Week 8-Leadership and Decision Making

Question 1

Lewin et al. (1939) found that groups led by autocratic leaders were…

Answer 1

More aggressive and self-oriented

Question 2

According to Janis an antecedent of groupthink is…

Answer 2

Cohesiveness

Question 3

Group decisions are likely to be…

Answer 3

Polarized

Question 4

Examples of group decision making

Answer 4

Brainstorming; focus-groups; parliament

Question 5

Individual decisions vs group decisions

Answer 5

Early perspectives assumed that group decisions simply reflected the average of individual decisions. (Allport)

Individual decisions are more important.

Question 6

Brainstorming impacting group decisions

Answer 6

People do not come up with new creative ideas when brainstorming within a group; some forms less ideas. More ideas/ creative on their own than in groups.

Question 7

Define Brainstorming

Answer 7

The group generates a lot of ideas very quickly, with no inhibitions or concerns about quality.

Osbourne 1957- Brainstorming is the unhibited formation of as many unique ideas as possible in order to enhance group creativity.

Question 8

Why is group brainstorming ineffective?

How to overcome these problems?

Answer 8

• Evaluation apprehension: Group members concerned about making a good impression
• Social loafing and free-riding: Motivation loss because of the collective nature of the task
• Production matching: Performance norm constructed based on average group performance
• Production blocking: Creativity and productivity blocked by interruptions, turn-taking, listening to others.

How to overcome these problems?
-Electronic brainstorming is effective
-Heterogeneous Group: Diverse knowledge
-

Question 9

Group Memory:

Do groups remember more than individuals?

Answer 9

Group memory is Task Dependent:
Clark and Stephenson (1989) found in simple artificial tasks- groups remember more quickly than individuals, however on remembering complex tasks (e.g.a story) groups remember LESS may be due to process loss( not all available resources available).

Question 10

Is group memory qualitatively different from individual memory?

Answer 10

Transactive Memory- different group members responsible for remembering different things. ( shared knowledge of who should bring what to the table)

Qualitative different mode of thinking.

Question 11

Define groupthink.

Answer 11

Janis- foreign policy decisions with bad impact on society. Most disastrous decisions in US history (e.g., Bay of Pigs invasion, Vietnam War)
Groupthink is “a mode of thinking” that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive ingroup, when the members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.” DESIRE FOR UNANIMOUS DECISION.

coherence seeking tendency → defective decision making

Question 12

What are the different FACTORS that makeup groupthink?

Answer 12

Antecedents:

• High cohesiveness
• Structural factors
• Isolation
• Contextual factors
• Stress e.g. pressure; wartime
• Leadership

Question 13

SYMPTOMS of Groupthink

Answer 13

• Over-estimation of group worth(more important than other groups)
• Closed-mindedness
• Pressures toward uniformity

Question 14

Consequences of groupthink

Answer 14

• Limited attention to information
• Biased use of supporting facts
• Lack of alternative plans

Question 15

Problems with Janis’ Groupthink Theory

Answer 15

• Theory based on observations made from historical accounts of group decision making
• Detailed analysis of the process (rather than outcome) of political decision-making shows these to be unremarkable/overstated (e.g., Kramer, 1998)
• Both good and bad decisions are characterised by elements of groupthink.
• Situations disposed to groupthink do not reliably produce bad decisions (Peterson et al., 1998).

Question 16

Rethinking groupthink

Answer 16

Groups norms affect group thinking

• It may not be grouped per se that is the problem, but rather the norms of those groups that guide decision making
• Diversity and creative thinking: Some groups value consensus and agreement, but other groups value diversity and criticism

Different cultures should lead groups to engage in decision making very differently (Postmes, Spears, & Chiangir, 2001)

Question 17

Groupthink and Risky Think

Answer 17

Stoner-risky shift

Decisions made in groups riskier than individual decisions.

Question 18

Group Polarisation?

Evidence for risky think or group polarisation

Answer 18

Pulls people to different ends Extreme decisions

Fraser et al- One side of the midpoint-showed that when individual group members were disposed to caution, interaction made them more cautious. Group discussion was just more polarised than risky shift or caution.

The tendency for group discussion to produce more extreme group decisions than the mean of members’ pre-discussion opinion

Question 19

Why do groups polarise? (3 factors)

Answer 19

1) Comparison/Cultural value- Adjust personal values/opinions to seek SOCIAL APPROVAL and try to avoid. Fitting in what group beliefs; people change less extreme positions. Normative influence. Pluralistic ignorance (people behave publicly in ways that do not reflect their internal beliefs. The are often ignorant of what others think)
2) Persuasion-Persuaded by the exchange of conversation, new ideas and arguments and change their minds with new information. Informational influence.

Problems: Dual Process Model (Deutsch & Gerard) 2 different paths.

3)Social Identity/Self-categorisation- Shared identity in group processes. Polarisation regular conformity phenomena. (ingroup distinct from outgroup). Shift to ingroup member view.

