Chapter 9 Group Processes

Influence in Social Groups

Group

Two or more people who interact and are independent in the sense that their needs and goals cause them to influence each other

Social norms

Perception of acceptable or unacceptable behaviours

Social roles

Share expectations in a group about how particular people are supposed to behave

Group cohesiveness

The qualities that bind members together and promote liking between them

Social facilitation

The tendency where we engage in easier tasks better and difficult tasks worse with the presence of others

Social loafing

The tendency for people to relax when they are in the presence of others when their performance cannot be evaluated individually.

Relational interdependence

The tendency to care more about personal relationships with others

Deindividuation

Loosening of normal constraints on behaviour when one cannot be identified when they are in the group

Process loss

Any aspect of group interaction that inhibits good problem solving

Transactive memory

The combined memory of a group that is more efficient than the memory of the individual members

Groupthink

A decision process in which maintaining group cohesiveness and solidarity is more important than considering the facts in a realistic manner

Group polarization

The tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination

Transactional leaders

Set clear, short-term goals and reward people who meet them

Transformational leaders

Inspire followers to focus on common, long-term goals

Contingency theory of leadership

leadership effectiveness depends both on how task oriented or relationship oriented the leader is and the amount of control and influence they have over the group.