Week 10 ( Group Dynamics)

What is a ‘group’ and what are its principal attributes?

• Group – refers to a social unit that consists of two or more persons with all of the following attributes:

  • Membership – persons who identify with a group and are recognized by others as belonging to that group

  • Interaction – group members also must interact – communicating with one another and influencing one another

  • Goals – group members should be interdependent with respect to goal attainment

  • Norms – group members share a set of expectations

• Groups are not simply collections of individuals…rather, they are organized systems in which the relations among individuals are structured and patterned

What are ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ groups?

• Primary groups are formal, intimate, smaller groups with strong emotional ties and bonds that endure over time.

  • Ex. family, peer group/friends

• Secondary groups: formal, personal, and surrounded by instrumental goals.

  • Ex. a Soc class, fan club

  • In the secondary group, you can carve out a primary group.

What is group, social and task cohesion?

• Group cohesion: The group members desire to remain in a group and resist leaving it,

  • They are marked by strong ties

• Social cohesion: members stay in the group because they like one another and desire to interact with one another. 

  • Cohesion is greater when members are similar

• Task cohesion: members stay in the group because they are heavily involved in the group's tasks

  • Task cohesion will be greater if the members find it intrinsically valuable, interesting, and challenging.

What is ‘goal isomorphism’?

• a state in which group goals and individual goals are compatible; mutually beneficial or symbiotic

• Mutually beneficial or symbiotic

What are three functions of group norms?

• Foster coordination among members while in pursuit of group goals

  • When members conform to group norms, they know what to expect of one another

• Norms provide a cognitive frame of reference (e.g., shared values inform judgements)

• Norms define and enhance the common identity of group members

  • E.g., distinctive dress, behaviors and speech patterns differentiate group members

What is ‘conformity’?

• Conformity – when an individual adheres to group norms and standards

• Much of the behavior we witness in daily life involves conformity to one group norm or another (e.g., professional attire at the law firm)

According to Solomon Asch, what is ‘majority influence’?

• Majority influence – the process by which a group’s majority pressures an individual member to conform or adopt specific positions on some issue

• Within limits, groups can pressure their members to change their judgements and conform with the majority’s position…even when that position is obviously incorrect

What is ‘informational influence’?

• Informational influence – occurs when a group member accepts information from others as valid evidence about reality

What are three effects of intergroup conflict?

• Increased group cohesion

  • First, as the conflict escalates, a group’s cause becomes more significant to its members, and thus they increase their commitment to it

  • Second, having a common enemy heightens perceived similarity among in-group members

    • However, there are limits to this effect…if a group is embroiled in a conflict in which it cannot possibly prevail, members may give up all hope

• Increased militancy of group leaders – under pressure, leaders may react by adopting a harder line and taking stronger action against the out-group

  • Especially if their position of power is precarious

  • Also, under conditions of threat, group members are more accepting of this increased militancy.

• Alteration of norms in the group – when intergroup conflict changes group norms and goals as concerns with winning intensify

  • Often the group will reorder goal priorities and favor those behaviors that can help it win the conflict

  • Under severe conflict, the members will increase their demands on one another for conformity

What are the sources (or causes) of intergroup conflict?

• Opposition of interest

• Discrimination and bias against out-groups – even when an underlying opposition of interest is not present…strong group (in-group) identification can, by itself, produce biased behavior towards out-groups

  • People have a fundamental tendency to like their own group (in-group) and to dislike competing or opposing groups (out-groups)

    • This is because of ethnocentrism

How does ‘opposition of interest’ lead to intergroup conflict? 

• Opposition of interest – a benefit to one must come at a cost to the other

  • When this prevents groups from achieving their goals, it can lead to intergroup conflict

• (1) When groups are pursuing objectives in which a gain by one group necessarily results in a loss by the other

• (2) This opposition of interests causes members of each group to experience frustration and to develop antagonistic attitudes toward the other group

• (3) Which leads to members to become more strongly identified with and attached to their own group

• (4) And increases likelihood of overt conflict

What is ‘ethnocentrism’? 

• Ethnocentrism – The tendency to regard one’s own group as the center of everything and as superior to out-group

• Ethnocentrism involves rigid distinctions between in-group and out-groups

  • In-groups are viewed positively, whereas out-groups are viewed negatively

• Ethnocentric attitudes may also lead to discrimination 

  • Acts that treat members of out-groups in an unfair or disadvantageous manner

According to Henri Taifel, what are some effects of social categorization?

• Social categorization by itself produced favoritism and discriminatory behavior

• Subjects were provided the choice of being fair or discriminating in the allocation of rewards

  • Their actions are unambiguously directed at favoring the members of their in-group

What is the ‘ultimate attribution error’?

• Ultimate attribution error – the positive behavior of in-group members is attributed to internal, stable factors; their negative behavior is attributed to external, unstable factors

• The opposite occurs when determining the attribution of positive and negative out-group behavior

How do superordinate goals reduce intergroup conflict? 

• Superordinate goals – an objective held in common by all groups in a conflict that cannot be achieved by any one group without the support of the others 

• Superordinate goals serve as a basis for restructuring the relationship between groups

  • They increase interactions between in-group and out-group members, which may reduce stereotyping

  • Also, they “can generate a new, superordinate social identity shared by all members

What is contact hypothesis

• Contact hypothesis – increased contact should lessen stereotypes and reduce bias and lessen antagonism

What are the three conditions of contact that lessen intergroup conflict?  

• Sustained close contact – contact is more effective when it is sustained and personal rather than brief and superficial

  • It has been found to produce attitudinal change (via cognitive dissonance), lead to self-disclosure and serve to break down stereotypes

• Equal-status contact – Contact is more effective when in-group and out-group members occupy positions of equal status than when they occupy positions of unequal status

  • This is because the subordinate status of one group would likely promote prejudicial attitudes

• Institutionally supported contact – contact is more effective if it is backed by social norms that promote equality among groups

  • With the presence of institutional [or authoritative] support... contact between groups is more likely to be seen as appropriate, expected and worthwhile

What is normative influence

occurs when a member conforms to expectations held by others (that is, to norms) in order to receive the social rewards or avoid the punishments that are contingent on meeting these expectations