Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Chapter Ten Group Dynamics and Intergroup Conflict

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Groups and Group Dynamics Defining a group –two or more people who are interacting and/or influencing one another Group dynamics –the study of groups and group processes –decision making, leadership, intergroup conflict are examples

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Social Facilitation and Social Inhibition Norman Triplett, who published the first study in social psychology (1898), studied social facilitation –the presence of others improves our performance on a task Subsequent evidence showed a social inhibition effect –the presence of others degrades our performance on a task

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Zajonc and Arousal Robert Zajonc proposed an explanation for both facilitation and inhibition effects –the presence of others increases our arousal –when the task at hand is dominant, that arousal leads to facilitation –when the task at hand is poorly-learned, that arousal leads to inhibition

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Social Loafing “Many hands make light the work” –Hah! Social loafing means that group performance decreases in situations in which individual output is not identified –deindividuation, meaningfulness of the group, cohesiveness predict intentional and unintentional slacking off

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Gender, Culture, and Social Loafing Men are more likely than women to engage in social loafing Members of individualistic cultures are more likely than members of collectivist cultures to engage in social loafing

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Deindividuation Deindividuation refers to a loss of personal identity that can often occur when being a member of a group –less focus on personal norms –more focus on group behavior Anything that strips us of our personal identity can produce feelings of deindividuation

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Individual Performance and Productivity Additive tasks –group output reflects the total of individual contributions Conjunctive tasks –group performance depends on performance of the least-talented member Disjunctive tasks –group performance depends on performance of the most-talented member

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Concept Review

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Decision-Making in Groups: Groupthink Pressure to reach a decision leads to poor decision making Antecedents –directive leader –group cohesiveness –high stress

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Symptoms of Groupthink Illusion of invulnerability Rationalization Unquestioned belief in group’s morality Stereotyped views of enemy leaders Pressure against challenging consensus Self-censorship of dissent Illusion of unanimity Emergence of self-appointed mindguards

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Avoiding Groupthink Leader should be nondirective Norm of openness should be established Outside evaluators should make unannounced visits to observe group dynamics

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Group Polarization Group polarization refers to the tendency for group discussion to strengthen the initial leanings of the members of the group –conservative decisions get more conservative –risky decisions get more risky

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Minority Influence Minority influence is greater when: –the minority holds a firm position –the minority is confident in their position Minorities may stimulate divergent thinking among group members

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Leadership Defining a leader –someone who holds a formal position of authority –someone who is identified as such by the group members –someone who has impact on the group transformational leadership describes this last characteristic

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Leadership Functions Task leadership –getting the job done Socioemotional leadership –maintaining group harmony and cohesiveness

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Measuring Leadership Effectiveness Production –is the job getting done? Satisfaction –are the group members happy? Impact –does the leader move the group toward achieving its goals?

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Great Person Approach to Leadership “Great leaders are born to their leadership” –leaders possess some trait that followers do not –height and intelligence are examples –extraversion, conscientiousness, flexibility predict the emergence of leaders

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Situational Explanations for Leadership Situational factors influence the selection of a leader –seating arrangements –external threat –seniority

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Leadership: Person X Situation Interaction Contingency model of leadership effectiveness –the effectiveness of a particular style of leadership is dependent on situational factors

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Concept Review

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Intergroup Conflict Social identity theory predicts the formation of ingroups and outgroups Negative stereotypes can arise regarding the outgroup Outgroup homogeneity effect exaggerates the similarity among members of the outgroup Intergroup situations elicit competition

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Development of Intergroup Conflict Threats Self-presentation Dehumanizing the enemy Cultural differences in conflict escalation Terrorism

Social Psychology Alive, Breckler/Olson/Wiggins Chapter 10 Reducing Intergroup Conflict Communication –communication between groups reduces conflict Trust –an ethos of peace should replace a conflictive ethos Unilateral conciliatory initiatives help reduce conflict