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