Week 4 Group dynamics & processes Flashcards
What is a group?
A collection of individuals who have relations to one another that make them interdependent to some significant extent
What are group processes?
Working towards a goal
Bystander effect
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.
Social Influence
Study in obedience (Milgrim) - Shocks experiment
➢ 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
Social Influence - Conformity - shorter line exp
Study in Conformity (Asch studies) - Reasons for conformity
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
Social Influence - prison exp
Group processes & social influence (Zimbardo, Groupthink, polarization)
What was the outcome and conclusion?
Outcomes: participants quickly settled into roles
Conclusion: Individuals quickly conform to the social roles they are expected to play
What are the three main types of interdependence?
What is groupthink?
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.
What is group polarization?
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.
What is normalisation?
Normalisation – when groups are homogeneous, constant exposure to an ‘echo-chamber’ of similar perspectives lets us lose perspective on what wider, contradictory alternatives exist
What is value affirmation?
Value Affirmation – expressing extreme attitudes signals loyalty
Name three social performance influences
Social Facilitation
Social Interference
Social Loafing
What is social facilitation?
performance improves in presence of others
What is social interference?
performance is impaired in presence of others
What is social loafing
motivation to perform is reduced when only group outcomes are assessed, reducing actual output
Co-action effects in social facilitation
Changes in behaviour caused by presence of visible others simultaneously engaged in same activity.
Audience effects in social facilitation
changes in behaviour caused by presence of a number of visible, passive spectators
Does the presence of others effect our performance?
What is social loafing?
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.
What is social loafing?
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.
What is diffusion of responsibility (in social loafing)?
The bigger the group, the more likely it is for someone who is social loafing to put in even less effort.
Why is social loafing less likely to happen when the group is reciprocal interdependent?
Because the group members each have a role and are accountable.
What is social influence?
- 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
In social influence what is compliance?
appear to agree with others, may privately dissent
In social influence what is identification?
emulating/agreeing with a liked/respected other
In social influence what is identification?
emulating/agreeing with a liked/respected other
In social influence what is internalisation?
When a socially communicated standard, belief or behavior becomes sincerely endorsed, privately & publicly.
What are the two processes of conformity?
Informational influence
Normative influence
