The social group Flashcards
what is an aggregate or collective
aggregates and collectives are people who share some connection, but there is no psychological value to the connection
what is a group?
two or more people who define themselves as a group and have a sense of “us” which can be compared to “them”
what are the essential features of a group, according to Johnson and Johnson (1987)
- groups interact with each other
- perceive self as belonging to a group
- are interdependent
- have common goals
- have a structure of norms or rules
- influence each other
what are ingroups and outgroups?
ingroups = groups we belong to
outgroups = groups we do not belong to
what is entitativity
perception by group members themselves or others that the people together are a group
high entitativity = homogenous group with a clear structure, purpose or boundaries
what are intimacy groups?
groups that are closely tied together, e.g., a family (high entitativity)
what are task oriented groups
groups that come together temporarily to achieve a common goal (low entitativty)
what are common bond groups?
group members have close personal bonds within the group
attachment among group members
what are common identity groups
members have close personal identity with the group itself
attachment to the group
what are Tuckman’s (1965) stages of group formation, and what are the characteristics of each stage?
1) forming = acceptance, avoidance of conflict, working out structure/rules, focus on gathering info rather than productivity
2) storming = addressing issues, conflict present, questioning role of group, individual roles established
3) norming = established rules of engagement, agreed roles and responsibilities, conflict has been addressed, listening/support/flexibility, common identity emerges
4) performing = independence and flexibility, working together or independently, task orientation
5) adjourning = task is complete, group disengages
what is group socialisation?
the process of groups as a whole and group members coming together to meet each other’s needs and accomplish goals over time
membership phases of group socialisation
1) prospective member (investigation)
2) marginal member (socialisation)
3) member (maintenance)
4) marginal member (re-socialisation))
5) ex-member (remembrance)
Moreland and McGinn (1999) study on group socialisation
PPs more upset by and more likely to reject criticism of groups work when it came from other members of the former group
what are initiation rites
tasks that a person must do to be invited into a group
can be pleasant (ceremonies, gifts) or unpleasant (embarrassment)
what is group cohesion?
the extent to which a group holds people to one another, which gives a sense of unity and commonality
what predicts group cohesion?
- attraction of groups and its members
- degree to which the group satisfies individual goals
how do we measure group cohesion?
group cohesion is quite difficult to measure, so it is typically done by measuring individual level of attractiveness to the group
what are norms?
uniformities of behaviour and attitudes that determine, organise, and differentiate groups from other groups
can be formal or informal
help regulate and guide behaviour
some are universal and some vary across cultures
milgram’s subway study in 70s
- able bodied students asked people to give up their train seats
- 68% passengers did
- students reported feeling very uncomfortable
what are descriptive and injunctive norms?
descriptive = describes what most do
injunctive = describes what most approve or disapprove of
Cialdini et al 90s
in litter free setting, confederate who litters draws attention to the implicit norm to keep place clean so people litter less
confederate littering already dirty environment activates norm of untidiness, so people tend to litter more often
why do norms work so well?
- they are often enforced
- people often internalise them
- they become fixed during socialisation
- they are consensual
- frequently activated
- act as action heuristics (mental shortcuts) to make life easier
what are roles?
shared expectations of how people in a group are supposed to behave
why aren’t roles always positive?
can sometimes make people lose sight of right and wrong
e.g., Stanford prison experiment
gender roles - Twenge 2001
tracked women’s social status between ‘31 and ‘93, and compared this with their own ratings of assertiveness
pattern followed trends in women’s social status
therefore, roles are often linked to status
what is the system justification theory (Jost and Banaji 2004)
people’s independence on social systems for wealth and security motivates them to justify these systems and see them as fair
what is social creativity
strategies that group members engage in to maintain the esteem of the group (e.g., we’re a poor country, but we’re good at sport)
what are deviants?
people who deviate too far from prototypical group members and group norms
generally disliked
Deviants study by Marques et al ‘88
PPs watched speeches (bad vs good) given by in-group vs outgroup
bad speeches were rated as bad as (or worse) when they came from ingroup, rather than an outgroup member
this was explained as people who deviate from the group norms threaten the superiority of the ingroup
why can deviants be good for the group?
deviants point out things that are wrong
what is the intergroup sensitivity effect?
tendency to accept criticism more from within the group than from outsiders
even though they are deviant, they are constructive
impostors
people posing as legitimate group members when they are not
what is a schism
when groups break off and smaller groups form (subgroups), which differ in some crucial aspect
this can cause conflict (e.g, catholic/protestant)
subgroups - what are cross cutting categories
subgroups that represent categories with members outside the immediate larger group
e.g., athletes can be part of Olympic national team and be international association of athletics
what do groups do for us? (interdependence, affiliation, similarity, support, terror management)
- can accomplish more in a group than we ever could alone
- grouping together people and feeling included boosts our self esteem, and self esteem is seen as a measure of effectiveness of social relationships
- group membership can counteract anguish caused by mortality salience (how often you think of your mortality)
what is social identity theory
two broad types of identities make up the self
personal identity = defined by one’s personal characteristics and relationships
social identity = defined by one’s group memberships
what is optimal distinctiveness
people like to distinguish themselves from others, but also like to affiliate with others
being in a group allows both
