Psychology Chapter 19: Group Interaction

1. Psychology Chapter 19:Group Interaction

2. What are groups? Groups: A collection of people who interact, share common goals and influence how members think and act. 1. Members are interdependent 2. Interaction is the key factor in forming a group Interdependence: when any action by one member will affect or influence the other members Communication 1. Critical to the functions of a group Shared Goals 1. Groups are usually created to perform tasks or to organize activities that no individual can handle alone. 2. Groups tend to server 2 types of purposes: a. Task functions – those directed toward getting some job done b. Social Functions – those directed toward filling the emotional needs of the members

3. How Groups are Held Together Factors that hold a group together: 1. Norms: unwritten rules that govern the behavior and attitudes of group members a. Includes rules: shared beliefs about the correct way to behave and what to believe aa. May be like tendencies or habits b. See “Psychology and You” page 549 2. Ideology: having common ideas, attitudes and goals a. Leaders, heroes, heroines, rallies, books, pamphlets, slogans, and symbols all help popularize ideologies • 3. Commitment • a. The requirement of personal sacrifice increases individual commitment • b. Paying money, enduring hardship, undergoing humiliation all increase commitment • c. Participation also strengthens group commitment • aa. Actively participating in group decisions and sharing the rewards of the group’s accomplishment, makes one feel better toward membership

4. Types of Groups 4 Types of Groups 1. In-Group: when group members identify with their group 2. Out-Group: everyone not a member of the in-group; will be rejected and can be hostile to the in-group 3. Primary Group: group of people who interacts daily; face to face (family) 4. Secondary Group: larger group of people with whom you might have more impersonal relationships (co-workers, classmates)

5. Social Facilitation versus Social Inhibition Social Facilitation: tendency to perform better in the presence of a group Social Inhibition: the times when one performs poorly in front of crowds Many times, how you perform in front of a crowd depends on what you are doing The effect of the crowd on your behavior may also be a reflection of your concern about being evaluated.

6. Interactions within groups Group Structure: the overall interconnection of the roles various members play in the group and how the roles are interrelated 1. Personal relationships between individual members, the rank of the member on a particular dimension and the roles they play 2. Role: behavior that is expected of an individual in a group 3. Role Conflict: When roles conflict due to the change in environment or change in group membership Decision Making • 1. Group Polarization: theory that group discussion reinforces the majority’s point of view and shifts group member’s opinions to a more extreme position (Figure 19.5) a. But, if opinions of a group are equally split on an issue before a discussion, the group discussion usually then results in a compromise 2. Groupthink: poor group decision making that occurs as a result of a group emphasizing unity over critical thinking

7. Interactions within groups Cont… Communication Patterns 1. Sociogram: a diagram that represents relationships within a group, especially likes and dislikes of members for other members a. Helps psychologists predict how individuals will likely communicate with other group members. Leadership 1. All groups have leaders, those who embody norms, ideals of the group and represents the group to outsiders a. Initiates action, gives orders, makes decisions and settles disputes; very influential • 2. 3 Types of leadership styles • a. Authoritarian: Leader makes all decisions and assigns tasks to group members • b. Laissez-faire: Leader is only minimally involved, group goals/not leader’s goals, group members make the decisions

8. Interactions within groups Cont… c. Democratic: Leader encourages group members to come to decisions through consensus; leader is viewed as supportive but not necessarily a good decision maker Section 1 Review Movie: The Wave and worksheet. Be prepared to discuss after the video For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Wave Movie: The Outsiders and worksheet. Be prepared to discuss after the videos

9. Conformity Group Pressure to Conform 1. Conformity: involves any behavior that you engage in because of direct or indirect group pressure a. Solomon Asch found that people conform to other people’s ideas of the truth, even when they disagree Why Do People Conform 1. Moscovici (1985) – Sometimes a minority view can come to win over a larger group a. By disagreeing with the majority view, a person can reduce the pressure that others feel to conform • b. A minority dissenter may also serve an informational purpose by making others question whether the majority view is actually right • c. When people hear a dissenting opinion, they are more likely to examine the issue more closely, which can lead to a better solution

