Post on 15-Jan-2016
GROUP DYNAMICS
What is a group?
Nonsocial Social
Are groups better than individuals?
Nonsocial groups: Social facilitation—do better on easy tasks
and worse on hard tasks For children winding fishing wire (Triplett,
1897) Adults doing various tasks And even cockroaches
Why? Arousal Evaluation apprehension Distraction
Zajonc (1969):
Easy Difficult0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Seconds for roaches to run maze
Alone Audience
Social groups
Social loafing—put in less effort for group tasks Ringelmann, 1880 Over 150 tasks Women and Asians tend to do less, at least on
easier tasks BUT People think they are doing as much or more
as when they are alone
Latane, Williams, and Harkins (1979)
Sat participant in a group of 6 people… Blindfolded participant
and had them put on headphones
Played clapping or shouting over headphones
I.V. thought they were making noise alone or with 5 others
Results: 1/3 less noise when they thought others were also making noise
What if people are just coming up with ideas?
Brainstorming1. The more ideas better2. the wilder and more creative the better
3. listen, improve, and combine4. don't be critical of self or others
Come up with ideas to improve KNU
Problems with brainstorming
Evaluation apprehension Social loafing Productivity blocking Category activation
So why is brainstorming still popular?
Reasons “Debate” instructions—do criticize—
seems to work better Brainstorming alone and then together
can also work Electronic brainstorming
What about group cohesion?
Cohesive groups do better on tasks that require a lot of cooperation
Doing well or being less diverse can make groups more cohesive
BUT Cohesion can cause elements of
groupthink
Groupthink
When retaining group solidarity becomes more important than getting the right answer
Group is highly cohesive Group is isolated from outside points of view There is a directive leader There is high stress There are poor decision making procedures http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/FIS/Courses/LIS21
49/Groupthink.html
Groupthink
Groups are less likely to listen to outside influences than are individuals (reading for today).
To avoid groupthink
Leader should be impartial Group should seek outside opinions Create small groups then come back
together Get opinions anonymously
At least groups have more information, right?
Diverse groups can be good because more people have different types of information
BUT people tend not to share unique information in group discussions
People focus on the information that they all know in the discussions, leading to poorer decisions
Should Wendy Try to Get Her Degree at Cal Tech?
Wendy is a college senior planning her graduate work in chemistry. She has been admitted to a university that has very rigorous standards of excellence so that only a fraction of the students succeed in getting their PhD’s. She could also go to a school with a lesser reputation but where most students succeed. What is the LOWEST probability Wendy should accept of getting a degree before deciding to go to school at Cal Tech, the top university?
1 in 10 6 in 10 2 in 10 7 in 10 3 in 10 8 in 10 4 in 10 9 in 10 5 in 10 10 in 10
Are groups less extreme?
No, groups tend to come up with more extreme opinions than individuals do
Why? Social comparison—want to be like others Persuasive arguments—people talk more
about shared information May happen even more now that it’s
easier to seek out confirming information
Is the anonymity of groups good?
What would you do if you could be invisible for a day?
Deindividuation can make people feel less personally responsible.
Zimbardo prison study example: http://www.prisonexp.org/
People become more obedient to group norms
So, it depends on the norm. Wearing disguises vs. nurse uniforms What about the internet?
Is there any time groups are clearly better?
Transactive memory—the memory of groups is better than that of individuals
What makes a good leader?
Personality doesn’t seem to affect much (other than being tall)
Leaders can be task or relationship oriented
Which is better depends on type of task and relationship between group and with leader
Transformational leaders
International study of managers
Over 17,000 managers in 62 countries 2 seemed to be important across
countries Charisma Team-orientation
Lost on the Moon Task