Groups and Organizations Social group – is two or more people who identify with and interact with one another.

Groups Primary Group – is a small social group whose members share personal and enduring relationships.

Groups Secondary groups are social groups that are large and impersonal and whose members pursue a specific goal or activity

Group Leadership One important dimension of group dynamics is leadership. Instrumental leadership refers to group leadership that emphasizes the completion of tasks. Expressive leadership focuses on collective well being. Page 112, Table 5-1

Group Leadership Decision making style Authoritarian leadership – focuses on instrumental concerns, takes personal charge of decision making and demands strict compliance. Democratic leadership – more expressive. Laissez-faire leadership – allows the group to function more or less on its own.

Asch (1952) In 1951 social psychologist Solomon Asch devised this experiment to examine the extent to which pressure from other people could affect one's perceptions. In total, about one third of the subjects who were placed in this situation went along with the clearly erroneous majority.

Asch (1952) Asch showed bars like those in the Figure to college students in groups of 8 to 10. He told them he was studying visual perception and that their task was to decide which of the bars on the right was the same length as the one on the left. As you can see, the task is simple, and the correct answer is obvious. Asch asked the students to give their answers aloud. He repeated the procedure with 18 sets of bars. Asch (1952)

Asch (1952) In 1951 social psychologist Solomon Asch devised this experiment to examine the extent to which pressure from other people could affect one's perceptions. In total, about one third of the subjects who were placed in this situation went along with the clearly erroneous majority.

Asch (1952) Asch showed bars like those in the Figure to college students in groups of 8 to 10. He told them he was studying visual perception and that their task was to decide which of the bars on the right was the same length as the one on the left. As you can see, the task is simple, and the correct answer is obvious. Asch asked the students to give their answers aloud. He repeated the procedure with 18 sets of bars.

Asch (1952) To Asch's surprise, 37 of the 50 subjects conformed to the majority at least once, and 14 of them conformed on more than 6 of the 12 trials. When faced with a unanimous wrong answer by the other group members, the mean subject conformed on 4 of the 12 trials.

Standley Milgram. In August, 1976, CBS presented a prime-time dramatization of the obedience experiments and the events surrounding them, titled "The Tenth Level." William Shatner had the starring role as Stephen Hunter, the Milgram-like scientist. Milgram served as a consultant for the film. While it contains a lot of fictional elements, it powerfully conveyed enough of the essence of the true story for its writer, George Bellak, to receive Honorable Mention in the American Psychological Association's media awards for 1977.

Standley Milgram. Conducted conformity experiments. Male recruits were told they would be taking part in a study of how punishment affects learning. The recruit was to read aloud pairs of words and the learner was to repeat the words.

Milgram The researcher directed the recruit to begin at the lowest level (15 volts)and increase 15 volts every time the learner missed a word. At 70,90,and 105 volts there were moans. 120 volts shouts of pain 270 volts screams 315 volts pounding on the wall.

Milgram Silence above 315 volts. None of the recruits (40) questioned the researcher before reaching 300 volts. 26 of the recruits –almost two-thirds-went all the way to 450 volts. In groups of three,they applied voltages 3-4 times higher then when acting alone.

Milgram His research suggest that people are likely to follow the directions of “legitimate authority figures,” but also of ordinary individuals, even when it means inflicting harm on another person.

Milgram Who are more obedient -men or women? Milgram found an identical rate of obedience in both groups-65%--although obedient women consistently reported more stress than men. There are about a dozen replications of the obedience experiment world-wide which had male and female subjects. All of them, with one exception, also found no male-female differences.

Milgram Milgram's "shock machine" still exists. It can be found at the Archives of the History of American Psychology at the University of Akron. For a number of years, beginning in 1992, it was part of a traveling psychology exhibit created by the American Psychological Association. . . . . .

Groups Reference groups – a social group that serves as a point of reference in making decisions and evaluations. Point “ We do not make judgments about ourselves in isolation, nor do we compare ourselves with just anyone. “We form a subjective sense of our well-being by looking at ourselves ‘relative’ to specific reference groups.

Groups In-Groups – a social group where a member feels respect and commitment. Out-Groups – a social group where a person feels a sense of competition or opposition. Base on the idea that “we” have valued traits that “they” lack.