Review for Prelims Flashcards
True or False: Although there is a minimum group size (four people), there is no limit to the maximum number within a group.
False
True or False: Individuals who share some common attribute, such as all males or all residents of New York, are members of a social group rather than a primary group.
False
True or False: Group interdependencies tend to be asymmetric, unequal, and hierarchical.
True
True or False: In a true group, interdependence must be mutual: A influences B as much as B influences A.
False
True or False: Networks have boundaries, but many groups do not.
False
True or False: Essentialism is the belief that all things—including individuals and groups—have a basic nature that makes them what they are and distinguishes them from other things.
True
True or False: Entitativity is a group’s perceived cohesiveness.
True
True or False: Storming is the final stage in group development that entails individuals “storming” out of the group
False
True or False: Psychology and sociology have a monopoly on the study of groups since they were the first branches of science to identify and classify group dynamics.
False
True or False: Despite the many problems (e.g., competition, conflict, poor decisions) caused by groups, humans could not survive without them.
True
When researchers recorded the size of groups in public places such as parks, sidewalks, cafeterias, and offices, they discovered that most of these groups were ____.
A. small, including only two or three members.
B. crowded together rather than well-spaced.
C. short-lived, lasting for less than 30 seconds on average.
D. large, ranging from 10 to 20 members.
A. small, including only two or three members.
Which of the following qualities is typically found in a social (or secondary) group?
A. The members know each other very well, and share intimate details with one another.
B. Members are strongly committed to the group and rarely leave the group once they join it.
C. The members interact with one another over an extended period.
D. The group meets only briefly, and then disperses and does not reassemble.
C. The members interact with one another over an extended period.
___ is the degree to which a person is linked to other people in social relationships that yield positive, productive benefits.
A. Social capital
B. Resilience
C. Interpersonal mastery
D. Integrative complexity
A. Social capital
Which type of group tends to be shortest in duration?
A. Primary groups
B. Categories
C. Personal groups
D. Collectives
D. Collectives
Audiences and crowds are to __ as coworkers, sports teams, and study groups are to __.
A. primary groups; collectives
B. collectives; categories
C. secondary groups; primary groups
D. collectives; social groups
D. collectives; social groups
In McGrath’s theory of group tasks, a group of electricians installing the wiring of building under construction is engaged in a(n) ___ task.
A. executing
B. negotiating
C. choosing
D. generating
A. executing
Bystanders at a crime scene, crowds, customers at a club, gangs, families, friendship networks in work settings, mobs, and people waiting to board an airplane are all examples of ___ groups.
A. circumstantial
B. founded
C. planned
D. concocted
A. circumstantial
The idea of entitativity suggests people will be referred to as a “group” if the aggregate _____.
A. has only one goal.
B. has very few members.
C. is passive rather than dynamic.
D. is perceived to be a single, unified whole.
D. is perceived to be a single, unified whole.
Compared to those from Eastern cultures, individuals raised in Western cultures tend to ____.
A. Stress group-level processes more than individual level processes.
B. Attribute individual’s actions to personal qualities rather than group-level processes.
C. Stress collective, group-level identity more so than individualize sources of identity.
D. Draw more fine-grained distinctions between different types of groups.
B. Attribute individual’s actions to personal qualities rather than group-level processes.
Which of the following statements is true?
A. Researchers study individuals in groups, but not groups themselves.
B. Group researchers do only basic, theory-testing research.
C. Groups are more perceptually prominent in Eastern cultures than Western ones.
D. Group dynamics is relevant to all the social sciences except anthropology.
C. Groups are more perceptually prominent in Eastern cultures than Western ones.
True or False: The psychologist Floyd Allport questioned the value of a group-level analysis of behavior.
True
True or False: Lewin developed the theory that beliefs about a group are a function of the people in that group and the group’s entitativity, or B = f(P, E).
False
True or False: William Foote Whyte used covert observational measures to study corner gangs.
False
True or False: A qualitative study is a better “quality” study because its results can be described numerically.
False
True or False: The Interaction Process Analysis (IPA) is a method for participants in an experiment to evaluate how friendly or unfriendly other group members are.
False
True or False: Self-report measures are best used when collecting data on personality and feelings—areas where the participants are willing to disclose their personal attitudes and opinions.
True
True or False: Groupthink is a scientifically verified method for increasing a group’s creativity.
False
True or False: The independent variable in the Lewin, Lippitt, and White study was productivity when working in groups.
