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Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten. Group Dynamics and Intergroup Conflict. Groups and Group Dynamics. Defining a group two or more people who are interacting and/or influencing one another Group dynamics the study of groups and group processes decision making, leadership, intergroup conflict are examples.

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Chapter Ten

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  1. Chapter Ten Group Dynamics and Intergroup Conflict

  2. Groups and Group Dynamics • Defining a group • two or more people who are interacting and/or influencing one another • Group dynamics • the study of groups and group processes • decision making, leadership, intergroup conflict are examples

  3. Social Facilitation and Social Inhibition • Norman Triplett, who published the first study in social psychology (1898), studied social facilitation • the presence of others improves our performance on a task • Subsequent evidence showed a social inhibition effect • the presence of others degrades our performance on a task

  4. Zajonc and Arousal • Robert Zajonc proposed an explanation for both facilitation and inhibition effects • the presence of others increases our arousal • when the task at hand is dominant, that arousal leads to facilitation • when the task at hand is poorly-learned, that arousal leads to inhibition

  5. Social Loafing • “Many hands make light the work” • Hah! • Social loafing means that group performance decreases in situations in which individual output is not identified • deindividuation, meaningfulness of the group, cohesiveness predict intentional and unintentional slacking off

  6. Gender, Culture, and Social Loafing • Men are more likely than women to engage in social loafing • Members of individualistic cultures are more likely than members of collectivist cultures to engage in social loafing

  7. Deindividuation • Deindividuation refers to a loss of personal identity that can often occur when being a member of a group • less focus on personal norms • more focus on group behavior • Anything that strips us of our personal identity can produce feelings of deindividuation

  8. Individual Performance and Productivity • Additive tasks • group output reflects the total of individual contributions • Conjunctive tasks • group performance depends on performance of the least-talented member • Disjunctive tasks • group performance depends on performance of the most-talented member

  9. Concept Review

  10. Decision-Making in Groups: Groupthink • Pressure to reach a decision leads to poor decision making • Antecedents • directive leader • group cohesiveness • high stress

  11. Symptoms of Groupthink • Illusion of invulnerability • Rationalization • Unquestioned belief in group’s morality • Stereotyped views of enemy leaders • Pressure against challenging consensus • Self-censorship of dissent • Illusion of unanimity • Emergence of self-appointed mindguards

  12. Avoiding Groupthink • Leader should be nondirective • Norm of openness should be established • Outside evaluators should make unannounced visits to observe group dynamics

  13. Group Polarization • Group polarization refers to the tendency for group discussion to strengthen the initial leanings of the members of the group • conservative decisions get more conservative • risky decisions get more risky

  14. Minority Influence • Minority influence is greater when: • the minority holds a firm position • the minority is confident in their position • Minorities may stimulate divergent thinking among group members

  15. Leadership • Defining a leader • someone who holds a formal position of authority • someone who is identified as such by the group members • someone who has impact on the group • transformational leadership describes this last characteristic

  16. Leadership Functions • Task leadership • getting the job done • Socioemotional leadership • maintaining group harmony and cohesiveness

  17. Measuring Leadership Effectiveness • Production • is the job getting done? • Satisfaction • are the group members happy? • Impact • does the leader move the group toward achieving its goals?

  18. Great Person Approach to Leadership • “Great leaders are born to their leadership” • leaders possess some trait that followers do not • height and intelligence are examples • extraversion, conscientiousness, flexibility predict the emergence of leaders

  19. Situational Explanations for Leadership • Situational factors influence the selection of a leader • seating arrangements • external threat • seniority

  20. Leadership: Person X Situation Interaction • Contingency model of leadership effectiveness • the effectiveness of a particular style of leadership is dependent on situational factors

  21. Concept Review

  22. Intergroup Conflict • Social identity theory predicts the formation of ingroups and outgroups • Negative stereotypes can arise regarding the outgroup • Outgroup homogeneity effect exaggerates the similarity among members of the outgroup • Intergroup situations elicit competition

  23. Development of Intergroup Conflict • Threats • Self-presentation • Dehumanizing the enemy • Cultural differences in conflict escalation • Terrorism

  24. Reducing Intergroup Conflict • Communication • communication between groups reduces conflict • Trust • an ethos of peace should replace a conflictive ethos • Unilateral conciliatory initiatives help reduce conflict

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