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Group Process Group Influence on Individual Behavior What is a group? Two or more people… …who are interacting with each other… …and are interdependent —to fulfill their needs and goals they must rely on each other. Why do people join groups?
Survival Evolutionarily advantageous Benefits Provide information Define identity Establish social norms for behavior What is the composition of groups? Most groups 2-6 people Tendency to be similar Social norms Social roles Group cohesiveness Social norms “Rules” of behavior that are acceptable in a group/society Change according to environment; can change over time Deviation often punished, unless you have idiosyncrasy credits Social norms Descriptive vs. Injunctive norms Injunctive norms what should happen Descriptive norms what actually happens Prescriptive vs. Proscriptive norms Prescriptive norms For things we should do Proscriptive norms For things we should not do Social Roles All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts… William Shakespeare, As You Like It Parts we play as members of social groups Behavior changes to fit expectations you and others have of that role There are different social norms for each situation & roles stem from those norms Social roles Stanford Prison Experiment (Zimbardo, 1971) Created “jail” in basement of Psych building RA volunteers to be guards or prisoners Both groups quickly took on their roles Was supposed to last 2 weeks Lasted 6 days before having to be stopped Illustrates power of social roles to shape our behaviors Group Cohesiveness The qualities of a group that bind members together and promote liking between members. The more cohesion: the more likely to retain members members take part in group activities members try to recruit new members The good and bad sides of cohesion Too much cohesion can impede performance How Groups Influence Behaviors of Individuals Social Facilitation When the presence of others energizes us Social Loafing When the presence of others relaxes us Deindividuation Getting lost in the crowd Social Facilitation The tendency for people to do better on simple tasks and worse on complex tasks when they are in the presence of others and their individual performance can be evaluated .
Norman Triplett (1898) Children reeled in fishing line faster in groups than alone Robert Zajonc (1969) Applied this effect to cockroaches Zajonc et al. (1969 ) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Seconds to navigate maze Simple Complex Alone Audience Social Facilitation: simple vs. difficult tasks Social Facilitation:
Arousal and Dominant Response Zajonc ( 1969) The presence of others increases arousal. Arousal (physiological excitation) increases the likelihood of the dominant response Markus (1978) The tendency for people to do worse on simple tasks when they are in the presence of others and their individual performance cannot be evaluated . Max Ringelmann (1913) Social Loafing Who slacks off the most?
Men more than Women Western -oriented more than Eastern -oriented Why do we loaf? Individual effort cannot be identified and rewarded. The task is not challenging, appealing, or involving Social Loafing Is a loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension resulting in uninhibited behavior. Deindividuation What causes deindividuation?
Anonymity Large groups (hiding in the crowd) Mullen (1986) found that the larger the mob, the more savage and vicious the lynching. Costumes (hiding behind masks & uniforms) Zimbardo (1970) found that P s in sheets and hoods held a shock lever twice as long as those who wore name tags instead of the costume. Deindividuation Group Decisions Major function of groups = making decisions Are two heads better than one? It depends! Process Loss Group Polarization Leadership in Groups Group Decisions: Process Loss Process Loss: any aspect of group interaction that inhibits good problem solving Groups might not try to find most expert member Normative social pressures felt by expert Communication problems Failure to share unique information Groupthink Group Decisions: Process Loss Failure to Share Unique Information the tendency to focus on shared information and ignore unique information known to only some members Stasser & Titus, 1995 Student Body President Candidates IV: Information – Shared vs. Unshared DV: Which candidate was chosen? Failure to share unique information They all know the same thing about Candidate A:
Positive facts #1 #2 #3 # 4 #5 #6 #7 #8 Negative facts #1 #2 #3 # 4 They all know different things about Candidate A: Positive #1 #2 Negative #1 #2 #3 #4 Positive #3 #4 Negative #1 #2 #3 #4 Positive #5 #6 Negative #1 #2 #3 #4 Positive #7 #8 Negative #1 #2 #3 #4 Group Decision 83% = A Group Decision 24% = A Group Decisions: Process Loss Groupthink: a kind of thinking in which maintaining group cohesiveness and solidarity is more important than considering the facts in a realistic manner Kennedy and the “Bay of Pigs” invasion Groupthink Preconditions Highly cohesive group Group is isolated Directive leader High stress Poor decision -making procedures Groupthink Symptoms Illusion of invulnerability Belief in moral correctness of group Stereotyped views of out-group Self-censorship Direct pressure on dissenters to conform Illusion of unanimity Mindguards Groupthink Defective decision -making Incomplete survey of alternatives Failure to examine risks of the favored alternative Poor information search Failure to develop contingency plans Group Decisions: Polarization Group Polarization : the tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclinations of its members. Myers and Bishop (1970) Surveyed high schoolers on their racial attitudes and then split them into high and low prejudiced groups. In like-minded groups, the students discussed racial issues. After discussion, again measured their racial attitudes. Group Decisions: Polarization -4 -3 -2 -10 1 2 3 4 Before discussion After discusion Prejudice High prejudiced Low prejudiced Why does group polarization occur?
Informational social influence New information and one- sided arguments are presented that persuade people even more.
Normative social influence People’s perception of the group norm shifts, freeing them to express more extreme beliefs. Group Decisions: Polarization