Psychology Chapter on Social Beliefs and Groups

Slide 2: Belief in a Just World

• Belief in a Just World: Many individuals have an inherent need to believe the world is fair. Good people are rewarded, bad people are punished.
• This belief provides a sense of security.
• Random tragedies challenge this belief, creating cognitive dissonance.
• Victims are often blamed for their misfortune (victim-blaming).
• Strong belief in a just world can lead to negative attitudes toward certain groups (e.g., poor, disabled, victims of abuse).
• The Terrible Ending Study (1989, 1999) showed participants blaming victims in rape scenarios.

Slide 3: Groups and Social Roles

• Group definition: Two or more interconnected individuals.
• Social groups: Our evolutionary history has ingrained a strong tendency toward group formation for survival and reproduction.
• Social Identity Theory: Group membership is important for self-concept and esteem.
• Group norms: Expected behaviors for group members.
• Social Roles: Define behaviors for specific group members; these roles can overshadow individual identities (Stanford Prison Experiment).
• Group Cohesiveness: The unity and connectedness within a group.

Slide 4: Social Facilitation

• The Fishing Reel Study (1897): Initial research suggested the presence of others enhances performance on simple tasks (social facilitation).

Slide 5: Social Facilitation

• The Cockroach Study (1965): The presence of other cockroaches improved performance on a simple task, supporting the social facilitation hypothesis. Performance on complex tasks was impaired by the presence of others..

Slide 6: Social Facilitation

• Complex tasks: Presence of others leads to worse performance.
• This implies presence of others causes physiological arousal, which impacts performance. Simple tasks are easier in the presence of others.

Slide 7: Social Facilitation

• Presence of others leads to physiological arousal.
• Arousal improves simple task performance but can hinder complex task performance.
• The impact depends on the complexity of the task.

Slide 8: Social Loafing

• Social facilitation doesn't apply in all contexts.
• Reduced performance when individual contributions are less noticeable. (e.g. cheering in a crowd)

Slide 9: Deindividuation

• Deindividuation: A state of reduced personal identity within a group, leading to potentially destructive behaviors.
• This occurs because people feel anonymous and less accountable, loss of personal identity,
• The Halloween Study (1976) illustrated this when children in costumes took more candy in a de-individualized setting.

Slide 10: Deindividuation

• Reduced accountability: individuals in a group feel less personally responsible for their actions.
• Lowered self-awareness: Focus shifts to group's norms, lessening individual self-awareness.
• Conformity to group norms: Individuals are more susceptible to group norms, even problematic ones.

Slide 11: Group Polarization

• Group polarization: Discussions within a group can amplify existing views making them more extreme.
• Persuasive argument theory: More compelling arguments within a group strengthen the prevailing opinions.
• Social comparison theory: Individuals adjust their views to align with the group's perceived consensus.

Slide 12: Group Polarization

• Stereotype study (2001): Group discussion amplified negative views.

Slide 13: Biased Sampling

• Biased sampling: Groups prioritize commonly shared information, overlooking unique insights.
• This can limit creativity.
• Encouraging diverse viewpoints and comprehensive information reviews by non-directive leaders is crucial.
• The Job Candidate Study (2015): Demonstrated that offering a structured plan, for information intake before discussion can improve decision quality.

Slide 14: Biased Sampling

• Group members failing to recognize unshared information.
• Shared information is addressed early, unshared insights later, missing critical insights.

Slide 15: Groupthink: Antecedents

• Groupthink: a group's desire for cohesion overrides critical thinking, leading to poor decisions.

Slide 16: Groupthink: Symptoms

• Illusion of invulnerability, unquestioned belief in morality, stereotyped views of outsiders, pressure on dissenters, self-censorship, illusion of unanimity, self-appointed mindguards are symptoms of groupthink.