Social Effect On Behavior Flashcards
A term that refers to alertness and readiness to respond
Psychological arousal
The idea that w perform tasks better in group settings where psychological arousal is higher is known as
Social facilitation
In simple and familiar tasks what is the shape of the psychological arousal and performance graph?
Linear. As psychological arousal increases so does performance
Ex. Bike riding- social facilitation example too
For a complex task, what is the shape of the psychological arousal and performance graph
Upside down U shape or bell curve. The best performance is in moderate arousal
What is the upside-down U shaped curve of psychological arousal and performance graph during complex tasks called?
Yerkes-Dodson law
The idea that you can work less hard, or be less productive, in a group setting because other people will up the slack
Social loafing
- does not have to be a conscious act (for ex. Clapping less hard when there are more people)
- applicable as long as there’s some measurable output
Refers to people’s tendency not to offer help to someone in distress if other people, or bystanders are present.
Bystander effect
Reasons for bystander effect
- Diffusion of responsibility
- We model our behavior on that of other people around us
- Social etiquette- it might be considered impolite to pay too much attention to strangers in a public space
the bystander effect was spurred by the murder of?
Kitty Genovese
Describes how people tend to lose their sense of self-awareness in a large setting, due to a high degree of psychological arousal and low degree of perceived responsibility
Deindividuation
3 main factors that contribute to deindividuation
- Anonymity
- Diffused responsibility
- Group size- increases the effects of both anonymity and diffused responsibility
Refers to the tendency of a group to make decisions or arrive at final opinions that are more extreme than the initial positions of the individual members of the group. Initial opinions get amplified over the course of a discussion
Group polarization
Two factors that contribute to group polarization
Informational and normative influence
Refers to the idea that in a group discussion, people are more likely to express points of view in line with the dominant viewpoint, and the disproportionate attention paid to such information reinforces individuals’ pre-existing viewpoints
Informational influence
Refers to our desire to be socially accepted, affirmed, or admired within a group. This is more easily accomplished by agreeing with people than by disagreeing with people.
Normative influence
Irrational decisions are made within a group due to pressures toward harmony and individual conformity
Groupthink
8 factors that are characteristic of groupthink
- Collective rationalization
- Excessive stereotyping
- Illusion of invulnerability
- Illusion of morality
- Illusion of unanimity
- Mindguards
- Pressure of dissenters
- Self-censorship
Refers to the belief that no serious harm will happen to the group. This unjustified optimism can result to excessive risk-taking
Illusion of invulnerability
Refers to a rigid, unbending belief in the moral righteousness of the group’s cause, which helps blind group members to objections and leads them to overlook possible consequences of type or action
Illusion of immorality
Refers to the assumption that the majority opinions in the group are unanimous
Illusion of unanimity
This buffers illusion of unanimity because members who do disagree don’t share their opinion
Self-censorship
Members feel pressure not to express opinions contrary to the majority group
Pressure on dissenters
Refers to the tendency for group members to find reasons to ignore warnings and to avoids reconsidering their actions or assumptions
Collective rationalization
Negative views about outside opinions or viewpoints lead group members not to take other perspectives seriously
Excessive stereotyping