Group Behavior

social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others

social loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

group polarization

the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group

Groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

Social Influence

the effect that the words, actions, or mere presence of other people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behavior

Variation across cultures

Each culture has norms--standards for acceptable,

expected behavior.

Variation across time

diversity varies through time and these patterns differ among clades