group dynamics final exam definitions 7-11

chapter 7

Independence (dissent)

Members disagree by publicly expressing ideas, beliefs, and judgments that are consistent with their personal standards.

Anticonformity (counterconformity):

Members who display anticonformity express ideas or take actions that are the opposite of whatever the group favors.

Strategic anticonformity (devil’s advocate):

Members take a position that opposes that endorsed by the majority of the members publically, even though privately they agree with the majority.

compliance

Change that occurs when the targets of social influence publicly accept the influencer’s position but privately maintain their original beliefs.

Nonconformity

disagreeing with others in the group—also takes several forms. Juror #8, for example, was no conformist; he refused to vote guilty because he wished to challenge the group’s decision to skip the deliberation process. He was unsure of the defendant’s innocence, but he disagreed in order to challenge the group’s norms (Packer, 2008b). But, Juror #8 was also something of an individualist, the kind of person who often did things to differentiate himself from what others were doing. Nonconformity, like conformity, comes in several flavors.

conformity

A change in one’s actions, emotions, opinions, judgments, and so on that reduces their discrepancy with these same types of responses displayed by others.

social impact theory

An analysis of social influence, which proposes that the impact of any source of influence depends upon the strength, the immediacy, and the number of people (sources) present (developed by Bibb Latané).

Asch situation

An experimental procedure developed by Solomon Asch in his studies of conformity to group opinion. Participants believed they were making perceptual judgments as part of a group, but the other members were trained to make deliberate errors on certain trials

conversion theory

A conceptual analysis of the cognitive and interpersonal processes that mediate the direct and indirect impact of a consistent minority on the majority (developed by Serge Moscovici).

Crutchfield situation

An experimental procedure developed by Richard Crutchfield to study conformity. Participants who signaled their responses using an electronic response console believed they were making judgments as part of a group, but the responses of the other members that appeared on their console’s display were simulated.

idiosyncrasy credits

An explanation for the leniency groups sometimes display toward high-status members who violate group norms; the hypothetical interpersonal credit or bonus that is earned each time an individual makes a contribution to the group but the credit decreases each time the individual influences others, makes errors, or deviates from the group’s norms (proposed by Edwin Hollander).

Dynamic social impact theory

An extension of Latané’s social impact theory, which assumes that influence is a function of the strength, the immediacy, and the number of sources present and that this influence results in consolidation, clustering, correlation, and continuing diversity in groups that are spatially distributed and interacting repeatedly over time (developed by Bibb Latané).

implicit influence

Unlike explicit, consciously recognized social influence, unnoticed and largely automatic cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to other people.

mindlessness

A state of reduced cognitive processing characterized by actions based on habit, routine, or previously formed discriminations rather than conscious deliberation.

informational influence

Change-promoting interpersonal processes that are based on the informational value of the responses of others in the

false consensus effect

Perceivers’ tendency to assume that their beliefs, attributes, and actions are relatively common and appropriate in any given situation.

dual process theories

In general, any conceptual analysis that identifies two sources or forms of influence: direct (such as persuasion and discussion) and indirect (such as imitation and herding).

heuristics

An inferential principle or rule of thumb that people use to reach conclusions when the amount of available information is limited, ambiguous, or contradictory.

Normative influence

Change-promoting interpersonal processes based on social norms, standards, and convention. Because individuals internalize their group’s norms, they strive to act in ways that are consistent with those norms.

focus theory of normative conduct

An explanation of influence that assumes descriptive and injunctive norms influence behavior when they are made salient and therefore attended to (developed by Robert Cialdini).

interpersonal influence

Change-promoting interpersonal processes based on group members selectively encouraging conformity and discouraging or even punishing nonconformity

subjective group dynamics

Psychological and interpersonal processes that result from social categorization and identification processes, including members’ desire to sustain the positive distinctiveness of the ingroup and the validity of its shared beliefs.

black-sheep effect

The tendency for group members to evaluate a group member who performs an offensive behavior more harshly than an outgroup member who performs the same offense.

bystander effect

The tendency for people to help less when they know others are present and capable of helping. The effect was initially thought to be the result of apathy and a selfish unwillingness to get involved, but research suggests a number of cognitive and social processes, including diffusion of responsibility and misinterpretation that help is not needed, contribute to the effect.

diffusion of responsibility

A reduction of personal responsibility experienced by individuals in groups and social collectives (identified by John Darley and Bibb Latané in their studies of bystanders’ failures to help someone in need).

voir dire

The oral or written questioning of prospective jurors by counsel or the judge.

chapter 8

Social Power

The capacity to produce intended effects in interpersonal contexts

Obedience

Compliance with authoritative directives pertaining to a given situation, including changes in bison response to instructions order and demands issued by those authority

Power bases

Sources of social power in a group, including one’s degree of control over rewards and punishment, authority in the group, attractiveness, expertise, and access to and control over information needed by group members( originally described by John French and Bertram Raven)