Social Behaviour - Influence of Groups Flashcards
What is the definition of a group?
A collection of people with a shared feature or attribute
What is an experienced group?
This gives a sense of belongingness
It may be ethnicity, occupation or a team
What are in-groups?
“us”
This emphasises individuality within a group
It is the characteristics of the group which you want to distinguish your group by
What are out-groups?
“them”
Groups which you pick negative characteristics about, and assume everyone in that group has those core traits
Why do in-groups and out-groups exist?
There is a desire to distinguish your group from other groups
What are the positives of group work and the presence of others?
- increases productivity
- changes the type of decision made
- changes attitudes and behaviour
What tends to make people more productive when working in a group?
Social facilitation
The idea that performance is better in competition
And performance improves by merely being observed
When does social facilitation switch to social inhibition?
People perform straight-forward tasks better when being observed
If the complexity of the task is increased, being part of a group starts to compromise performance
What is social inhibition?
Tasks are performed with more errors and a poorer overall performance as they become more complex
Why does social facilitation only apply to straight-forward tasks?
Having someone present leads to an increased performance time
Being evaluated leads to performance time increasing even further
Why does social inhibition apply to complex tasks?
The task takes longer if you are being observed
People become anxious about being evaluated and it is distracting having someone present when you are trying to concentrate on a complex task
What is social loafing?
The idea that people are prone to exert less effort on a task if they are working in a group, than if they were working alone
Why would a group of 6 people pulling a rope exert less force than the summed pull of 6 people pulling individually?
Due to social loafing
There is a decrease in effort by 10% as soon as the second person is added
What is the average loss of productivity in a group due to social loafing?
There is a plateau at a 23% loss in productivity when more people are added to a group
What are pseudo-groups and their influence on group productivity?
They are “actors” who are not actually performing the task
They account for coordination loss
How else does social-loafing affect group productivity?
It leads to a loss of motivation
What are the 3 reasons why social loafing occurs?
- there are unclear/different standards
- output equity
- evaluation apprehension
Why would shared standards help to reduce social loafing?
Sometimes the standards expected from the group are unclear - this would help to clarify
What is meant by output equity?
We expect other people to socially loaf as well, so no one wants to be putting the most effort in to the task
What is meant by evaluation apprehension?
People tend to claim and “hide” in the more non-engaging tasks
What 3 factors can be used to reduce social loafing?
- make individual contributions identifiable
- emphasise valuable individual contributions
- keep group size at an appropriate level
How does group brainstorming compare with individual brainstorming?
Group brainstorming is far less productive than individual brainstorming
Do groups tend to make more conservative (cautious) decisions?
Groups tend to come up with more cautious recommendations than individuals alone
This is why groups of individuals are elected
What is meant by the “Risky Shift”?
A group consensus is almost always riskier than the average decision made by individuals prior to group discussion