False
True or False: A cognitive theorist’s most basic assumption is that behaviors that are followed by rewards will occur more frequently in the future.
False
True or False: According to systems theory, groups take in external data, process the information, and then generate a response.
True
The ___ for group dynamics includes certain beliefs—often held only implicitly—that define researchers’ assumptions about group phenomena and the methods they should use to study these phenomena.
A. level of analysis
B. interaction
C. hypothesis
D. paradigm
D. paradigm
Allport’s psychological perspective in the “reality of groups” debate argued that ______.
A. groups can be understood in terms of the psychology of the individual members.
B. people join groups so rarely that their influence on behavior is minimal.
C. only primary groups are important to study.
D. groups possess a collective conscious in some cases.
A. groups can be understood in terms of the psychology of the individual members.
In Lewin’s formula B = f (P, E), P stands for ___ and E stands for ___.
A. personality; external factors
B. person; environment
C. person; evolution
D. past; environment
B. person; environment
Which is the best example of a multi-level analysis?
A. Studying how a norm influences the group as well as each member.
B. A study that examines an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.
C. Studying not only the members of the group but also the group’s leader.
D. Examining how different roles in the groups affect performance.
A. Studying how a norm influences the group as well as each member.
A male researcher joins two different clubs—one containing all males and the other both males and females—and secretly takes notes on the group dynamics. This study is an example of a(n) ___ measurement method.
A. participant observation
B. experimental covert observation
C. subverted observation
D. overt structured observation
A. participant observation
The Hawthorne effect would likely be greatest in a(n) ___ study.
A. overt observational
B. field
C. quantitative
D. experimental
A. overt observational
Many years ago, researchers found that observers’ preconceptions and biases influence their observations of groups. Researchers turned to ___ observational methods to solve this problem.
A. participant
B. structured
C. covert
D. unstructured
B. structured
Which of the following does NOT fit with the others?
A. Interaction Process Analysis (IPA)
B. Self-report
C. Observational measure
D. SYMLOG
B. Self-report
A measure that consistently yields the same conclusion at different times is ____.
A. remittent
B. low in measurement error
C. valid
D. reliable
D. reliable
Instead of studying a group in the lab, I decide to observe groups in a natural setting. I am studying ___ groups.
A. experimental
B. bona fide
C. transcendental
D. artificial
B. bona fide
True or False: Like a need for water, individuals feel a need to belong in social groups.
True
True or False: Having lonely friends might also make a person lonely.
True
True or False: Most people display a two-stage reaction when excluded: first, they are sad but then, they become angry.
False
True or False: Natural selection suggests that evolution favored humans who could fend for themselves and not rely on others to meet their needs.
False
True or False: Communal relationships are typified by a concern for the group rather than personal gain.
True
True or False: Social categorization is a controlled process where individuals consider and evaluate their membership and status within groups.
False
True or False: Self-stereotyping occurs when individuals within a group attribute common group stereotypes to themselves.
True
True or False: A psychology major who automatically favors psychology majors over other majors has succumbed to the ingroup-outgroup bias.
True
Which of the following people is most likely to NOT suffer due to exclusion from a group?
A. An individual who is shunned.
B. A person who is ostracized from a computer-based group.
C. An explorer who is cut off from human contact during his/her adventures.
D. An individual who seeks self-discovery or spirituality through isolation
D. An individual who seeks self-discovery or spirituality through isolation
____ loneliness is to lack of friends as ____ loneliness is to lack of intimacy.
A. Relative; isolation
B. Social; emotional
C. Emotional; social
D. Isolation; relative
B. Social; emotional
Judy does not know Roy, but she does know Don, who knows Roy. Judy’s relationship to Roy is termed ___.
A. reciprocal
B. transitional
C. two degrees of separation
D. disjunctive
C. two degrees of separation
Studies of inclusion and exclusion indicate that ____.
A. individuals who respond negatively to exclusion tend to be insecure.
B. people do not react negatively to rejection from groups.
C. people, when excluded by a group, tend to rate the group more positively than people who are accepted by the group.
D. inclusion-exclusion is a continuum rather than an either-or process.
D. inclusion-exclusion is a continuum rather than an either-or process.
Which list correctly sequences the stages in Kipling Williams’ temporal need-threat model of ostracism?
A. fight stage, freezing stage, flight stage
B. rejection stage, discord stage, depression stage, release stage.
C. alarm stage, resistance stage, exhaustion stage
D. reflexive stage, reflective stage, resignation stage
D. reflexive stage, reflective stage, resignation stage
Which of the following statements is true?
