chapter 9 SOC PSYCH
Fishing real task and what is it an example of?
asked children to wind up a fishing reel and they performed better in the presence of others and worse when they were alone. its an example of social facilitation= performing better in the presence of others.
Social inhibition=
when people do worse on a task in the presence of others compared to when they are alone.
Those who perform more difficult tasks such as writing their names backward, do it better without an audience.
what are Intragroup processes and Intergroup processes
-Happen within a group
-Happen between groups
Group:
Two or more people who have some degree of interdependence, co-exist within a social structure; have some sort of interaction
Ways in which groups influence behavior:
Deindividuation, social facilitation, social loafing, cohesion
what are Intimacy groups and task groups
-family and couples
-soccer teams
Why do we join groups:
: for inclusion, for survival to accomplish goals, and for self-esteem?
What does having social support do?
When we perceive we are supported we are healthier mentally and physically and strive for harder goals.
*Theory of social facilitation (Zajonc)
The mere presence of others increases our physiological
arousal which enhances whatever our dominant response is on that task
Evaluation apprehension-
*Social facilitation is caused not simply by the mere presence of others, but rather by our concern about being evaluated by them
*The presence of a supportive audience can lead to worse performance on difficult or unfamiliar
tasks
what is a Distraction-
*Another explanation for the effect of arousal on performance is that the presence of other
people are distracting, even in cases in which they are not evaluating our performance
*This distraction decreases our ability to focus on a particular task
what is Distraction conflict theory:
its not the more presents that cause arousal, it's us being conflicted about putting attention on the audience or task at hand.
Social loafing and why does it happen?
A group-produced reduction in individual output on easy tasks where
contributions are pooled. Why does this happen- diffusion of responsibility, no one knows how hard someone is working.
Free rider effect-
Taking advantage of others
Sucker effect-
We assume others are gonna social loaf so we put in less effort
Bad apple effect-
We are working hard but we recognize someone else isn't working so we stop working hard.
High perceived dispensability:
we are likely to not try because we don't think we can make a change EX-voting
what is The disjunctive task performance
of the group depends on the most skilled member
what is Conjunctive task=
when group performance depends on the least skilled person. So they put in the most effort and the most skilled put in less effort.
what is the Collective effort model:
We are motivated to exert effort in group tasks only when we believe our distinct efforts are identifiable and when we will experience positive outcomes
what are Identifiable contributions:
One factor that influences social loafing is whether we believe
our contribution will be recognized. Making individual outputs identifiable decreases the tendency to withdraw effort even in a group setting
We do not socially loaf when...
our outputs will be evaluated, especially if these outputs will be compared to others, or if we will receive feedback about our efforts.
what are Contributions’ impacts?
Another factor that influences social loafing is whether you believe
your efforts will have an impact on the group’s performance
*If you must perform a difficult and unique task you will not withdraw effort, even if your output is not evaluated
*If you believe your efforts are not necessary for the success of the group, you tend to display less effort
when a Task is important:
You are also motivated to work hard on a group task if the task is highly
important to you
*If the task is essential, you can be highly motivated to work hard even when your own
contributions are not identifiable
Social compensation:
We work harder on a project to compensate for poor performance or
social loafing by others
what is Group cohesion:
The morale, team spirit, and solidarity of members of a group
*Highly cohesive groups perform better than less cohesive ones
*The cohesion-performance link is stronger for tasks that require high levels of interaction and
interdependence between group members than for those that simply require high levels of
individual performance
Two factors that lead groups decisions:
*Group polarization
*Groupthink
what is Group polarization:
Initial tendencies of group members become more extreme following group discussion.
Risky shift:
-Group polarization can lead groups to make riskier decisions than individuals would make alone
*Hear more persuasive arguments
*Arguments you had not yet thought of
*Look for supporting arguments
*Learn group norms
*More accurate assessment of group norms
Why does group polarization happen…
Informational social theory- is where a person conforms to gain knowledge, or because they believe that someone else is 'right'.
Persuasive argument theory- joining a group of people like-minded means we rehash the same ideas. Walked in with 2 ideas and left with 10.
