Costs and Benefits of Social Groups

social facilitation

tendency to perform tasks better or faster in the presence of others

social inhibition

tendency to perform tasks more poorly or more slowly in the presence of others

group process

the events that occur while the group is working on the task

group polarization

the factions of a group discussing an issue get pushed further apart as a result of the discussion

social loafing

group process loss that occurs when people do not work as hard in a group as they do when working alone

groupthink

phenomenon that occurs when a group made up of members who may be very competent and thus quite capable of making excellent decisions nevertheless ends up, as a result of a flawed group process and strong conformity pressures, making a poor decision

illusion of group productivity

tendency for group members to overvalue the productivity of the groups they work in