chapter 10

Chapter 10

Behavior in Groups

Behavior in the Presence of Others

The presence of others sometimes enhances and sometimes impairs an individual’s performance.

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Social Facilitation: People sometimes perform better in the presence of others than when they are alone

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Social facilitation occurs: Whether others are performing the

same task, or whether the others are merely observers

In many species others than humans

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Social inhibition occurs when the presence of others inhibits a person’s performance.

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Zajonc’s theory:

Presence of others

Arousal Dominant Response

If dominant response correct, SOCIAL FACILITATION

If dominant response wrong, SOCIAL INHIBITION

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Why does the presence of others motivate us? Innate tendency for arousal in the

presence of others Evaluation Apprehension Distraction-Conflict Presence of others evokes challenge

reaction when resources are sufficient, threat responses when insufficient.

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Social facilitation and inhibition occur when a person’s performance is individually identifiable

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Social Loafing: When an individual’s contribution to a collective activity cannot be evaluated, individuals often work less hard than they would alone.

Behavior in the Presence of Others

The noise produced by each person cheering decreases as group size increases (Latané, Williams, & Harkins, 1979)

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Social loafing depends on How important the person believes

his/her contribution is to group success

How much the person values group success

Karau & Williams, 1993

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Reducing Social Loafing Make each person’s contribution

identifiable Provide rewards for high group

productivity Make task meaningful, complex, or

interesting

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Social compensation occurs when a person expends great effort to compensate for others in the group. When others are performing

inadequately, and the person cares about the quality of the group product

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Across cultures Social loafing has been found in India,

Thailand, Japan, & China However, social loafing may be

greater among people from the U.S. than among Asians

Behavior in the Presence of Others

In summary: whether social facilitation or social loafing occurs depends on Whether individuals are identifiable Task complexity How much participants care about the

outcome

Behavior in the Presence of OthersSocial Impact Theory (Latané, 1981)

Impact depends on Number, Strength, Immediacy

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Deindividuation may occur in crowded, anonymous situations when people lose a sense of responsibility for their own actions and feel free to express aggressive and sexual impulses

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Zimbardo (1970) had groups of four young women deliver electric shocks to another person Groups were either easily identifiable or not

(wore “KKK”-type garb). Unidentifiable groups gave twice as many shocks

Johnson & Downing (1979) replicated the study using surgical scrubs for the unidentifiable group. Here, this group shocked less.

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Deindividuation increases when individuals are anonymous and as group size increases. Might create a special psychological

state in which people are focused externally and unaware of own values

Or might heighten individual’s identification with the group and increase conformity.

Behavior in the Presence of Others

Crowding refers to the psychological state of discomfort & stress associated with wanting more space than is available.

Social density is the objective number of people in a given space. High social density may or may not

be experienced as unpleasant

Behavior in the Presence of Others

When do people experience the presence of others as crowding? Sensory overload Loss of control Arousal and attribution to

presence of others

Behavior in the Presence of Others

People from collectivist cultures are less likely to experience high social density as crowding.

However, the negative health effects of high social density occur regardless of culture.

Basic Features of Groups A group involves multiple people

who are interdependent Typically, but not always, have

regular-face-to-face contact. Different from a social category

Basic Features of Groups Social norms are shared rules and

expectations about how group members should act.

Social roles are norms that apply to people in a particular position.

Social status refers to social position based on prestige and authority.

Basic Features of Groups Cohesiveness refers to forces that cause

members to remain in a group Positive Factors

Liking of members for each other Extent to which members act effectively together Success of group in meeting goals

Negative Factors Cost of Leaving Lack of Alternatives

Group Performance Types of Group Activities

Additive tasks Success is sum of each person’s effort

Conjunctive tasks Success depends on least competent member

Disjunctive tasks Success depends on most competent member

Subdivided tasks Success depends on both skill & coordination

Group Performance Brainstorming asks group

members to think of as many different suggestions as they can in a short time

Despite the popularity of this technique, research shows that individuals usually produce more and better ideas working alone

Group Performance When discussing matters of

opinion, groups tend to use a majority-rules decision rule.

When discussing matters of fact, groups tend to use a truth-wins decision rule.

Unanimous decisions are harder to reach but tend to leave group members more satisfied.

Group Performance Groups do not necessarily make

wise decisions because they are vulnerable to special social forces that can bias decision-making.

Group Performance Group Polarization = Group discussion

may lead to more extreme decisions. Persuasive arguments theory suggests this is due

to new information Self-presentation theory suggests this is due to

trying to “one-up” other members Social identity theory suggests group members

try to conform to the group but perceive the group norm as more extreme

If members of a group are evenly split, groups compromise rather than polarize.

Group Performance Groupthink is a process of faulty decision-

making that can occur in groups (Janis, 1982)

Occurs when group has a strong leader and is under stress

Group members become more concerned with group acceptance than correctness Group members censor themselves, do not do

a full information search, and evaluate information in a biased way.

Group Performance Overcoming groupthink:

Leader remains impartial and encourages the expression of dissent

Use separate subcommittees to discuss same issue separately

Appoint “devil’s advocates” Consult outside experts

Group Performance Group members tend to discuss

shared rather than unshared information

Groups may also use meetings to confirm rather than challenge their initial beliefs

Thus while groups have the potential to make better decisions than individuals, they do not always do so.

Competition vs. Cooperation Participants in laboratory studies

on competition tend to compete, even when cooperation would be a more rewarding strategy.

Competition vs. Cooperation The Deutsch & Krauss Trucking

Game The optimal strategy is to alternate using the one-lane road in the middle. However, players rarely cooperate.

Competition vs. Cooperation The Prisoner’s Dilemma Game

Both get one year

“A” gets 15 years;

“B” is released

“A” is released;

“B” gets 15 years

BOTH get 10 years

PRISONER “A”

PR

ISO

NER

“B

”

Competition vs. Cooperation There is a strong tendency to

compete rather than cooperate in the prisoner’s dilemma game Only about a third of choices are

cooperative Cooperation typically goes down over

time

Competition vs. Cooperation Determinants of Competition vs

Cooperation Reward Structure Personal Values Communication Reciprocity

Competition vs. Cooperation Culture and Competition

The United States has one of the most competitive cultures on earth.

Cultural values about competition are conveyed at home, at school, through the media,and through sports and games.

Competition vs Cooperation A Social Dilemma is a situation in

which the most rewarding short-term choice for an individual will ultimately lead to negative outcomes for all-concerned. Some Real-World Applications:

preserving environmental resources, avoiding littering

Leadership The leader of a group is the person

who has the most impact on group behavior and beliefs. Leaders may be appointed, elected,

or emerge over time

Leadership Leaders must perform two types of tasks,

task leadership and social leadership. An effective task leader is efficient, directive,

and knowledgeable. An effective social leader is friendly,

agreeable, concerned with feelings and socially oriented.

Sometimes a group will have a different leader for each task; sometimes the same person will serve both roles.

Leadership The great-person theory of leadership

suggests that leaders possess particular characteristics Excelling in abilities that meet the group’s

goals; strong interpersonal skills; high motivation; confident; optimistic.

An interactive perspective focuses on the match between the needs of the situation and the characteristics of the person.

Leadership Fiedler’s contingency model of

leadership effectiveness suggests that task-oriented leaders are most effective in high-control and low-control situations, while emotion-focused leaders are more effective in moderate-control situations.