant response the incorrect response?
On difficult or less familiar tasks
Does high arousal lead to better or worse performance on difficult and less familiar tasks?
Worse performance
According to Zajonc’s theory, what are three explanations for why the presence of others leads to arousal?
- The mere presence of others is energizing
- Evaluation apprehension
- Distraction
What is evaluation apprehension?
The concern/ arousal that occurs in response to the fear of being evaluated by an audience
What did Conttrell propose as an alternative to Zajonc’s theory?
That the presence of others was a learned response, not an innate one
T or F: The results of studies investigating social facilitation support both Zajonc’s and Conttrell’s explanations.
True
What is social loafing?
The phenomenon in which a person exerting less effort to achieve a goal when working in a group than they would if they were working alone
According to the collective effort model of social loafing, what three factors contribute to a person’s motivation to exert effort during group tasks?
- Identifiable contributions
- Impact of the contributions
- Task importance
When an individual’s contributions to the group are identifiable, does the tendency to withdraw effort increase or decrease?
Decrease
Why does performing a difficult or unique task for the group not cause an individual to reduce effort?
Because they feel their contribution is important
T or F: Individuals who feel inferior to their group tend to exhibit more effort.
True
How does task importance effect individual motivation in groups?
If the group’s task is very important to a person, they will be highly motivated to work hard
T or F: If the group’s task is very important to a person, they will only be highly motivated to work hard if their individual contributions will be identifiable.
False
What is social compensation?
The notion that if a project is important to a person, they may work even harder to compensate for the poor performance or social loafing of others
What is deindividuation?
The relative state of anonymity in which a group member does not feel singled out or identifiable
Does deindividuation decrease or increase a person’s restraints on their behaviour?
Decrease
Which theory was proposed as an alternative to the deindividuation theory?
The emergent-norm theory
What does the emergent-norm theory propose as a reason for why people are more likely to engage in extreme behaviour in social situations?
They become more attuned to the new norms that arise spontaneously in social situations
What is the main difference between deindividuation theory and emergent-norm theory?
- Deindividuation: People become less aware of social norms
- Emergent-norm: People become more attuned to social norms
In terms of the self-environment relationship, what does deindividuation explain?
What occurs within individuals in groups or crowds
In terms of the self-environment relationship, what does the emergent-norm theory emphasize?
Cues in a specific situation, or the social group
Who modified the deindividuation theory to incorporate both individual and situational factors
Prentice-Dunn et al.
What were the three major problems associated with social loafing online?
- Cyberloafing
- Lack of effort in virtual teams
- Impression management
What is cyberloafing?
Browsing the internet for non-work-related activities when one is supposed to be working
What are two ways to combat employee cyberloafing?
- Implement fair employee computer monitoring
- Create clear policies and norms regarding what type of internet and social media use is deemed appropriate for work
What are two ways to combat the low levels of effort when working in a virtual team?
- Emphasize mutual accountability among groups
- Establish plans of action if conflict arises in teams
What term describes the morale, team spirit, and solidarity of members in a group?
Group cohesion
T or F: Group cohesion has no effect on the group’s performance.
False, highly cohesive groups perform better than less cohesive groups
T or F: Online teams performed better, communicated more positively, and overall showed more cohesion compared to in-person teams.
True
What is group polarization?
When the initial tendencies of group members become more extreme following group discussion
What are two explanations for why group discussion tends to lead to the polarization of views?
- Individuals hear more persuasive arguments
- Individuals learn group norms
What is the risky shift?
The process by which groups tend to make riskier decisions than individuals would make alone
Between the prompts, “reach a consensus” and “persuade your peer,” which enriched the quality of the information considered and discussed?
“Reach a consensus”
T or F: When group members come from a heterogeneous population, they conformed more.
False, members from homozygous populations conformed more
What is groupthink?
A group decision-making style characterized by an excessive tendency among group members to seek a unanimous consensus rather than making the best decision
Do group-thinkers overestimate or underestimate the morality and invulnerability of their group?
Overestimate
What are two characteristics of groups that are prone to groupthink?
- A lack of caution
- Preference for risk
What aspect of groupthink is facilitated by group polarization and leads to decisions that are likely to fail?
An exaggerated sense of group efficacy
What is one way to increase the likelihood that juries will have more in-depth discussions?
Including jury members of varied ethnicity
What are three factors that contribute to groupthink?
- An overestimation of invulnerability and morality
- Closed-mindedness
- Pressure toward uniformity
What was found to be the optimal environment for promoting innovation in groups?
When cohesion was slightly above the midpoint
What is a potential consequence of too much group cohesion?
A lack of creative and innovative ideas
What are four potential solutions to groupthink?
- Encouraging open communication
- Emphasize the importance of constructive criticism
- Recruit diverse members
- Train at least one person in the group about the dangers of biased group decision-making
Is criticism easier to accept when it comes from out-group members or in-group members?
In-group members
What are the two types of comparisons identified by Guillen et al. that motivate people to become good leaders?
