Week 4 Group dynamics & processes

Question 1

What is a group?

Answer 1

A collection of individuals who have relations to one another that make them interdependent to some significant extent

Question 2

What are group processes?

Answer 2

Working towards a goal

Question 3

Bystander effect

Answer 3

The bystander effect occurs when the presence of others discourages an individual from intervening in an emergency situation, against a bully, or during an assault or other crime. The greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is for any one of them to provide help to a person in distress.

Question 4

Social Influence

Study in obedience (Milgrim) - Shocks experiment

Answer 4

➢ Proximity of the learner: participants were less likely to use high levels of shock when the learner was in the same room

➢ Proximity to the experimenter: participants were more likely to disobey when the experimenter was remote

➢ When other participants dissented to give shock, participants were more likely to refuse to shock the learner

Question 5

Social Influence - Conformity - shorter line exp

Study in Conformity (Asch studies) - Reasons for conformity

Answer 5

Participants (7 – 9 uni students) were asked to judge line lengths while working in a group. All but one were confederates (research actors). As the confederates consistently gave obviously wrong answers, the participant often conformed and gave the same wrong answer.

Group size — large groups elicit more conformity

Dissention — If even one confederate dissented from the group, participants followed their own judgement

Personality — those with low self-esteem are more likely to conform

Culture — people from collectivist cultures are more likely to conform

Question 6

Social Influence - prison exp

Group processes & social influence (Zimbardo, Groupthink, polarization)

What was the outcome and conclusion?

Answer 6

Outcomes: participants quickly settled into roles

Conclusion: Individuals quickly conform to the social roles they are expected to play

Question 7

What are the three main types of interdependence?

Answer 7

Question 8

What is groupthink?

Answer 8

Groupthink is a psychological and sociological phenomenon in which members of a group will conform to majority opinion to maintain group harmony rather than stating their own opinions. Groupthink is differentiated from simple group consensus by its often illogical or poorly thought through conclusions.

Question 9

What is group polarization?

Answer 9

A group is more likely to make a risky decision than the individuals on their own. Group polarization refers to attitude change on the individual level due to the influence of the group, and choice shift refers to the outcome of that attitude change; namely, the difference between the average group members’ pre-group discussion attitudes and the outcome of the group decision.

Risky groups will lean even more towards a risky choice. Conservative groups towards an even more extreme conservative decision.

Question 10

What is normalisation?

Answer 10

Normalisation – when groups are homogeneous, constant exposure to an ‘echo-chamber’ of similar perspectives lets us lose perspective on what wider, contradictory alternatives exist

Question 11

What is value affirmation?

Answer 11

Value Affirmation – expressing extreme attitudes signals loyalty

Question 12

Name three social performance influences

Answer 12

Social Facilitation

Social Interference

Social Loafing

Question 13

What is social facilitation?

Answer 13

performance improves in presence of others

Question 14

What is social interference?

Answer 14

performance is impaired in presence of others

Question 15

What is social loafing

Answer 15

motivation to perform is reduced when only group outcomes are assessed, reducing actual output

Question 16

Co-action effects in social facilitation

Answer 16

Changes in behaviour caused by presence of visible others simultaneously engaged in same activity.

Question 17

Audience effects in social facilitation

Answer 17

changes in behaviour caused by presence of a number of visible, passive spectators

Question 18

Does the presence of others effect our performance?

Answer 18

Question 19

What is social loafing?

Answer 19

When a member in a pooled interdependent group does into put in their full potential knowing that their individual effort will not impact the group goal greatly - allowing others to take the slack. The bigger the group, the more likely it is for someone who is social loafing to put in even less effort.

Question 19

What is social loafing?

Answer 19

When a member in a pooled interdependent group does into put in their full potential knowing that their individual effort will not impact the group goal greatly - allowing others to take the slack.

Question 20

What is diffusion of responsibility (in social loafing)?

Answer 20

The bigger the group, the more likely it is for someone who is social loafing to put in even less effort.

Question 21

Why is social loafing less likely to happen when the group is reciprocal interdependent?

Answer 21

Because the group members each have a role and are accountable.

Question 22

What is social influence?

Answer 22

• To be socially influenced is to have one’s judgements, opinions, attitudes or beliefs changed by exposure to the judgements, opinions, attitudes or beliefs of others
  
  • Social Influence includes both intentional (persuasion) and unintentional (conformity) channels of influence on behavior, and encompasses influences exerted by the true presence of others, and the imagined or mistaken impression of others

Question 23

In social influence what is compliance?

Answer 23

appear to agree with others, may privately dissent

Question 24

In social influence what is identification?

Answer 24

emulating/agreeing with a liked/respected other

Question 25

In social influence what is identification?

Answer 25

emulating/agreeing with a liked/respected other

Question 26

In social influence what is internalisation?

Answer 26

When a socially communicated standard, belief or behavior becomes sincerely endorsed, privately & publicly.

Question 27

What are the two processes of conformity?

Answer 27

Informational influence

Normative influence