Social Psychology Behavior in Groups

Agenda To Get: To Do: Guided notes handout Opener Lecture – Social Psychology Wrap-up Groupthink Bystander Effect Diffusion of Responsibility Deindividuation Homework: make sure you have completed at the surveys! We will compile data on Tuesday and discuss.

Opener: Think of something you have done in the past that you could have gotten in trouble for but didn’t get caught. (share if it was not illegal)  1. What was the motivation for this behavior? 2. Did anyone influence your desire to behave this way?

Groupthink

Groupthink Groupthink - Group members focus on reaching a unanimous opinion more than on other goals, including those that inspired the group to form in the first place. Most important aspect of the group is conformity of thinking.

Six Symptoms of Groupthink 1. Closed-Mindedness – the group is not open to alternative ideas 2. Rationalization – group goes to great lengths to justify both the process and the product of its decision making, distorting reality where necessary in order to be persuasive 3. Squelching of dissent – those who disagree are ignored, criticized, and even ostracized

Six Symptoms of Groupthink 4. Formation of a “mindguard” – one person in the group appoints himself or herself the keeper of the group norm and ensures that other members stay in line 5. Feeling of invulnerability – the group believes that it must be right, given the intelligence of its members and the information available to them 6. Sense of unanimity – members believe that everyone unanimously shares the opinions expressed by the group Ex. Groupthink: Challenger

Bystander Effect Bystander Effect - The phenomenon in which the presence of increasing numbers of people available to help leads to decreasing likelihood that any one person actually will help.

Bystander Effect Catherine Genovese (clip)

Diffusion of Responsibility Diffusion of Responsibility - implied reduction of personal responsibility to take action due to the presence of other people, particularly in considering how to respond to a crisis. Ex. Nurse at modped accident Modern Day Example

Invisible For A Day What would you do if you could be invisible for 24 hours?

Deindividuation The loss of a sense of individual identity. Can cause us to violate social norms. Riots, mobs, gangs, sporting events, etc…

Examples 1992 LA Riots Soccer mobs/hooligans Sublime (edit) Soccer mobs/hooligans UK Football Georgia – pulling down goal post

Social Influence: Crash Course Psychology #38