1. Lecture 10 Group Behaviour

2. Outline Introduction: What is a “group”? Effects of Mere Presence Social facilitation Social loafing Working in Groups Leadership

3. What is a Group? A group is two or more interacting persons who share common goals, have a stable relationship, are somehow interdependent (what happens to one must affect what happens to the other), and perceive that they are in fact a part of a group (Paulus, 1989).

4. Effects of Mere Presence Social facilitation Any increment of individual activity resulting from the presence of another individual Social inhibition A decrease in performance in the presence of others

5. Effects of Mere Presence, cont. When we direct our attention to well- learned tasks, other people usually enhance performance When we direct our attention to other people, or if the task is new, other people detract from our performance.

6. Effects of Mere Presence, cont. Experimental Condition Seconds to Complete Task

7. Effects of Mere Presence, cont. Drive theory of social facilitation (Zajonc, 1965) The presence of others leads to uncertainty and uncertainty leads to arousal Evaluation apprehension theory of social facilitation (Cotrell, 1972) Arousal is due to a learned expectation that the audience will evaluate your performance Distraction-conflict theory (Baron, 1986) Distractions, such as other individuals, cause conflict in the performer’s attention to the task leading to arousal

8. Effects of Mere Presence, cont. Social Loafing A decrease in individual effort when people work in groups as compared to when they work alone. The tendency for people to do worse on simple tasks but better on complex tasks when they are in the presence of others and their individual performance cannot be evaluated.

9. Types of Tasks Divisible versus Unitary Tasks For divisible tasks a breakdown into sub- tasks is possible, but for unitary tasks no breakdown is possible

10. Types of Unitary Tasks Additive tasks A task in which all group members perform basically the same job and the final product is the sum of all their contributions. Conjunctive tasks A task in which performance depends on how well the least talented member does. Disjunctive tasks A task in which group performance depends on how well the most talented member does.

11. Working in Groups Problem-solving Brainstorming Production Blocking Decision-making Group polarization (“risky shift”)

12. The stages of groupthink Poor decisions ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS SYMPTOMS OF GROUPTHINK DEFECTIVE DECISION- MAKING CONSEQUENCES Isolated,cohesive Homogeneous Decision-making Group Lack of impartial Leadership High stress Closed-mindedness Rationalization Squelching of dissent “Mindguards” Feelings of righteousness and invulnerability Incomplete examination of alternatives Failure to examine Risks and contingencies Incomplete search for information

13. Distributive Justice within Groups Outcome Justice The balance between the contributions made to a group and the outcomes received in return. Procedural Justice The procedure followed in the allocation of available rewards Interpersonal Justice Considerateness and courtesy shown to us by the parties responsible for dividing the available rewards.

14. Some Suggested Characteristics of Successful Leaders (Kirkpatrick & Lock, 1991) Drive Honesty and integrity Self-confidence Cognitive ability Creativity Flexibility Expertise

15. Types of Leaders Task-oriented leader A leader who is concerned more with getting the job done than with the feelings of and relationships between the workers. Relationship-oriented leader A leader who is concerned primarily with the feelings of and relationships between the workers.

16. Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership (1967, 1978)