A. Research suggests that exclusion from online computer based groups yields none of the negative effects seen in rejection from face-to-face groups.
B. The two basic responses to exclusion are freezing up and expressing anger.
C. People are not able to reflect, rationally, on the causes of their exclusion from groups.
D. People who are excluded show neurological reactions that are like those from physical pain.
D. People who are excluded show neurological reactions that are like those from physical pain.
An evolutionary perspective on groups assumes that ____.
A. the fittest animal is the one that is most aggressive.
B. humans acquire their social tendencies through learning and experience.
C. seeking membership in groups by humans developed through evolution.
D. helping other people is rarely adaptive.
C. seeking membership in groups by humans developed through evolution.
According to Leary’s sociometer model, self-esteem _____.
A. is an indicator of self-love.
B. rises and falls with each success and each failure.
C. is created by individuals, rather than by groups.
D. is an internal signal that warns of possible exclusion.
D. is an internal signal that warns of possible exclusion.
Drawing on sociometer theory, which of the following people is most likely to NOT suffer due to exclusion from a group?
A. an explorer who is left behind by other members of the party
B. a individual who is not asked to speak when she joins a group psychotherapy group
C. a person who is ostracized from a computer-based group
D. a person who is dropped, at random, from membership on a jury
D. a person who is dropped, at random, from membership on a jury
A(n) ___ orientation or relationship focuses on the association between individuals who are concerned with what their partner gets rather than what they receive for themselves.
A. communal
B. equity
C. motivational
D. exchange
A. communal
Which of the following does not fit with the others?
A. equity norm
B. individual rights
C. communal
D. exchange relationship
C. communal
The concept of collectivism assumes the self _____.
A. does not exist.
B. contains memories and qualities that are collected during our lifetimes.
C. is a collection of individual components.
D. is partly based on membership in groups.
D. is partly based on membership in groups.
True or False: Of the basic dimensions of personality identified in the five-factor model, “Agreeableness” is the one that best predicts who will join a group and who will remain apart.
False
True or False: Perceivers from Western cultures admire the shy individualist, whereas those from Eastern cultures rate extraverts more positively than introverts.
False
True or False: Those with a high need for power are so individualistic they do not actively seek out groups.
False
True or False: When researchers studied college students who did and did not join groups in college they discovered that positive experiences in groups in high school was a key predictor of joining groups in college.
True
True or False: Groups tend to display tend-and-befriend responses to long-term threats rather than imminent ones.
True
True or False: In general, upward social comparisons lower self-esteem and downward social comparisons increase self-esteem.
True
True or False: Affiliation brings people into contact with each other, and attraction bonds individuals into groups.
True
True or False: Interaction increases attraction in face-to-face groups, but it reduces attraction when people interact in online groups.
False
True or False: Homophily is a debilitating mental disorder that prevents individuals from joining or desiring to join groups.
False
True or False: The similarity principle is the tendency for people to prefer the company of those who are like themselves.
True
True or False: The elaboration principle states that groups expand from smaller dyadic relationships.
True
True or False: According to social exchange theory, if the value of a group is below a person’s comparison level he or she will leave the group.
False
Will describes himself as warm, sympathetic, and not at all critical or quarrelsome. Will is high in _____.
A. neuroticism
B. agreeableness
C. conscientiousness
D. assertiveness
B. agreeableness
An exchange theory of group formation suggests that _____.
A. people like to “exchange” their groups for new ones every so often.
B. once a change stabilizes it becomes an exchange.
C. groups form when members invest in the relationship by rewarding one another.
D. when people join groups, they exchange their self for the collective self.
C. groups form when members invest in the relationship by rewarding one another.
In a therapy group, members expect everyone to communicate and share their thoughts and feelings. All members agree on informal rules regarding who should talk and for how long. This group has high levels of ___ compatibility.
A. homophily
B. organizational
C. structured
D. interchange
C. structured
Dale, who is outgoing but not exceptionally bright, is best friends with Chip, who is a straight “A” student but rather shy. Their relationship supports the ___ hypothesis.
A. similarity
B. reward
C. complementarity
D. balance
C. complementarity
Newcomb’s (1961) research supports the adage ______.
A. “birds of a feather flock together.”
B. “opposites attract.”
C. “beauty is only skin deep.”
D. “familiarity breeds contempt.”
A. “birds of a feather flock together.”
Comparing ourselves to others who are performing better than we are ___, but comparing ourselves to others who are performing worse than we are ___.
