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COURSE NOTES: Social



	Based on the course PSY/SOC 301, taught at The Sage Colleges by Prof. Susan Cloninger. This class uses the following textbook, which provides the chapter organization that you see on the menu on the left side of this page: Myers, D. (2005). Social Psychology (8th ed.) New York: McGraw Hill.

Chapter 8:

Group Influence

What is a Group?

"two or more people who interact and influence one another"
perceive themselves as "us" (not "them")

TEST YOURSELF: Which of these are "groups"?

people waiting at a bus stop
people who have waited all night in line for concert tickets
a class of students waiting for a late professor
a committee in student government
people waiting in line at the grocery store

examples of collective influence:

social facilitation
social loafing
deindividuation

Social Facilitation

Triplett (1898): we do tasks (such winding a fishing reel) more quickly when others are present
The presence of others increases arousal, which helps easy tasks but harms difficult tasks.

The Mere Presence of Others

One explanation of social facilitation
"mere presence"

passive audience
or coactors
Triplett's studies of performance
animal studies

Zajonc's explanation of effects of others

Another explanation of social facilitation
heightened arousal
strengthens dominant response
correct, for well-learned tasks
incorrect, for more difficult tasks

Crowding: The Presence of Many Others

Contributes to social facilitation

Why Are We Aroused in the Presence of Others?

Producing social facilitation

Evaluation Apprehension

Driven By Distraction (from task)

Mere Presence (arousal)

stress
increases arousal
self-conscious attention
impaired performance (even, sometimes, for well-learned tasks)
intensifies positive or negative emotions

SOCIAL LOAFING

Many Hands Make Light Work

social loafing

tug of war (pull 18% harder if alone)
clapping
group work for grades
making individual performances known reduces this effect

"free riders": people who benefit from the group but give little in return (Myers, p. 294)

Social Loafing in Everyday Life

individual/collective farms under communism
challenging, appealing, involving tasks don't produce loafing
strangers loaf more than friends
individualistic cultures loaf more than collectivist ones
loyalty to the group reduces social loafing

DEINDIVIDUATION: When do people lose their sense of self in groups?

Doing together what we would not do alone

group size

mobs, lynching
vandalism of cars in New York vs. Palo Alto

physical anonymity

KKK uniforms facilitate giving shocks
Halloween groups took extra candy
nurses' uniforms, however, reduced shocks
black uniforms in sports commit more fouls
intimacy can also result (Gergen)
(Do you suppose "business suits" could be considered a uniform?)

arousing and distracting activities

chants
deindividuated group experiences (singing, dancing, worship, etc.)
prelude to more disinhibited behavior

Diminished Self-Awareness

alcohol
opposite of mirrors and cameras
leads to loss of self-control, cheating, behavior inconsistent with attitudes
self-awareness protects from deindividuation

GROUP POLARIZATION

The Case of the "Risky Shift"

findings of risky shift in Stoner's groups
but some exceptions, shift to conservatism
better called "group polarization"
groups sometimes become more conservative
"Discussion typically strengthens the average inclination of group members."

Do Groups Intensify Opinions?

Group Polarization Experiments
Naturally Occurring Group Polarization

"accentuation phenomenon" in college
gangs; unsupervised groups of delinquents

Explaining Polarization

Informational Influence

hearing others' opinions; pooled ideas
becoming more actively involved; impact of thinking

Normative Influence

social comparison (Festinger)
reference groups
pluralistic ignorance

GROUPTHINK

definition: "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" (Janis)

Historical examples

Pearl Harbor
Bay of Pigs
Vietnam War
space shuttle Challenger

Symptoms of Groupthink

An illusion of invulnerability
Unquestioned belief in the group's morality
Rationalization
Stereotyped view of opponent
Conformity pressure
Self-censorship
Illusion of unanimity
Mindguards

Critiquing Groupthink

Maybe groups can consider alternatives more reasonably than Janis portrayed.

Preventing Groupthink

Be impartial; do not endorse any position.
Encourage critical evaluation; assign a "devil's advocate."
Occasionally subdivide the group, then reunite to air differences.
Welcome critiques from outside experts and associates.
Before implementing, call a "second-chance" meeting to air any lingering doubts.

Group Problem Solving

Groups sometimes produce better solutions than individuals.
However, individuals are better at creative brainstorming than groups.

MINORITY INFLUENCE

Consistency

Self-Confidence

Defections from the Majority

Is Leadership Minority Influence?

Leadership

"the process by which certain group members motivate and guide the group"

Task Leaders and Social Leaders

task leaders: directive style
social leaders: democratic style

Great Leader theory has fallen

effective leaders don't have a distinctive "great person" pattern of traits
match leader to situation to produce greatness

Charismatic leaders

vision
communication
inspiration

[MYERS'S] PERSONAL POSTSCRIPT: ARE GROUPS BAD FOR US?

(supplementary material)

McKenna, K. Y. A., & Bargh, J. A. (1998). Coming out in the age of the Internet: Identity "demarginalization" through virtual group participation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 681-694.

stigmatized groups: 2 types

concealable (e.g., epilepsy; incest survivors)
conspicuous (e.g., obesity; visible scar)

Past research shows that people with concealable marginal identities are less likely to think other people share their preferences for mundane items, such as ham salad sandwiches. (less "false consensus")

Past research also shows that those with concealable cultural stigmas endorse self-descriptive items related to uniqueness (e.g., "rare, outsider")

virtual groups

more posting after positive feedback, for concealed identity groups only

Conclusion: Internet "virtual groups" provide a way for people with marginalized, concealable identities to be supported, and so to increase their self-acceptance and decrease their estrangement from society and their social isolation.

While this seems desirable for many groups, the authors note that cult members and bombers may also be supported by their virtual groups. They predict more of this "in the age of the Internet."