10. Conformity • 2. Solomon Asch (1952) – conducted experiments to see if participants would conform and respond to match the other group member’s responses (they did); although they may not have changed their actual belief a. This characterized the contrast between public behavior and private belief b. Compliance: when we respond to the request of another person without necessarily changing our beliefs c. Foot-in-the-door Technique: occurs when you get a person to agree to a relatively minor request; effort is to turn the minor approval into a larger commitment Video Clips: Conformity Video #1 – Line Length Conformity Video #2 - Elevator

11. Obedience to Authority Obedience – behavior in response to orders given by authorities which can be useful or destructive 1. Gangs 2. Stanley Milgram (1961) - a Yale University professor who conducted a series of social psychology experiments which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience Video Clips Milgram’s Experiment #1 Milgram’s Experiment (Go to 5:19) #2 Milgram’s Experiment Debriefing

12. Obedience to Authority Cont… 3. Philip Zimbardo (1971) - professor emeritus at Stanford, conducted an experiment studying the effects of becoming either a prisoner or prison guard. Twenty-four undergraduates were selected to play the roles of both guards and prisoners and live in a mock prison in the basement of the Stanford psychology building. Roles were assigned at random. They adapted to their roles well beyond that expected, leading the guards to display to authoritarian and even draconian measures. Two of the prisoners were upset enough by the process to quit the experiment early, and the entire experiment was abruptly stopped after only six days. The experimental process and the results remain controversial. Video Clips Stanford Prison Experiment #1 Stanford Prison Experiment #2 Stanford Prison Experiment #3 • Stanford Prison Experiment Assignment http://www.prisonexp.org/

13. Conformity Section 2 Review

14. Aggression 1. What causes group violence a. L.A. Riots after the Rodney King police officer verdict aa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King bb. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_riots cc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Denny_incident b. My Lai Massacre aa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai • c. Would the people have committed the same crimes in a different, calmer atmosphere 2. What causes humans to act in ways that harm others? 3. Aggression: any behavior that is intended to cause physical or psychological harm

15. Aggression Cont… 4. Theories of aggression a. Biological aa. Some animals are naturally aggressive; the response is an innate, biological reaction bb. Some psychologists say that humans have this same biological factor or DNA marker , so to speak b. Cognitive Factors aa. Children learn through observation and imitation of their parents • bb. Parents who use corporal punishment to discipline their children may be teaching their children to be aggressive • cc. The classic: TV, movies, music, video games,; these may teach aggression or at the minimum desensitizing them; very questionable, highly contested

16. Aggression Cont… c. Personality Factors aa. Certain traits like impulsiveness with little empathy and liking to dominate can turn a person into a bully bb. Aggressive people can be arrogant and egotistical cc. People can strike out at others as an affirmation of their superiority dd. Aggressive children tend to be aggressive adults d. Environmental Factors • aa. Frustration-aggression hypothesis: frustration or failure to obtain something expected leads to aggression • bb. Frustration doesn’t always lead to aggression, sometimes it leads to crying • cc. Revised to state that frustration leads to aggression only in certain circumstances

17. Controlling Aggression 1. One method to control aggression is through catharsis: releasing anger or aggression by letting out powerful negative emotions a. Lots of people believe that any expression of aggression is negative b. Expressing aggression could lead to more aggression 2. Punish children for violent behavior and cutting down on violence they observe 3. Being taught to control their aggression • a. Accept frustration and move on • b. React to disappointments in ways other than violence

18. Altruism 1. Altruism: helping another, often with a risk to oneself, for reasons other than the expectation of a reward 2. Diffusion of Responsibility a. Diffusion of responsibility: the presence of others lessens an individual’s feelings of responsibility for his/her actions or failure to act a. Kitty Genovese murder • b. James Bulger abduction and murder c. Mount Everest Incidents (Watch “Into the Death Zone” – Horton DVD) aa. David Sharp bb. Beck Weathers cc. Lincoln Hall 3. Bystander effect: an individual does not take action because of the presence of others • 4. Social loafing: the tendency to work less hard when sharing the workloads with others

19. Altruism • 5. Deindividuation: when individuals behave irrationally when there is less chance of being personally identified • a. People becoming involved in a riot or looting b. People in a crowd feeling anonymous • Section 3 Review • Chapter 19 Study Guide • Chapter 19 Test