Soc Lecture 9

Explain when performance is facilitated or inhibited by other's presence and why

Describe de individuation by referring to both the traditional and contemporary explanations

Name two types of process loss and briefly describe each

Identify both benefit and limitation of brainstorming

Identify several challenges that are often encountered in face to face groups

Describe advantages and disadvantages of computer-mediated communication and group decision making

Stresses 'focus on quantity without criticism; welcomes unusual ideas; combine & improve ideas'

A group can generate more ideas than an individual

However, the process can disturb individual's thinking

The outcome is 'not as good as the sum of all ideas generated by separate individuals working independently

Steiner's model: group performance = groups potential - process loss

Process loss = coordination loss + motivation loss

Coordination loss can occur due to poor organisation, despite highly motivated and skilled group members

Motivation loss occurs when group members rely on others and relax

Social loafing = individuals put less effort into the group task . Loafing tends to be greater where: the group is large and there is a high illusion of group productivity . Loafing is lower where: the task is meaningful, interesting and involving, individual contribution is seen as essential for success, individuals identify with the group

The opposite of motivation loss is social compensation = especially high performance to compensate for colleagues loafing likely shown by members with strong group identification

Advantages

Greater task focus leads to good performance on simple tasks

Less pressure for reaching consensus leads to less risk of group think and group polarisation

Facilitate more equal participation among members (unless status cues are shown) leads to more satisfaction and commitment

Disadvantages

Greater process loss, especially when the task is complex

More difficult to develop interpersonal trust

Inability to read nonverbal cues leads to less effective in negotiation or conflict resolution

Crowd behaviour Le Bon (1908): When in a crowd, people lose their sense of individual self and personal responsibility, and dominated by the group's shared ideas and unconscious emotions. The herd can only be destructive

A common belief about irresponsible crowd behaviour is that anonymity free people from normative constraints and the fear of punishment

De individuation theory says when in a crowd, anonymity, the sense of unity, and arousal weaken personal constraints

Environmental cues that signal a reduced accountability and attention away from the self are thought to trigger irresponsible crowd behaviours

Counter evidence for de individuation theory: Johnson and Downing (1979) = study demonstrated that de individuation can produce both positive and negative responses, it shows that de individuation is not equal to freeing people from normative constraints and punishment

Participants wore a nurse like uniform (prosocial norms) or a klan like robe (antisocial norms) with faces either concealed or revealed. The de individuated/nurse condition were found to be least aggressive

Is the average group better than a collection of individuals? 2 Factors

  1. Dependent on whether or not the task can be divided Unitary task vs divisible task . Most tasks are divisible, the group chooses how to divide its task into parts
  1. 1. Combination rule - how individuals inputs are put together . Additive task - where member contributions can add up 2. disjunctive task - where a single right solution is sought , group outcome is only as good as the best member's outcome 3. conjunctive task - where members perform the same task in sequence , group outcome is only as good as the worst member's outcome

Complex tasks: most group tasks are complex and involve different task elements however a group can collectively store more information than an individual can, and perform some tasks more efficiently

Transactive memory: refers to memories that are kept collectively within a group, in a distributed manner, a group recalls information better than a single person does, but not as good as separate individuals recalls put together

Communication network: network centralisation = for a simple task a centralised network is more efficient; for a complex task that requires coordination, a decentralised network is more efficient

Group members satisfaction is higher in more central network positions, the group's overall satisfaction is higher in less centralised networks

Group polarisation = sometime groups converge toward its average position, compromising by members. More often, the group's position becomes more extreme than the initial group average as a result of discussion and social influence. Tends to occur when like-minded people interact and influence each other

Antecedent of group polarisation = superficial processing (members tend to rely on others' opinions) 'the majority is probably right' feel pressured to conform to the majority decision. Systematic processing (consider others' reasoning and evidence) more discussion, majority arguments are presented with greater confidence

Groupthink = refers to making poor group decision, driven by strong need for agreement rather than the motivation to obtain accurate information and make appropriate decisions

Potential antecedents: highly cohesive group, group structure (unsystematic procedures, isolation, homogenous members) and stressful situations

Escalation effects (entrapment) = occurs when commitment to a failing course of action is increased due to people trying to justify their previous investments. Groups are more likely to escalate commitment, and do so in more extreme ways