Chapter Eight: Group Processes

group

a set of individuals who have direct interactions with each other over a period of time and share a common fate, identity, or set of goals

collectives

people engaging in a common activity but having little direct interaction with each other

evolutionary pressures

ppls chances of survival and reproduction increased when they lived in groups rather than in isolation

social brain hypothesis

we have large brains in order to socialize

social identity theory

a large part of ppls feelings of self-worth comes from their identification with particular groups

roles

set of expected behaviors

instrumental role

helps the group achieve its tasks

expressive role

provides emotional support and maintains morale

norms

rules of conduct for group members

tight cultures

strong norms and little tolerance for behavior that deviates from the norm

loose cultures

relatively weaker norms, greater tolerance for deviant behavior

dominant response

reaction elicited most quickly and easily by a given stimulus

easy task

one that is simple or well learned

difficult task

one that is complex or unfamiliar

social facilitation

a process whereby the presence of others enhances performance on easy tasks but impairs performance on difficult tasks

evaluation apprehension theory

performance will be enhanced or impaired only in the presence of others who are in a position to evaluate that performance

distraction-conflict theory

being distracted while were working on a task creates attentional conflict

social loafing

group-produced reductions in individual output

cyberloafing

a form of social loafing at the workplace that involves personal non-work use of online technology

collective effort model

individuals will try hard on a collective task when they think their efforts will help them achieve outcomes they personally value

social compensation

increasing ones efforts on collective tasks to try to compensate for the anticipated social loafing or poor performance of other group members

Deindividuation

the loss of a persons sense of individuality and the reduction of normal constraints against deviant behavior

accountability cues

effect the individuals cost-reward calculations

attentional cues

cues that focus a persons attention away from the self

social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE)

a model of group behavior that explains deindividuation effects as the result of a shift from personal identity to social identity

process loss

reduction of group productivity due to problems in the dynamics of a group

additive tasks

the group product is the sum of all the members contributions

conjunctive tasks

the group product is determined by the individual with the poorest performance

disjunctive task

the group product is determined by the performance of the individual with the best performance

process gain

groups outperform even the best members

Brainstorming

a technique that attempts to increase the production of creative ideas by encouraging group members to speak freely without criticizing their own or others contributions

electronic brainstorming

using technology to allow groups to brainstorm

group polarization

the exaggeration through group discussion of initial tendencies in the thinking of group members

persuasive arguments theory

the greater the number and persuasiveness of the arguments to which group members are exposed, the more extreme their attitudes become

Groupthink

an excessive tendency to seek concurrence among group members

concurrence

agreement or uniformity

biased sampling

a group may fail to consider important information that is not common knowledge in the group

communication network

defines who can speak with whom based on a groups structure

transactive memory

a shared system for remembering info that enables multiple people to remember info together more efficiently than they could do so alone

group support systems

programs that help remove communication barriers and provide structure and incentives for group discussions and decisions

cultural metacognition

awareness of their own and others cultural assumptions

multicultural engagement

adapting and learning about new cultures

resource dilemmas

dilemmas concerning how two or more ppl share a limited resource

commons dilemmas

if ppl take as much as they want of a limited resource that doesnt replenish itself, nothing will be left for anyone

public goods dilemmas

all of the individuals are supposed to contribute resources to a common pool

integrative agreement

both parties obtain outcomes that are superior to a 50-50 split

True or False? People will cheer louder when they cheer as part of a group than when they cheer alone.

False

True or False? People brainstorming as a group come up with a greater number of better ideas than the same number of people working individually.

False

True or False? Group members’ attitudes about a course of action usually become more moderate after group discussion.

False

True or False? People and groups tend to do worse when they have “do your best” goals than when they have very specific, ambitious goals.

True

True or False? Large groups are more likely than small groups to exploit a scarce resource that the members collectively depend on.

True

True or False? When people or groups negotiate with each other, the best solution is one in which both parties compromise and split the resources 50-50.

False

group cohesiveness

The extent to which forces push group members
closer together, such as through feelings of intimacy, unity, and commitment to group goals.

mere presence

The proposition that the mere presence of others is
sufficient to produce social facilitation effects.

prisoner's dilemma

A type of dilemma in which one party must make either cooperative or competitive moves in relation to another party. The dilemma is typically designed so that the competitive move appears to be in one’s self- interest, but if both sides make this move, they both suffer more than if they had both cooperated

social dilemma

a situation in which a self-interested choice by everyone will create the worst outcome for everyone