Question 20

Polarisation

Answer 20

Polarisation is a typical outcome of group discussion
Not so much a product of the content of the discussion, but rather the context within which discussion occurs.
Most likely when people are thinking “as a group”
Assimilation to group norms
Differentiation from outgroups

Question 21

What is LEADERSHIP?

Answer 21

Getting members to achieve their group roles.

• Leadership is… a characteristic that people do or do not possess?
• A process whereby an individual influences group members in a way that inspires them to achieve some group goal that he or she has identified as important.

Question 22

Social Psychological Analysis of Leadership

Answer 22

Followers; Leaders; Situation

How do you become a leader; how do you attain group goals; hoe do you influence other people?

Question 23

Personality Theory

Answer 23

Great leaders are born not made. Unique personality or characteristic. “Great man theory” Innate characteristics. E.g. Possess certain personality characteristics that set them apart Charisma; EQ; social intelligence. Tricky to qualify.
Stodghill systematic study Failed to find evidence for personality characteristics.

Intelligence; talkativeness; Big 5 (Extraversion more related to leadership).

Evaluation: Trait approach is a little simplistic, lacks consistent evidence, ignores the situational context.

Question 24

Leader Behaviour

Answer 24

Lippet et al- Children in after school clubs trained to use different behavioural styles. Autocratic-no input from group members emphasise own authority; Democratic- encourage to make own decisions; Laissez-faire- relaxed approach.

Bales- Different leadership styles impact behaviour. Leaders most valued when 1)task-oriented and 2)socio-emotional specialist. Feelings for other members.

Question 25

Situation Perspectives

Answer 25

Situation shape different leadership styles. Churchill- Before war correct characteristics but not after war.

Sherif et al- Leaders change when the situation changes – for example when groups move from peace to conflict. Camps. Functional demands of the situation.

Right place at the right time.

Question 26

Contingency Theory

What is situational control determined by?

Answer 26

Fielders-interactionist approach- leadership dependent/ contingent on situation. Leaders style and type of situation leader is faced with. Degree of situational control.

Situational control is determined by- leader-member relations; task structure and positional power. The situation is favourable; the task is clear.

When situational control is either very high or very low, task-oriented leaders should be most effective.
When situational control is intermediate, socio-emotional leaders should fare best.

Question 27

Problems with the contingency model

Answer 27

Focus still on the leader. Neglects group processes that are responsible for the rise or fall of a leader.

Question 28

Small group dynamics

Answer 28

Hollander (e.g. 1958; 1964)

• Leaders gain “idiosyncrasy credits” through being loyal to the group.
• These credits provide leeway to be different and innovative.
• Consideration of the importance of followers and the situation.

Question 29

Leader-member exchange

Answer 29

TRANSACTION between leaders and followers- respect; trust and liking. Vary in quality.
-Interaction between dyads (individual members).
Leader-follower relations vary in quality
-Low LMX – leader does not favour member and fewer resources are offered  dissatisfaction, “work to rule” etc.
-High LMX – leader is supportive and encourages participation  increased commitment Productive and efficient.

Looks at leadership as a continuum

Question 30

Transformational leadership

Answer 30

Not individual goal orientated. Move people away from self-interest to group interest. Admiration; trust and loyalty.

Leader inspires followers to adopt a vision that involves more than individual self-interest.
Followers attribute the leader as having special personality traits.
Followers feel trust, admiration, loyalty, and respect (Bass, 1988).
Positive effects of transformational:
Increased organizational commitment (Barling et al. 1996)
Perceived leader effectiveness (from followers; Avolio & Bass, 1995)
Increased organizational citizenship (Podsakoff et al., 1996)

Question 31

Leader Schema Theory

Answer 31

Own schemas and beliefs on what makes a group leader. If leader fits in with our schema- then more effective.

Question 32

Leadership as a process

Answer 32

Group-based

• Leaders are group members too: They must be seen to be loyal to the group and to act in the group’s interests.
• But leaders are also special: They must be innovative and they must instigate change.

Question 33

Leader prototypicality

Answer 33

Effective leadership based on representativeness. Explemary of group prototype. Shared identity.
-Hogg (1996) has argued the acceptance of leaders, and their effectiveness should depend on how representative they are perceived to be by the group.

-The person most likely to emerge as a leader is the person who embodies what it means to be a group member at that point in time.

Hains, Hogg and Duck- high salience. Prototypical leaders are more effective than non-prototypical leaders.

Question 34

Advantages of prototypicality approach

Answer 34

• Recognizes that leaders emerge from within groups and that leadership is a social process. Separating ingroup and outgroup
• Offers a dynamic perspective that can account for when and why leaders change, as well as how they emerge.

Question 35

New Psychology of Leadership

Answer 35

Good leaders are “entrepreneurs of identity” (Haslam & Reicher, 2004): understanding and representing culture and actions.

Question 36

Women and Leadership

Answer 36

Glass ceiling-leaders cannot go beyond, glass cliff-only a certain point women leaders get to. Riskier situations. Women leadership unique context.