Group Dynamics & Performance

What is a social group?

2+ people who for longer than a few moments interact w. & influence on another & perceive one another as an us

What are the different contexts of social groups?

Incidental groups, membership groups, identity reference groups

What is the stage theory of small group development model?

Forming (team acquaints & establishes group rules, formalities are preserves & members are treated as strangers)

-> Storming (members start to communicate their feelings, but still view themselves as individuals rather than part of the team; issues from hostility & control)

-> Norming (people feel part of the team & realize they can achieve work if they accept other’s viewpoints)

-> Performing (the team works in an open & trusting atmosphere where flexibility is the key & hierarchy is of little importance)

-> Adjourning (disbanding & the feelings this brings, opportunity to review & savor achievements)

How do the Triplett experiments show how the presence of others can better performance?

The presence of others provokes competitive instinct bc the sight/sound of someone else performing same activity stimulates idea of moving faster leading to greater concentration of energy & greater effort

How can the presence of other hinder performance?

Others presence diminishes efficiency at completing/performing task, especially when the task is difficult/complex

What does social facilitation look at? What does it say about it?

Focus’s impact on performance; response increases merely from sight/sound of others making the same movement, social presence facilitates an idea/thought of & encourages movement

What is Zajonc’s (1965) Social (drive) Theory?

The presence of others leads to arousal/drive state, then dominant response which if correct leads to social facilitation (& if wrong leads to social inhibition)

When others are …. social presence impairs performance?

• Unfamiliar

• Unpredictable

• Threatening

• Monitoring

Presence can lead to heightened _____ _____, increased _____ in simple tasks but impaires complex task _____.

Physiological arousal; speed; accuracy

What is evaluation apprehension?

• Drive based on anticipation of judgement (rather than presence of others) & negative evaluation, & generated by others who have potential to evaluate performance

• Individuals learn from socialization experiences

What is distraction conflict?

• Paying attention to others & the task overloads cognitive system

• Social & non-social causes, internal & external distractors

What are the three conditions that trigger conflict in distraction conflict?

• Distraction is interesting & difficult to ignore

• Pressure to complete the task (quickly & accurately)

• Attending to the task & distractor at the same time

How does social presence impact self-awareness?

The presence of others heightens performers objective self-awareness, & motivates them to reduce discrepancies between current performance & performance ideals (matching to standard)

How can increased self-awareness due to social presence impair performance?

• Dysfunction due to high levels of effort

• Diversion of attention needed by the task

• Disengagement when discrepancies between current & ideals are too large

How does the presence of MANY others impact performance?

• Effects increase w/ the number/size of audience

• Can interfere w/ well learned behaviors

• Intensifies positive/negative reactions

• Sense of control matters

How does the electronic presence of others impact performance?

Improves on relatively easy tasks but impaires relatively difficult problem solving

How does Ringelmann’s experiment (1913) show how individuals exert less effort collective tasks?

Individuals average ability to pull 63kg alone, but group performance fell 51% below expectations

What is social loafing?

The tendency for people to expend less individual effort when working in a group than when working alone

When is social loafing more likely to occur?

• Person believes they are not being monitored

• Goal of group has less value/meaning

• Person displays low motivation to strive for success

• In male groups (v. female or mixed sex groups)

• In individualistic (western) cultures (v. collectivist cultures)

Define social energizing. When does it happen?

When people work harder as a member of a group than when alone; when task is important/fun, group members think they are competing against another group, there is strong commitment to achieving a common goal, stronger in collectivist cultures

What is group polarization?

When the “average” opinion becomes more extreme w/ like-minded individuals (from group discussion, typically occurring in a more deliberative process)

What are the three explanations for group polarization?

• Persuasive argumentation (group discussion brings to light new info that supports group position - based on novelty, validity, & acceptability)

• Social comparison (assumes people are motivated to appraise their abilities/opinions, compare to others, & wish to be socially desirable - most persuaded by own reference group)

• Self-categorization theory (individuals’ tendency to identify w/ group by endorsing in-group norms)

How is group polarization moderated in real life situations?

Longer-term influences & knowledge that group members must implement the decisions

Define groupthink.

The tendency of group members to suspend critical thinking bc they are striving to seek agreement

When is groupthink most likely to occur?

• There is high stress to reach a decision

• The group is insulated

• There is directive leadership

• The group has high cohesiveness

What are the symptoms of groupthink?

• Direct pressure on dissenters

• Self-appointed mind guards

• Self-censorship

• Illusion of unanimity

Why does group think increase the risk of defective decision-making?

• Incomplete survey of alternatives & objectives

• Failure to examine risks of preferred choice & reappraise alternatives

• Poor info search

How can groupthink be overcome/reduced?

• Promote open inquiry

• Use subgroups

• Reward contrasting opinions

• Consider a variety of alternative solutions

• Admit shortcomings

• Hold “second change”meetings

What characteristics of a group impact de-individuation?

Group size, physical anonymity, arousing/distracting activities