Groups
A group consists of two or more people who interact and are interdependent in the sense that their needs cause them to influence each other (Text).
Other keys factors often in group definitions:
· social roles
· social norms
· group cohesiveness
Types of Groups Based on Lickel et al., 2000)
· Intimacy groups
Families, romantic couples, close friends, street gangs
· Task groups
Teams, work groups, juries, study groups
· Weak association – aggregations of individuals that formed spontaneously
Students in a large class, crowds, clusters of bystanders
· Social categories – aggregations of individuals who are similar in terms of gender etc.
Women, Asian Americans, U.S. citizens, psychologists
Major questions
· Why do people join groups, gangs etc?
· Are groups good or bad?
· How do groups influence their members?
· Are groups more or less effective than individuals?
Burns (2004) - Why People Join Groups
· Groups are sources of meaning and belonging
· Groups are sources of identity
· Groups are sources of information
· Groups help us to accomplish things
· Groups are change agents
· Groups help us to survive
Early observation in social psychology – individuals behave different in the presence of others or in groups than when alone
First published study of a social psychology experiment was by Norman Triplett (1898)
“What change in an individual’s normal solitary performance occurs when other people are present?”
Triplett found that bicyclist's times were 20% faster when racing together than when racing alone.
Triplett believed that the “mere presence” of another person increase the motivation of cyclist
He stated that “the bodily presence of another rider is a stimulus to the racer in arousing the competitive instinct.”
Triplett called his theory “Dynamogenic theory” but later this area of research was called social facilitation by Allport in 1924
Social facilitation is an increase in performance in the presence of others
Triplett’s Method - Children told to wind string on a fishing reel as rapidly as possible wound faster when working with a co-actor than when working alone.
Triplett’s Results - Out of 40 children
20 (50%) were faster 10 (25%) were slower, 10 (25%) same
Research Dilemma - Sometimes the presence of others improves performance and sometimes the presence of others diminishes performance (social interference or inhibition)
The Zajonc Solution -Arousal enhances whatever response tendency is dominant (e.g. behavior during an emergency).
Presence of others increases arousal which in turn facilitates performance on easy tasks for which the dominant response is the correct one.
Yerkes-Dodson Law
Michaels et al. (1982) pool-hall experiment
2 groups of subjects; categorized after unobtrusive observation (good vs. bad players)
2 conditions (alone vs, audience)
Good players get better with an audience; bad players get worse
Other Theories
Evaluation apprehension -The presence of other s leads to assumptions performance is being evaluated, leading to heightened arousal
Distraction-Conflict- The presence of others is distracting, causing attention to be divided between the task and the people. This conflict leads to higher arousal
Group Performance and Social Loafing
Theory of Group Performance (Steiner, 1972)
Performance is dependent upon 3 classes of variables:
Task demands - The procedures necessary to perform a task.
Resources -Relevant possessions of all the people in the group (knowledge, abilities, skills, tools)
Process - refers to the actual steps taken when confronted with a task
The extent that the total sequence of behavior corresponds to the pattern demanded by the task
Steiner’s Law of Group Productivity
Actual Productivity (AP) = Potential Productivity (PP) – Faulty Process losses (PL)
Faulty Process Losses (PL)
· Coordination losses (Lack of synchronization)
· Motivation losses (Lack of recognition or benefit)
Ivan Steiner’s taxonomy of tasks and task demands
Distinguishes between the types of tasks groups perform based on how members’ inputs are combined
Asks three basic questions
· Divisible or Unitary?
· Quantity or Quality?
· Interdependence?
Ringlemann (1882-87)
Kravitz and Martin (1986) wrote “Ringelmann rediscovered: The original article.
Max Ringelmann’s interests lay in determining the relative efficiency of work done by horses, oxen, men, and machinery in various agricultural applications.
What is the best way to pull or push?
He asked male students to pull as hard as they could on a rope attached to a meter that measured the strength of their pulls.
He varied the positions of the pull and the number of people who pulled
Ringelmann Effect- People become less productive when they worked with others
Loss increases as group become larger
Theorized the loss was due to coordination
Ingram and colleagues (1974) conducted the rope pulling study with subjects blindfolded where they thought other subjects were pulling
1 person – 100%
2 persons – 90%
6 persons – 85%
Motivational Loss or Social Loafing - The reduction of effort or motivation by individuals working in groups
Bibb Latane, Kipling Williams, and Stephen Harkins (1979) - “Many Hands Make Light the Work: The Causes and Consequences of Social Loafing”
Latane et al. 1979
Exp. 1 - Clapping and Yelling - They did this either alone or in groups of 2 to 6 people
Exp. 2 - P’s were blindfolded and wore headphones (with static like noise) and asked to cheer as loud as possible. They did this either alone or in groups of 2 to 6 people or in Pseudo groups
Meta-analysis of 49 studies
Some Causes and Cures
· Increase identifiability and evaluation
· Minimize Free Riding
· Groups that set clear, challenging goals
· Increase involvement
· Increase identification with the group
· Keep the group size small