PSY 223 1nd Edition Lecture 16Outline of Last Lecture I. Discrimination contd.,a. Costs of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination,II. Group Processes,III. Social Facilitation,IV. Social loafing,V. Deindividuation,VI. Groups,Outline of Current Lecture VII. Group Characteristics,VIII. Group Decision Making,a. Group Polarization,IX. Groupthink,X. Group Performance,XI. Aggression,Current Lecture10/22Group Characteristics Roles: shared expectations of how people are supposed to behave (e.g. instrumental role (task—get need to get this done) vs. expressive role (relational—made people feel good)) –good because of ambiguity so you know what is expected of youNorms: rules of conduct—how you’re supposed to behave in groupCohesiveness: forces exerted on a group that push its members closer together Productiveness and decision making in regards to cohesiveness dependsThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.Group Decision-Making Do groups make better decisions than individuals?Answer: groups tend to make decisions that are more extreme in the same direction as the individuals’ initial predisposition (called group polarization—risky people usually have even more risker decisions—same goes for cautiousness)Explanations for Group PolarizationPersuasive arguments perspective: individuals hear additional arguments supporting their own decisionSocial comparison perspective: in order to be liked, many people will take a position that is similar to the others’ but a little more extremeGroupthink: an extreme form of group polarization; occurs when consensus-seeking is more important than critical analysis3 characteristics that contribute:1. Highly cohesive groups2. A threatening situational context3. A particular group structure—members with similar backgrounds, isolated from other people, and directed by a strong leaderSymptoms:- An overestimation of one’s ingroup (illusion of invulnerability)- Closed mindedness- Increased pressures towards conformityOther Problems:- Biased sampling of information: groups spend more time discussing shared information, and unique information known by only one or a few may not get discussed- Channels of communication: sometimes important information doesn’t get to decision-makers because of rules of communicationStrategies to reduce groupthink:- Consult with outsider- Leaders should encourage criticism- Have different subgroups and a devil’s advocateGroup PerformanceProcess Loss: the reduction in group performance due to obstacles created by group processes (e.g. problems of coordination or motivation)Although group produces more than an individual, doesn’t always work to potential; social loafing=process lostAdditive Tasks: group product is sum of member contributionsSometimes group performance defined by the “weak link” (conjunctive task)But sometimes group performance is defined by most capable member (disjunctive task—one person knows the answer)AggressionUnfortunately, aggression and violence is commonAggression is behaviorAggression is on purpose2 types:Emotional Aggression (also called reactive aggression): an act of aggression stemming from feelings of anger; often impulsive, inflicting harm for its own sakeInstrumental Aggression (also called proactive aggression): aggression as an means to some goal other than causing