Social comparison theory- when we join a group we try to find the main ideas of the group and adopt them and turn up the volume on them…
Informational social theory-
is where a person conforms to gain knowledge, or because they believe that someone else is 'right'.
Persuasive argument theory
Joining a group of people like-minded means we rehash the same ideas. Walked in with 2 ideas and left with 10.
Social comparison theory-
when we join a group we try to find the main ideas of the group and adopt them and turn up the volume on them…
Groupthink:
A group decision-making style characterized by an excessive tendency among
group members to seek concurrence, consensus, and unanimity, as opposed to making the best
decision.
Closed-mindedness:
Group members will not hear dissenting views from outgroup members
who is Triplet-
was interested in the question does the presence of others influence and affect our behavior? Conflicted responses, some believe it does and some believe it doesn't.
If we suck at a task…
we automatically do worse with other people around
If we are good at a task…
We do better with others around
Pressure toward uniformity:
Especially common highly cohesive groups. This can hurt
performance when creative, innovative ideas are needed.
Solutions to groupthink-
*Encourage open contributions from all group members
*Emphasize the importance of open criticism
*Seek input from non-group members
*Deliberately recruit diverse members
*Train a group member about the dangers of biased group decision-making and have him/her inform other group members about these issues
How do group leaders motivate a group…
*Group leaders can be formally chosen (election) or they can emerge informally and gradually
*Leaders guide and motivate the group
*Three models of what makes a good leader:
*Trait or “great person” model
*Transactional versus transformational leadership
*Contingency model
what is Ethnocentrism=
the belief that one's cultural values are shared by others.
Trait or great person model
*Good leaders emerge based on specific personality traits, such as intelligence, dominance, and extraversion
*People with particular leadership characteristics (initiative, planning, delegation) are rated as more effective at leading groups on diverse tasks
Transactional leaders:
Reward desirable behaviors by group members and act once mistakes or problems occur
Transformational leaders:
Foster trust among group members, build identification with and excitement about higher-level group goals, and examine new approaches for problem-solving
Social Dilemma:
A situation in which what is best for the individual (or one group), is in conflict with what is best for another individual (or group)
The collective effect model=
of people's motivation to exert effort in a group task depends on whether or not their distinct efforts will be identifiable.
Three types of social dilemmas:
When the pursuit of our own interest leads to our own home and destruction.
*Common resource dilemmas
*Public goods dilemmas
*Prisoner’s dilemma
Common resource dilemmas:
When a resource (water, land, oil, etc.) can be reduced or
eliminated by overuse
*We can each take moderate amounts, but if we all take\ as much as we want, the
the resource will be depleted
-nut example, when the researcher siad he would double the amount of nuts after 10 seconds but no one would wait the ten secponds to get more nuts and instead took all the ones already present.
Public goods dilemma:
When a public good or service needs to be sustained over time
-many people take blood for granted, they never donate but assume some would be available if they require it.
Prisoner’s dilemma:
Two people may choose to either cooperate or compete with each other
*Each person’s best option depends on the option chosen by the other person
*The best outcome for each person is to compete while their partner cooperates
*The worst outcome is to cooperate while their partner competes
*Both people jointly are best off if they both cooperate
-people are caught by cops and if someone confesses they get less time than their partner. But if nother confesses they get equal time.
Solutions to a social dilemma- ON EXAM!
*Regulate the use of resources
*Engage in open communication
-activate altruistic motives
*Create small, connected groups
*Create consequences for competition
Tit-for-tat strategy:
Involves starting with cooperation and then doing whatever your partner does in each interaction
How does culture impact group influence-
*Priming different cultures influences people’s willingness to cooperate with a friend in a social dilemma
Culture impacts:
*Social loafing
*Social dilemmas
Leadership- types of leaders…
Task-oriented leader= main focus is to get the job done
Relationship oriented leader= make sure every voice is heard
Transactional leader= I pay you to work for me
Task-oriented leader=
the main focus is to get the job done
Relationship oriented leader=
make sure every voice is heard
Transactional leader=
I pay you to work for me