Week 7 - Group Processes Flashcards
Group
A set of individuals who interact over time and have shared fate, goals, or identity.
Collective
Lowest end of the spectrum of ‘group’ (sometimes not called a group at all)
social brain hypothesis
the unusually large size of primates’ brains evolved because of their unusually complex social worlds
two fundamental types of role
instrumental (helps with tasks)
expressive (moral emotional support)
Group cohesiveness
The extent to which forces push group members closer together, such as through feelings of intimacy, unity and commitment to group goals.
Social facilitation
A process whereby the presence of others enhances performance on easy tasks but impairs performance on difficult tasks.
mere presence theory
that others simply being present is enough to produce social facilitation
evaluation apprehension theory
which proposes that performance will be enhanced or impaired only in the presence of others who are in a position to evaluate that performance
distraction–conflict theory
that being distracted while we are working on a task creates attentional conflict
Social loafing
A group-produced reduction in individual output on tasks where contributions are pooled.
Collective effort model
The theory that individuals will exert effort on a collective task to the degree that they think their individual efforts will be important, relevant and meaningful for achieving outcomes that they value
Deindividuation
The loss of a person’s sense of individuality and the reduction of normal constraints against deviant behaviour.
Social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE)
A model of group behaviour that explains deindividuation effects as the result of a shift from personal identity to social identity.
Process loss
The reduction in group performance due to obstacles created by group processes, such as problems of coordination and motivation.
On an additive task…
the group product is the sum of all the members’ contributions (e.g. giving to charity, cheering at a concert)
On a conjunctive task…
the group product is determined by the individual with the poorest performance.
On a disjunctive task…
the group product is (or can be)
determined by the performance of the individual with the best performance
Process gain
The increase in group performance so that the group outperforms the individuals who comprise the group.
Brainstorming
A technique that attempts to increase the production of creative ideas by encouraging group members to speak freely without criticising their own or others’ contributions.
Production blocking (brainstorm)
when people have to wait for their turn to speak (i.e. during brainstorm)
Free riding (brainstorm)
As others contribute ideas, individuals may feel less motivated to work hard themselves. They see their own contributions as less necessary or less likely to have much impact. They therefore engage in social loafing.
Evaluation apprehension (brainstorm)
In the presence of others, people may be hesitant to suggest wild, off-the-wall ideas for fear of looking foolish and being criticised. Even if they are willing to suggest such ideas, they may spend time preparing to justify them that they otherwise could have spent coming up with more ideas.
Performance matching (brainstorm)
group members work only as hard as they see others work.
persuasive arguments theory (cause of group polarisation)
the greater the number and persuasiveness of the arguments to which group members are exposed, the more extreme their attitudes become.
social comparison theory (cause of group polarisation)
individuals develop their view of social reality by comparing themselves with others.
Groupthink
is an excessive tendency to seek concurrence (i.e., agreement or uniformity) among group members. Emerges when the need for agreement takes priority over the motivation to obtain accurate information and make appropriate decisions.
Social dilemma
A situation in which a self-interested choice by everyone will create the worst outcome for everyone.
Prisoner’s dilemma
A type of dilemma in which one party must make either cooperative or competitive moves in relation to another party. The dilemma is typically designed so that the competitive move appears to be in one’s self-interest, but if both sides make this move, they both suffer more than if they had both cooperated.
Resource dilemmas
Social dilemmas involving how two or more people will share a limited resource
Integrative agreement
A negotiated resolution to a conflict in which all parties obtain outcomes that are superior to what they would have obtained from an equal division of the contested resources.
Fixed pie syndrome
The belief that whatever one of them won, the other one lost.
