Social Psychology Chapter 8 - Learning Objectives

What is groupthink and what are the symptoms of it?

-"The mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence-seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action." - Irving Janis (1971) -An illusion of vulnerability -Unquestioned belief in the group's morality -Closed-minded -Rationalization -Stereotyped view of opponent -Uniformity -Conformity pressure -Self-censorship -Illusion of unanimity -Mindguards

As a group leader, what can you do to prevent groupthink?

-Be impartial - don't begin with position -Encourage critical evaluation - assign a devil's advocate -Occasionally subdivide group and reunite -Welcome critiques -Have final meeting to air any lingering concerns

What does your book say about group polarization in terrorist organizations and what does it conclude is the best way to prevent terrorism?

-Doesn't erupt instantly, people with similar grievances come together to discuss them and it fuels the fire. As they interact in isolation from moderating influences, they become progressively more extreme. -"In the long run, the most effective antiterrorist policy is one that inhibits potential recruits from joining in the first place."

What was the naturalistic study done on crowd size and suicide baiting?

-Examined 21 instances of suicidal jumpers when crowds present =When crowd was small and exposed to daylight - baiting much less likely =Less anonymous and more responsible

How does informational influence and normative influence affect group polarization?

-Informational Influence: discussion elicits pooling of ideas that favor stance =Just hearing arguments (not direction of opinion) creates shift -Normative Influence: wanting people to like us, we will express stronger opinions after hearing others share our views =Just hearing stances (not arguments) creates shifts

How does the presence of others affect performance and what does this depend on?

-It either enhances or inhibits this -Depends on how we feel about the person present

What are the methods and results for the Gramzow & Gaertner (2005) minimal groups study? What does this tell us about what we think about our group and other groups?

-Participants saw pictures and were asked how many of an item were in the picture -Participants categorized as over-estimators or under-estimators -Participants read 36 statements about typical over-estimators or under-estimators -Half positive and half negative -How likeable are over-estimators and under-estimators? -Though they read the same amount of negative and positive attributes about the group they were in, as well as the opposer, participants showed ingroup favoritism, meaning they decided their group was better despite equal amounts of defense for both sides. -Minimal Group Paradigm can lead to =Increased liking of ingroup =Decreased liking of outgroup =More empathy for ingroup +What effect might this have on helping? =Group-Serving Bias +Recall self-serving bias +Success: "We worked as a team!" +Failure: "Just an unlucky day."

What does your book say are the factors that decrease social loafing?

-People in groups loaf less when the task is challenging, appealing, or involving. -Groups also loaf less when their members are friends or they feel identified with or indispensable to their group.

How does the confirmation bias and group polarization interact to influence attitudes?

-Seeking out external information that supports the beliefs you already have.

What are mindguards in groupthink?

-Some members protect the group from information that would call into question the effectiveness or morality of its decisions.

What were Norman Triplett's original findings on social facilitation?

-That people will perform better when given a task in front of other people.

What were the methods and findings of the trick or treat study?

-Trick or Treat Study (Diener et al., 1976) =Asked children to "take one" =Alone or in groups =Children were either asked their names or left anonymous =Who took extra candy? +Kids who were deindividuated by group immersion and anonymity.

What is the definition of a group? What are the factors of entativity that allow us to see a group instead of the individual members?

-Two or more people who, for longer than a few moments, interact with and influence one another and perceive one another as "us." -Proximity, similarity, shared fate, entativity -Entativity: how much the group is seen as a single unit

What were the methods and findings of the pool hall study? What does this tell us about our performance when alone versus in groups? How does our skill level impact this?

-Zajonc (or James Michaels and collabs?) [1982] -Counted how many shots good pool players made when they were alone vs. under observation -Counted how many shots bad pool players made when they were alone vs. under observation -Those with higher skill made more shots when under observation that when alone -Those with lower skill made less shots when under observation than when alone -Zajonc argued that arousal enhances the dominant (well-learned) response

What were the methods and findings of the physical anonymity study?

-Zimbardo's Anonymity Study +Dressed women in white coats and hoods (anonymous) or without uniform and with nametag (identifiable) +Women shocked a person (actually confederate) +Anonymous women pressed shock button twice as long as identifiable women

What is deindividuation and how do large crowds induce these feelings?

-deindividuation: Loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension; occurs in group situations that foster responsiveness to group norms, good or bad. -Group Size: members feel unidentifiable -Anonymity: more likely to give into our worst impulses -Arousing and Distracting Activities: aggressive outbursts by large groups are often preceded by minor actions that arouse and divert people's attention. Group-shouting, chanting, clapping, or dancing serve both to hype people up and to reduce self-consciousness.

What is group polarization and what were the methods and findings of the study on it?

-group polarization: Group produced enhancement of members' preexisting tendencies; a strengthening of the numbers' average tendency, not a split within the group. -Moscovici and Zavalloni (1969) observed that discussion enhanced French students' initially positive attitude toward their president and negative attitude toward Americans. -Mititoshi Isozaki (1984) found that Japanese university students gave more pronounced judgments of "guilty" after discussing a traffic case. When jury members are inclined to award damages, the group award similarly tends to exceed that preferred by the median jury member (Sunstein, 2007a). -Markus Brauer and co-workers (2001) found that French students' dislike for certain other people was exacerbated after discussing their shared negative impressions. -George Bishop and author =wondered if discussion with like-minded people strengthen shared views and magnify the attitude gap that separates the two sides =set up groups of relatively prejudiced and unprejudiced high school students and asked them to respond - before and after discussion - to issues involving racial attitudes, such as property rights versus open housing (Myers & Bishop, 1970). =Found that discussions among like-minded students increased initial gap between the two groups. -Studies in Britain and Australia confirm that group discussion can magnify both negative and positive tendencies. When people share negative impressions of a group, such as an immigrant group, discussion supports their negativity and increases their willingness to discriminate (Smith & Postmes, 2011). And when people share concern about an injustice, discussion amplifies their moral concern (Thomas & McGarty, 2009).

What is the current definition of social facilitation and social inhibition?

-social facilitation: the strengthening of dominant (prevalent, likely) responses in the presence of others. -social inhibition: sometimes the presence of others makes things worse

What is social loafing and why does it happen?

-social loafing: The tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts toward a common goal than when they are individually accountable. -It happens because people only believe they're evaluated when they're alone.