Group Influence

Chapter 8

David Myers

Group Influence

What is a Group?

Social Facilitation

Social Loafing

Deindividuation

Group Polarization and Groupthink

Minority Influence

Group Influence

What Constitutes a Group?

– Group - two or more individuals who interact

and influence each other and perceive each

other as “us”

Social Facilitation

Social Facilitation – performance “boost” when acting in the presence of others

– Zajonc found that performance was enhanced on easy (dominant) tasks and hindered on difficult tasks

Crowding – extreme arousal can interfere with dominant and well-learned behaviors

Social Facilitation

Why Are Others Arousing?

Explaining Social Facilitation– Evaluation Apprehension – our concern about how

others are evaluating us

– Mere Presence – the presence of others is physiologically arousing

– Distraction-conflict Theory - people get distracted by co-actors, audience, and the task

Social Loafing

Social Loafing - tendency for people to reduce their

individual effort when working towards a common goal

Social Loafing

Explaining Loafing - evaluation apprehension is

reduced during collective efforts

– Free Riders – individuals who benefit from group

effort but contribute little

Social Loafing in Every Day Life?

Loafing occurs less with tasks that are

challenging, appealing, or involve friends

Cultural Factors?

Social Facilitation vs. Loafing

2 kids shoveling a sidewalk for their parents

Running a 5k race

Running a relay race

Drinking alcohol

Donating money

Deindividuation

Deindividuation - increased arousal, loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension in large crowds

– Often results in atypical thoughts and behaviors

Deindividuation

Contributors to Deindividuation

– Group Size – large crowds can lead to deindividuation

– Physical Anonymity – increased anonymity can lead to

more deindivuated behavior

– Self-awareness – factors that decrease self-

awareness increase deindividuation

– Arousing Activities – events that divert your attention

and increase arousal may lead to deindividuation

Preventing Deindividuation at sporting events?

Polarized Decisions

Deal or No Deal

The Risky Shift – group decisions are sometimes riskier

than the average individuals– 9 of 10 chance of succeeding (small payout)

– 7 of 10 chance of succeeding

– 5 of 10 chance of succeeding (medium payout)

– 3 of 10 chance of succeeding

– 1 of 10 chance of succeeding (large payout)

Group Polarization - discussion can lead to

more risky or more cautious behaviors

Naturally Occurring Polarization?

Group Polarization (formerly

Risky Shift)

Explaining Polarization

Information Influence – information discussed tends to favor

the dominant viewpoint

Normative Influence – group norms influence our opinions

and decisions

– Pluralistic Ignorance – false impression of how other

people are thinking, feeling, or responding

Groupthink

Groupthink – overwhelming motivation by group

members to reach consensus on decisions

Groupthink

Symptoms of Groupthink – used to maintain

positive group feelings

– Overestimation of group’s might and right

Illusion of Invulnerability

Belief in group’s morality

– Group members become close-minded

Rationalization

Stereotyped view of outgroups

– Group suffers from pressures toward uniformity

Conformity pressure/self-censorship

Illusion of unaminity/Mindguards

Preventing Groupthink

Be Impartial

Encourage Critical Evaluations

Subdivide Then Reunite

Invite Outside Reviewers

Hold a Last-Chance Meeting

Minority Influence

How can lone individuals influence the group?

– Consistency and Confidence – minority members

who stick to their opinions can sway the group

– Defections – a majority member who defects is more

persuasive than a consistent minority

– Newcomers - automatically gain attention and power

Problem-solving and Teamwork

Groups can outperform individuals on intellective

tasks– COLOR : SPECTRUM

tone : scale

sound : waves

verse : poem

dimension : space

cell : organism

Brainstorming – group idea generation groups

rarely outperform individuals

Minority Influence - Leadership

Leadership - the process by which an individual group

member will motivate and guide the group

– Task Leadership – organizing work, goal-oriented,

maintaining standards

– Social Leadership – teambuilding, conflict mediations,

social support

– Transformational Leadership – motivate and inspire

via high standards and personal attention