Behavior in Groups

group

2 or more individuals who interact and are interdependent; creates a social organism with unique characteristics/dynamics

deindividuation

the loss of self awareness in groups

group polarization

people tend to make more extreme decisions while in a group as opposed to a decision made alone/independently

social facilitation

our performance can be enhanced by competition

social inhibition

tendency to perform tasks more poorly/slowly in the presence of others

groupthink

group reaches a consensus it might not otherwise have reached because of a strong leader at the beginning

social loafing

reduction in effort by individuals when they work in groups as compared to when they work by themselves

bystander effect

people are not likely to help others unless alone with the person

cognitive-confirmation bias

participants are more likely to search for information that confirms a previously learned bias than to seek information that contradicts the bias.

self-fulfilling prophecy

if you hear something good/bad about a person, you will perceive that skill in the person more than if you had not previously heard that information.

belief perseverance

tendency to cling to one’s initial belief even after receiving new information that contradicts the basis of the belief.

attribution theory

inferences that people draw about the causes of events, others’ behavior, and their own behavior.

internal attributions

ascribe the causes of behavior to personal dispositions, traits, abilities, and feelings.

external attributions

ascribe the causes of behavior to situational demands/environmental constraints.

fundamental attribution error

suggests that we tend to make attributions about causes of behavior being internal and not external; believing someone does something because of how they are and not because of the situation

actor bias

we believe our behavior is external

observer bias

we believe other’s behaviors are internal

self-serving bias

we attribute causes of behavior to external causes if we fail, but internal causes if we succeed.