CSP 161 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Groupthink, Group Cohesiveness, Brainstorming

• School: University of Rochester
• Department: Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology
• Course: CSP 161
• Professor: Andrew Elliot

Document Summary

Csp 161 lecture 25 social influence. Brainstorming group members encouraged to produce as many ideas as possible in uninhibited way. Why: production blocking failure of members to express ideas due to norm that only one person talks at a time. Indirect influence: may be positive in long run due to increased a) enjoyment and b) group cohesiveness. Group polarization a group-produced exaggeratio(cid:374) of (cid:373)e(cid:373)(cid:271)ers" preexisti(cid:374)g tendencies (average gets more extreme than before, pushing people towards the poles) 3 features: refers to average tendency, not split in group, whole group becomes more extreme in initial direction, does(cid:374)"t work if a disse(cid:374)ter present. Two processes: social comparison -- extreme positions in favorable direction viewed as better (normative influence, mutual persuasion members bring new, persuasive information and arguments (informational influence) Groupthink group members share such strong motivation to achieve consensus that they lose the ability to evaluate alternative points of view critically: *based on historical examples: pearl harbor, bay of pigs.