The Psychology of Groups Lecture Notes

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering the psychological significance of groups, performance phenomena, stages of group development, and decision-making risks and solutions.

Need to Belong

A fundamental psychological drive that groups help satisfy, making individuals feel included rather than ostracized or excluded.

Social Comparison

The process of using group membership to evaluate one's own abilities by comparing oneself to other people in a social context.

Self-stereotyping

The act of applying a group-level stereotype to oneself, such as a chess club member perceiving themselves as smarter because of their group identity.

Sociometer Model

A theory suggesting that our internal self-esteem functions as a monitor of our social standing, rising when we are admired or included by group members and falling when we are disliked.

Collective Self-esteem

A form of self-worth derived from identifying with the positive achievements and status of a group one belongs to, such as being a student at MSU.

Social Facilitation

The phenomenon where the presence of others improves performance on easy or well-practiced tasks due to extra energy, motivation, or pressure.

Social Loafing

The tendency for individual performance to decrease when people are part of a group, specifically when individual contributions are not easily identified.

Interdependence

A group task structure where members rely on each other to complete specific roles, reducing the likelihood of social loafing because no one can cover for another person's slack.

Group Cohesion

The degree to which group members like, accept, and trust each other, which can increase motivation but also lead to potential decision-making risks.

Coordination Loss

The reduction in productivity that occurs in groups because integrating the efforts of multiple people is less efficient than a single person coordinating their own actions.

Shared Mental Model

An integrated understanding among group members regarding their specific roles, common goals, and expected behaviors of other team members.

Forming Phase

The first stage of group development where members share information, learn about each other's skills and roles, and decide on a basic goal.

Storming Phase

A stage in group development marked by working through disagreements or conflicts over procedures, purposes, and control.

Norming Phase

The development of regular standards, procedures, and rules that allow an effective team to function smoothly rather than being stuck in conflict.

Performing Phase

The stage where a group focuses on actual taskwork and coordinating effectively to achieve desired goals.

Adjourning Phase

The final stage of the group development model when the collective task is finished and the group session ends.

Group Polarization

The tendency for groups to reach more strongly opinionated or extreme conclusions after discussion rather than coming to a neutral or average consensus.

Groupthink

A risk in group decision-making where members prioritize consensus and social harmony over critical or realistic evaluation of alternatives.

The Tenth Man Rule

A decision-making strategy where if nine people agree on a conclusion, the tenth person is assigned the duty to disagree and investigate the assumption that the others are wrong.

Second Solution Method

A technique to reduce groupthink by requiring a group to put aside their first agreed-upon solution and seriously consider an alternative option.