4.3b: Group behavior

Diffusion of responsibility

Behaviors in which people feel less of a responsibility to take the right action and think for themselves in the presence of others.

Social facilitation

Tendency for people to perform better when others are around.

Social inhibition

When we curb our behaviors for fear of not matching the social climate.

Social loafing

Tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working in a group.

Deindividuation

A loss of self-awareness and personal responsibility when part of a group.

Group polarization

Tendency for a group's prevailing attitudes or behaviors to become more extreme after discussion.

Groupthink

Mode of thinking in highly cohesive groups where the desire for harmony or conformity results in irrational decision-making.

False consensus effect

A cognitive bias in which individuals overestimate the level at which others share their beliefs.

Culture

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Individualism

Cultural orientation emphasizing personal independence and personal goals above the group.

Collectivism

Cultural orientation emphasizing group harmony, placing group goals over individual desires.

Multiculturalism

Presence of multiple distinct cultures in a single society.

Tight culture

Society with strong, clearly defined social norms and a low tolerance for deviant behaviors.

Loose culture

Society with flexible social norms and a high tolerance for non-conformity.