A. is downward social comparison; is upward social comparison
B. is healthy; is unhealthy
C. gives us hope; raises our self-esteem
D. raises our self-esteem; gives us hope
C. gives us hope; raises our self-esteem
Men are to ___ support as women are to __ support.
A. meaning; informational
B. instrumental; emotional
C. belonging; emotional
D. informational; meaning
B. instrumental; emotional
When we are ___ we desire affiliation, but when we are ___ we desire privacy.
A. embarrassed; uncertain
B. uncertain; embarrassed
C. aroused; fearful
D. fearful; aroused
B. uncertain; embarrassed
True or False: Cohesion, properly defined, is the attraction that takes place between individuals and does not entail attraction to the group.
False
True or False: Equifinality, in systems theory, is the potential to reach a given end state through any one of number of means.
True
True or False: Social identity theory suggests that even large groups, such as ethnic groups and nationalities, can be cohesive.
True
True or False: Increases in attraction between individual members tends to lower the group’s overall social cohesion.
False
True or False: Group rituals, such as marching together, increase team work but lower overall group cohesion.
False
True or False: The core stages of Tuckman’s model of group development are (in order): forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
True
True or False: Tentative communication and concern for ambiguity typify the orientation level of group development.
True
True or False: The successive stage theory states that groups repeatedly cycle through the stages of development as the group matures.
False
True or False: In general, cohesive groups outperform groups without cohesion.
True
True or False: Although performance can create a small level of cohesion, high cohesion is what causes higher levels of performance, not vice versa.
False
The systems theory concept of equifinality suggests _____.
A. a group is more than the sum of its parts.
B. cohesion influences outcome, but not process.
C. a group’s cohesion can be traced back to one or more causes.
D. cohesion is influenced by a recursive feedback process.
C. a group’s cohesion can be traced back to one or more causes.
A multicomponent approach to cohesion assumes ____.
A. there is no single sufficient condition that, when present, will generate group cohesion.
B. a highly productive group marked by high levels of integrated teamwork but where members dislike each other does not qualify as being cohesive.
C. the concept of cohesion is, itself, not cohesive.
D. a group where members no longer feel emotionally connected to one another but are still proud to be members does not qualify as being cohesive
A. there is no single sufficient condition that, when present, will generate group cohesion.
Which of the following statements is true?
A. Most researchers currently agree that cohesion refers to attraction to the group, not attraction to individual members.
B. Social cohesion is multileveled: it includes attraction to individuals and attraction to the group as a whole.
C. Increases in attraction to the group as a whole increases a group’s cohesion, but increases to specific individuals in the group lowers a group’s cohesion.
D. Only relatively small groups (fewer than 50 members) can develop the strength of association among members to become cohesive
B. Social cohesion is multileveled: it includes attraction to individuals and attraction to the group as a whole.
For a group to have high collective efficacy ___.
A. the leader must feel that the group is capable of success.
B. members must work well together.
C. group members must feel they can do what it takes to succeed.
D. members must be confident.
C. group members must feel they can do what it takes to succeed.
The group is high in ___ cohesion, for it gives members a feeling of belongingness, “weness,” and inclusion.
A. associative
B. collective
C. social
D. attraction
B. collective
Which of the following fits least well with the others?
A. collective efficacy
B. positive affective tone
C. morale
D. esprit de corps
A. collective efficacy
Relational cohesion theory argues that ____.
A. attraction between members is a more important determinant of cohesion than is coordination of members’ efforts.
B. groups working on tasks that require behavioral synchrony (“jointness”) tend to become more cohesive over time.
C. cohesion is the result of strong, positive relationships among members.
D. Cohesion results from shared commitment to goals.
B. groups working on tasks that require behavioral synchrony (“jointness”) tend to become more cohesive over time.
___ groups tend to be more cohesive than ___ groups.
A. Disorganized; structured
B. Larger; smaller
C. Closed; open
D. Social; task-focused
C. Closed; open
Which of the following is NOT a currently accepted component of a multilevel conception of cohesion?
A. Cohesion is strength of group mind.
B. Cohesion is group unity.
C. Cohesion is teamwork.
D. Cohesion is positive affective tone
A. Cohesion is strength of group mind.
When you are traveling by plane, what stage would you like your cockpit crew to have attained?
A. reforming
B. norming
C. performing
D. storming
C. performing
