Chapter 7

• Groupthink is a type of group process that occurs when a group makes decisions without considering opposing views, often leading to poor decisions.
• The Minimal Group Paradigm is a set of experiments that investigate the influence of group on individual behaviour.
• Social Loafing is a phenomenon where individuals contribute less when in a group as compared to when they are working alone, often leading to poorer performance.
• Learning experience for students should be on ways to avoid social loafing.
• Explaining social loafing, simple experiments can be conducted in the class by asking students to perform some activities in groups and then asking them about their contributions in the activities undertaken.
• Group Polarisation is a phenomenon where a group shifts towards more extreme positions over time, often leading to poorer decisions.
• Group Polarisation is a tendency where groups are more likely to take extreme decisions than individuals alone.
• Social loafing is a phenomenon where individuals work less hard in a group than they do when performing alone.
• Ingroup and Outgroup Distinctions refer to the phenomenon where individuals prefer to associate with their own group rather than with other groups.
• Social facilitation research suggests that the presence of others can motivate individuals to enhance their performance if they are already good at solving something.
• Status refers to the relative social position given to group members by others, which may be either ascribed (given because of one’s seniority) or achieved (the person has achieved status because of expertise or hard work).
• Ways to counteract or prevent groupthink include encouraging and rewarding critical thinking and even disagreement among group members, encouraging groups to present alternative courses of action, inviting outside experts to evaluate the group’s decisions, and encouraging members to seek feedback from trusted others.
• Examples of group decisions at the international level that illustrate the groupthink phenomenon include the Vietnam War and the Iraq War.
• Cohesiveness refers to togetherness, binding, or mutual attraction among group members, and as the group becomes more cohesive, group members start to think, feel and act as a social unit, and less like isolated individuals.
• Extreme cohesiveness may sometimes not be in a group’s interest.
• Groupwork in groups generally leads to beneficial results, but cohesion can interfere with effective leadership and can lead to disastrous decisions.
• Groupthink is a consequence of extreme cohesiveness.
• Cohesiveness refers to the team spirit or ‘we feeling’ or a sense of belongingness to the group, and it is difficult to leave a cohesive group or to gain membership of a group which is highly cohesive.
• Members of a highly cohesive group have a greater desire to remain in the group in comparison to those who belong to low cohesive groups.
• Groupthink is characterised by the appearance of consensus or unanimous agreement within a group, where each member believes that all members agree upon a particular decision or a policy, and no one expresses dissenting opinion because each person believes it would undermine the cohesion of the group and s/he would be unpopular.
• Groupthink is likely to occur in socially homogenous, cohesive groups that are isolated from outsiders, that have no tradition of considering alternatives, and that face a decision with high costs or failures.
• Groupthink is a process in which a group allows its concerns for unanimity to override the motivation to realistically appraise courses of action, resulting in irrational and uncritical decisions.
• In families, there are norms that guide the behaviour of family members.
• Nor ms are group’s unspoken rules.
• Expectations of behaviour are established, agreed upon, and enforced by group members, often referred to as norms.
• In mobs, there is a definite sense of purpose.
• There is polarisation in attention, and actions of persons are in a common direction.
• People join groups for security, status, self-esteem, satisfaction of one’s psychological and social needs, goal achievement, and knowledge and information.
• However in teams, although there is a leader, members hold themselves responsible.
• An audience is a collection of people who have assembled for a special purpose, may be to watch a cricket match or a movie.
• Proximity in group formation means repeated interactions with the same set of individuals give us a chance to know them, and their interests and attitudes.
• There is neither any structure nor feeling of belongingness in a crowd.
• In teams, there is a positive synergy attained through the coordinated efforts of the members.
• Similarity in group formation means being exposed to someone over a period of time makes us assess our similarities and paves the way for formation of groups.
• Behaviour of people in crowds is irrational and there is no interdependence among members.
• Common interests, attitudes, and background are important determinants of your liking for your group members.
• Psychologists have given several explanations for liking people who are similar.
• Members of teams often have complementary skills and are committed to a common goal or purpose.
• Members are mutually accountable for their activities.
• A football team is a group in which members interact with one another, have roles and goals.