W5.a Flashcards
The definition of social group?
Two or more people who share some common characteristic (or goal) that is socially meaningful to themselves or for others.
How groups differ?
Groups differ with regard to how much interaction and interdependence exists between members.
What is “interdependence” which exists between group members?
Two types of interdependence?
The extent to which each group member’s thoughts, feelings and actions impact the others.
Task interdependence: Reliant on each other for mastery of material rewards through performance of collective tasks.
Social interdependence: Reliant on each other for feelings of connectedness, respect, and acceptance.
What are the types of groups?
Primary or intimacy groups
- Family, circle of close friends
- Most concern for social interdependence. But can solve problems, so tasks together
Secondary or task groups
- Work teams, committees
- Most concern for task interdependence. But social interdependence can influence performance.
How new groups form?
Forming -> Storming -> Norming -> Performing -> Adjourning -> Forming …
What is “Forming”?
Individuals come together to form a group.
Members try to understand the nature of interdependence, group structure (e.g., hierarchy) and group’s goals.
Often facilitated by group leader who can articulate the above.
What is “Storming”?
Once nominally formed, negotiation occurs around roles and responsibilities, which involve conflict.
Relationship conflict and Process conflict decrease performance
Task conflict increase performance.
What is “Norming”?
Once conflict decreases, group norms emerge.
Norm: general tendencies within groups
Consensus, harmony, stability, commitment and cohesion and the development of a group-related social identity.
What is “Performing”?
Members cooperate to solve problems, make decisions, or produce outputs.
What is “Adjourning”?
Dissolution of group.
Group has fulfilled purpose or was set to end at a particular time.
Often marked by period of evaluation work, sharing feelings about group.
Dissolution of group can be stressful if commitment made it important identity for members.
What is group socialization?
Cognitive, affective and behavioural changes that occur as individuals join and leave groups.
What are the mutual processes in group socialization?
Investigation
- Potential member seeks information about group;
- Group seeks information about potential member.
Socialization
Group tries to mold the individual into one of them
Member acquires and internalizes group knowledge, adopts norms, becomes committed, form identity.
Maintenance
Now a fully committed member, the individual takes on a specific role within the group.
What are the effects of the group on the individual?
Social facilitation;
Social loafing;
De-individuation.
What is social facilitation?
Increase in the likelihood of highly accessible responses (and decrease in likelihood of less accessible responses).
Triplett (1898): Presence of other improved task performance
How does the presence of others work on social facilitation?
Markus (1978): It depends on the task
Mere presence and being watched improves performance of familiar actions, but impairs performance of unfamiliar actions.
The presence of others can increase arousal:
- Evaluation apprehension
- Distraction
Increased arousal can lead to better performance for well-rehearsed, accessible responses (‘dominant responses’), but worse performance novel, complex, inaccessible responses (non-dominant responses)
