Social Psychology - Chapter 8

Group

two or more people who, for longer than a few moments, interact with and influence one another and perceive one another as “us”

Social Facilitation

the tendency of people to perform simple or well-learned tasks better when others are present

Triplett, 1898 Social Psychology Experiment

the observation: noticed that cyclists rode faster when racing against or paced by others than when racing alone against the clock

the test: children wound fishing reels faster when working alongside another child doing the same task (co-actors)

Zajonc, 1969 Study

• cockroaches ran an EASY maze faster, and a hard maze slower, with other cockroaches watching

• hundreds of studies have supported this pattern

• others present → arousal goes up → dominant response (perform better)

  • hard task (diminished performance), easy task (performance improves)

Why does having an audience arouse us?

Theories:

• Evaluation Apprehension - we worry how others are judging us; when the audience was blindfolded, the effect shrank

• Driven by Distraction - splitting attention between the task and the people around us creates conflict and arousal

• Mere presence - some arousal happens even without judgement, as the cockroaches showed us; others’ presence keeps us alert, because we are social creatures

Social Loafing

the tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts towards a common goal than when they are individually accountable

Why do we loaf?

• Diffusion of responsibility - no one can see your share

• Free-riding - others will carry the load

When are the effects of social loafing diminished?

loafing shrinks when the task is challenging, appealing, or involving, and when group members are friends

Deindividuation

loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension, which occurs in group situations that foster responsiveness to group norms, good or bad

What fuels deindividuation?

• Group Size

  • larger crows make people feel less identifiable; crowds baiting a person to jump were more likely when large, or at night (not as visible)

• Physical Anonymity

  • Masks, uniforms, darkness and anonymous online accounts all lower accountability

• Arousing activities

  • Chanting, clapping, and dancing build arousal and pull attention away from the self

• Low self-awareness

  • Things that raise self-awareness, like mirrors, cameras or name tags, reduce deindividuation

Group Polarization

• group discussion intensifies opinions

  • group as a whole moves further into whatever direction most members were already leaning

  • in 1961, James Stoner had people answer life-dilemma questions individually and then discuss them in groups → groups recommended riskier choices than individuals had

  • later research led to a better explanation: discussion amplifies whatever the group already leans toward, risky or cautious

Group Polarization - Key Studies

Myers & Bishop, 1970: high prejudice students who discussed racial issues became MORE prejudiced; low prejudice students became less prejudiced

Moscovici & Zavalloni, 1969: French students’ positive views of their president and negative views of Americans both grew stronger after discussion

Schkade, Sustein & Hastie: liberals in Boulder and conservatives in Colorado Springs each moved further left or right after discussing issues with like-minded neighbors

Informational influence

members hear new arguments that mostly support the group’s existing lean; saying those arguments out loud also deepens their own commitment

Normative influence

people want to be seen as holding the group’s valued position, and as holding it a bit more strongly than average; once they learn others agree, they stop holding back (pluralistic ignorance breaks down)

Where does group polarization show up?

• Schools and peer groups: initial differences between groups of students grow over time (the accentuation phenomenon)

• Communities: like-minded people cluster together (“the big sort”), which deepens political divides

• The internet: echo chambers let people find others who share their views and hear only supporting arguments

• Terrorist groups: McCauley & Segal describe how isolated, like-minded groups radicalize step by step

Exception for Group Polarization

• discussion can moderate opinions when a group is mixed, meaning members start on opposite sides in roughly equal numbers

• polarization depends on a shared initial lean

• viewpoint diversity is a built-in check on extremes

Groupthink

when a group cares more about getting along than about making a good decision

• myers summarizes it as a mode of thinking where the desire for harmony overrides a realistic look at the alternatives

Group Think Conditions

• a close, friendly, cohesive group

• isolation from outside opinions

• a directive leader who signals what they want

The 8 Symptoms of Group Think

• Overestimating the group

  • Illusion of invulnerability: we cannot fail

  • unquestioned belief in the group’s morality: we’re the good guys

• Closed Mindedness

  • Rationalization: explaining away warning signs

  • Stereotyping the opponent: they’re too weak or too dumb to matter

• Pressure Toward Uniformity

  • Conformity pressure: doubters get pushed back in line

  • Self-Censorship: people keep their doubts to themselves

  • Illusion of unanimity: silence is read as agreement

  • Mindguards: members shield the group from bad news

Minority Influence

• Consistency: a minority that sticks to its position is more influential than one that wavers. In Moscovici’s studies, a consistent minority calling blue slides “green” swayed some majority members

• Self-Confidence: consistency and persistence signal confidence, which can lead the majority to reconsider its position

• Defections: once one majority member switches sides, others feel freer to follow, and the minority can snowball

Leadership as minority influence

• Task leadership

  • organizes work, sets standards and focuses on goals

• Social Leadership

  • builds teamwork, mediates conflict and offers support

• Transformational Leadership

  • Inspires others to identify with and commit to the group’s mission, often through a consistent and confident vision

• Effective leaders often combine task and social leadership - Myers frames leadership as the process by which certain group members motivate and guide the group

Persuasion

• process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors

• a process that can be aimed to induce positive changes (such as a healthier life) OR negative (such as Nazi propaganda)

• the topic was originally studied by Yale professor Carl Hovland during World War II in order to understand how to boost soldiers’ morale

Primacy

the first message usually has the advantage

Recency

the last message wins when there’s a delay between the two messages and the decision comes right after the second one

Central Route of Persuasion

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

• purpose: more durable, and more likely to influence behavior

Peripheral Route of Persuasion

• occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness

• focuses on cues that trigger automatic acceptance without much thinking

  • purpose: superficial and temporary attitude change

Credibility

expertise and trustworthiness (how believable a communicator seems)

The Sleeper Effect

describes what happens when a message from a low-credibility source becomes more persuasive over time

Aspects of Attractiveness and Likeability

• Physical Attractiveness

• Similarity