Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Group Dynamics and Intergroup Relations Individual Performance and Behaviour in Group Settings Social Facilitation: The Effects of an Audience - People perform better in the presence of other people on simple tasks and worse in complex tasks - Dominant Responses: they are the responses that are most likely to occur when the person is alone - Zajonc hypothesized that the presence of other people increases the probability of the dominant responses on a task. (correct for a simple/well-practises task, and incorrect on a hard/unknown task); these tendencies are heightened by the presence of other people - Why? Because the presence of an audience causes physiological arousal which restricts the range of attention. In a simple task it means the focus on a few cues blocks out distractions, but in a complex task it makes it hard for the person to tend to all the cues necessary for good performance - STUDY: participants had to give correct response without knowing the critical number of 68. Performed better in front of people if they practised before (easy) then if they didnt (didnt know the critical number so it was hard) Social Loafing: Goofing Off When Others Can Do the Work - Social Loafing: putting in less effort when working in a group where individual contributions are unidentifiable (i.e. project where everyone gets the same grade) - Involves relaxation/reduced motivation vs. arousal in social facilitation - STUDY: people were told that they were cheering alone/in a group, and results showed that they cheered quieter the more people they thought were cheering with them - The larger the group, the less effort individuals exert on joint tasks - Decreases if the group is important to its members (campaign for a political party), or if its more cohesive/attractive (i.e. made up of friends) - Men exert more social loafing then women- theorized that its because women are more group oriented and are focused on group outcomes whereas men are individualistic - Some evidence that there is more SL in individualist societies then collectivist ones Deindividuation: Immersion in a Group - State where people lose their sense of personal identity and feel immersed in a group; they feel anonymus and can be caught up in the actions of those around them-makes them more likely to engage in socially undesirable behaviour - Weakens peoples inhibitions against acting in ways that violate norms, such as selfish or aggressive behaviour (has been used as an excuse by lawyers for criminal behaviour) - STUDY: children on Halloween were asked to take ONE candy when either from a bowl. Results showed that children were more likely to break the rules (take money and more candy) when they were anonymous and in a group - Prisons can induce deindividuation because the guards and prisoners all have uniforms and dont share their names. - STUDY: Zimbardo simulated a prison and randomly assigned roles and rules for guards/prisoners. Only lasted 6 days out of 14 because the guards became so vicious with the prisoners claiming that they would otherwise not obey them - Different perspective, is that deind. Increases peoples responsiveness to external cues, such as features of a setting, and these cues might be prosocial in nature - STUDY: Students in either KKK cloaks of nursing uniforms, with/without name tags were asked to give recommendations as to intensity of electric shock to give. People with NO nametags led to mare aggression in the KKK cloak (negative cue) but less aggression in the nursing uniform (positive cue); thus, deindividuated people responded more negatively or positively than identifiable people depending on situational cues - Third perspective: large groups increase peoples adherence to emerging norms in that group, which are sometimes aggressive/self-serving. E.g. a rally can turn into a riot not because people become uninhibited but because the new norm of aggression against authority emerges, and since people feel a part of the group, they adopt the norm - Occurs during internet communication (chat rooms) where people say things that they would never say to someone in person (sexual fantasies) Decision Making In Groups Groupthink: Bad decisions because of pressure to agree - Bad decisions can be made when the decision is either really hard, or there is lack of expertise - Groupthink: when pressure to agree leads to inadequate apprsaisal of options and poor decisions. Happens because everyone wants to agree with the leader/one another, they dont express their reservations and since nobody does they assume everyone strongly supports the decision - Group cohesiveness: strength of the force on members to remain in the group - In highly cohesive groups, members want to remain in the group so they are more likely to conform - Could have good consequences too: work harder, make sacrifices for the group, and survive difficult times together - A directive leader openly expressed their feelings and leads the discussion making it harder to disagree with them; their influence increases in high stress situations- not to rock the boat - The 8 symptoms of groupthink:o An illusion of invulnerability- groups that feel invincible make high risk decisions o Rationalization of warnings- when potential problems are seen as harmless o An unquestioned belied in the inherent morality of the group- dont realize when self-interest clouds their decisions because a group assumes that they are inherently moral o Stereotyped views of enemy leaders- dont negotiate, and underestimate them o Pressure on group members who challenge the consensus o Self-censorship of misgivings, questions, and counterarguments o An illusion of unanimity- members believe that everyone agrees with a tentative decision o Emergence of self-appointed mindguards- self- appointed group members who protect the mind of the leader by shielding them from criticism - Strategies to avoid groupthink: o Leaders should remain quiet throughout the discussion, allowing other members to express their opinions before sharing their own o A norm of openness should be established in the group; members are reward