- Self-to-prototype comparisons
- Self-to-exemplar comparisons
In terms of leadership, what are self-to-prototype comparisons?
General representations of what an individual believes a leader should be and can differ from person to person
In terms of leadership, what are self-to-exemplar comparisons?
Comparisons made against particular individuals with whom a person has interacted
In terms of leadership, what does affiliation refer to?
Holding value in the opinions of colleagues and the extent to which an individual seeks to be socially desirable
When participants viewed themselves as interactive leaders, when was their motivation to lead high?
Only when they perceived leaders as highly affiliative
What is the trait/ “good person” model?
A model of leadership that describes good leaders as emerging based in specific personality traits
What is a transactional leader?
A leader that rewards desirable behaviours by group members and acts once mistakes or problems occur
What are three traits that describe a transformational leader?
- Promote trust among group members
- Build identification with and excitement about group goals
- Examine new approaches for problem-solving
Do groups with transactional leaders or transformational leaders tend to have better performance?
Transformational leaders
Which type of leadership (transactional or transformational) creates intrinsic motivation?
Transformational
Which model of leadership emphasizes the importance of having a match between the leader’s traits and the demands of a situation?
The contingency model
According to the contingency model, what are two types of leaders?
- Task-oriented leaders
- People-oriented/relationship-oriented leaders
What are three things that task-oriented leaders focus on?
- Organizing projects
- Setting standards
- Achieving goals
What is the main focus of people-oriented/relationship-oriented leaders?
Building a supportive, caring, and democratic work environment
Leaders of which gender scored lower in individualized consideration and had positive contingent reward?
Males
What is individualized consideration?
Behaviours that are communal, focus on mentoring and pay attention to the needs of others
What are contingent rewards?
Rewards given to others for adequate performance
Leaders of which gender tend to act in a more autocratic or directive style?
Males
Leaders of which gender tend to act in a more democratic or participative style?
Females
What is ethnocentrism?
The belief that one’s cultural values are shared by others
What are social dilemmas?
Situations where, if all individuals make self-interested choices, the result will be the worst possible outcome for everyone
What are three common types of social dilemmas?
- Common resource dilemmas
- Public goods dilemmas
- Prisoner’s dilemmas
What are common resource dilemmas?
Each person can take as much as they want of a common resource, but if everyone does, the resource will eventually be gone
What is the tragedy of the commons?
When individuals ignore the recommended use of a resource because they believe their own use is minimal, but if everyone has this mindset, the resource will be depleted
What is a public goods dilemma?
When each person can take freely from a common pool of resources and must decide what they themselves will contribute to it
In a public goods dilemma, what is the best choice for each individual?
To not contribute to the common pool and hope others do
What is the prisoner’s dilemma?
When two people can either choose to cooperate or compete with each other, but each person’s best option depends on the option chosen by the other person
What are five solutions to social dilemmas?
- Regulate the use of resources
- Engage in open communication
- Activate altruistic motives
- Create small and connected groups
- Create consequences for competition
What is the tit-for-tat strategy?
Involves cooperation, then doing whatever your partner does on each interaction (ex. cooperate after they cooperate and compete after they compete)
What is one downside to creating negative consequences during social dilemmas?
The consequences can undermine people’s trust that others are intrinsically motivated to cooperate
To encourage cooperation with a friend during the prisoner’s dilemma, would it be more beneficial to prime Chinese or American cultural symbols?
Chinese cultural symbols
When working with a stranger during the prisoner’s dilemma, did participants show a similar level of cooperation regardless of if Chinese or American cultural symbols were primed?
Yes
How did rewards and punishments given by East Asians differ when the person who deceived them was a friend and when the person who deceived them was a stranger?
- When the other person was a friend, they were rewarded for honesty far more and punished for deception far less
- When the other person was a stranger, they were rewarded for honestly and punished for deception about the same amount
Did Americans reward honesty or punish deception more when interacting with both a friend and a stranger?
They rewarded more than they punished
Is social loafing more prominent in individualistic or collectivistic cultures?
Individualistic
What are two potential reasons for why online activities reduce social loafing?
- Online activities may promote social ties
- Anonymity allows more freedom of expression
Cultures high on Hofstede’s dimension of power distance (they respect hierarchical relationships), and are involved in an unpleasant task, will loaf unless what happens?
There is someone higher in the hierarchy instructing them not to
What is idiocentrism?
A measure of individualism at the individual-level
What is allocentrism?
A measure of collectivism at the individual-level
Did idiocentric or allocentric participants contribute more for the good of the public when a cooperative group norm was in place?
Allocentric
When asked to manage a social dilemma involving overfishing, participants of which nationality did not differ in terms of self-interest between low and high economic power situation?
Germans and Americans
When asked to manage a social dilemma involving overfishing, participants of which nationality showed more low self-interest than any other nationality in a situation of high economic power?
Participants from Hong Kong
When asked to manage a social dilemma involving overfishing, participants of which nationality were the most self-interested when they had high economic power?
Israeli participants
