Week 8 - Groups Deindividuation & Leadership.pdf

2023-11-02 PSYC 1400 WEEK 8: GROUP INFLUENCES, DEINDIVIDUATION & LEADERSHIP 1 Class Outline      Mere presence: how does it affect us?  Social facilitation & social loafing Group intensity: risky shift & polarization  Research: the novel decision; stock options Groupthink  Causes and con...

2023-11-02 PSYC 1400 WEEK 8: GROUP INFLUENCES, DEINDIVIDUATION & LEADERSHIP 1 Class Outline      Mere presence: how does it affect us?  Social facilitation & social loafing Group intensity: risky shift & polarization  Research: the novel decision; stock options Groupthink  Causes and consequences Deindividuation & mob mentality Leadership  Traits  Types  Transformational 2 1 2023-11-02 Mere Presence  How are you affected by the mere presence of other people?  Does having people around you facilitate better performance, or make you perform worse?  Why might we find differential effects? 3 Social Facilitation  Do you get more work done when you have other people present, or less? What about your performance on a specific task – do others motivate us or distract us?  Does competition make you succeed or fail?  Why does it sometimes help and sometimes hurt our performance?  Does it depend on what task you’re trying to do??? 4 2 2023-11-02 Social Arousal  Simply being in the presence of others creates social arousal  What’s that?  Social arousal (which is both physiological and psychological in nature) facilitates/strengthens the dominant response 5 Social Arousal: Effects  Social arousal leads to improved performance on tasks that are well-learned or simple  Social arousal leads to worsened performance on tasks that are new or complex  Robust finding in both humans and many animal species  Why? 6 3 2023-11-02 So What Leads to Social Arousal?  Evaluation Apprehension  We are more aware of ourselves when we think others are evaluating us  Drawing attention to ourselves (self-consciousness) can interfere with performance, even on simple tasks  What are some real-world examples of this that you can think of? 7 Opposing Effects of Social Influence  Is there strength in unity?  Do “many hands make light work”?  In team-based activities, are people really contributing more than the “sum of their parts”? 8 4 2023-11-02 Social Loafing  Social facilitation occurs primarily when we are trying to achieve individual outcomes  Does this same effect translate into group efforts?  A: NO  Social loafing is more likely to occur  What do you think social loafing means? 9 Social Loafing  When in groups, people produce less total output than what would be achieved if each person worked individually  When people know they’re not being evaluated individually, they’re quite happy to become “free riders”  When we are lost in a crowd, evaluation apprehension decreases, therefore we get social loafing instead of social facilitation 10 5 2023-11-02 What Factors Make Loafing Less Likely?  When the task is appealing, challenging or otherwise involving  When the group are our friends or people we have to interact with often  When there is a valuable reward for group success 11 Groups and Decision Making  When you’re part of a group, do you find that your decisions and actions are different than how you would think/behave if left to your own devices?  In what ways does “going along with the group” influence your decision-making in particular? 12 6 2023-11-02 Group Exercise #1  What advice would you give in this situation?  Helen is a writer who is said to have considerable creative talent but who so far has been earning a comfortable living by writing cheap western novels. Recently she has come up with an idea for a potentially significant novel. If it could be written and accepted, it might have considerable literary impact and be a big boost to her career. On the other hand, if she cannot work out her idea of if the novel is a flop, she will have wasted considerable time and effort with no payoff.  What is the lowest probability of success you would advise Helen to consider? 13 Helen should attempt to write the novel if the chances of success are…  Indicate the lowest acceptable probability of success:  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 14 7 2023-11-02 The “Risky Shift” Phenomenon and Group Polarization • Stoner (1961) found that groups make riskier decisions than do individuals – e.g., Helen scenario •Later found not to be universal (depends on how the risk is viewed by the group members – e.g., Roger scenario) 15 Group Exercise #2  Roger is a young married man with two school aged children and a secure but low paying job. He can afford the necessities, but few luxuries. He hears that the stock of a relatively unknown company may soon triple in value if its new product is favorably received or decline considerably if it does not sell. Roger has no savings. To invest in the company, he is considering selling his life insurance policy.  Advice to Roger to sell his life insurance and invest in the stock (same odds as the Helen scenario)  E.g., if the stock’s chance of success are 1/10, 2/10….up to 10/10 16 8 2023-11-02 Group Polarization: Roger Scenario • Group polarization found instead: • Group-produced enhancement of members’ preexisting tendencies: whether risky or cautious • Polarization = A strengthening of the group members’ average tendency 17 Group Polarization Experiments 18 9 2023-11-02 Naturally Occurring Group Polarization  Group polarization in communities  Gang delinquency  “Landslide” elections  Group polarization on the internet  Virtual groups  Terrorist/extremist groups  Based on shared grievances  Isolated from moderating influences 19 Explaining Group Polarization  Informational influence  Results from believing that others have the information we need to make correct decision  Normative influence  Influence based on a person’s desire to fit in with the group  Social comparison 20 10 2023-11-02 Groupthink WHAT LEADS GROUPS TO MAKE BAD DECISIONS? 21 Groupthink  Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome 22 11 2023-11-02 Groupthink  …in other words, a group will talk itself into making a bad decision, in the interest of consensus or group harmony 23 The Causes and Consequences of Groupthink  According to Janis, groupthink may occur when there is:  an amiable, cohesive group  relative isolation of the group from dissenting viewpoints a directive leader who signals what decision he or she favours A “provocative” context  high external threat  previous failures experienced by the group 24 12 2023-11-02 Symptoms of Groupthink • Illusion of invulnerability • Unquestioned belief in the group’s morality • Rationalizing warnings • Stereotyped view of opponent • Conformity pressure • Self-censorship of misgivings • Illusion of unanimity • “Mindguards” (e.g., deadlines) 25 Groupthink: Defective Decision Making  Alternatives not fully explored  Ignoring risks  Meagre information search  Biased information processing  No contingency planning 26 13 2023-11-02 Groupthink in Action  The decision by NASA to launch the space shuttle Challenger in 1986, despite warnings from engineers that the o-rings in the thrusters might fail 27 Groupthink: Everest Disaster  The 1996 Everest Disaster occurred on May 10, 1996 when four groups of climbers set out to summit Mount Everest – one group led by Rob Hall of Adventure Consultants, another led by Scott Fischer of Mountain Madness, an expedition organized by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and a Taiwanese expedition. The day would turn out to be the single most disastrous event in the mountain’s history, killing 8 and injuring others after an unexpected blizzard ravaged the climbers, trapping them high on the mountain.   https://basecampmagazine.com/2016/12/31/the-1996-everestdisaster-the-whole-story/ So what factors led to the tragedy? 28 14 2023-11-02 Some Important Facts (Beyond the Weather)  There were two rival expedition groups attempting the ascent that day  The teams were not overly cooperative with one another  Both groups had experienced failures previously  There were influential people present (a reporter and wealthy socialite were part of the climb)  Both groups had high profile, commanding leaders  Teams had decided that 2pm was the absolute latest “turn back” time, whether they had reached the summit or not… 29 Preventing Groupthink: Tips • Be impartial • Subdivide group and reunite to air differences • Encourage critical evaluation • Welcome critiques from outside experts • Call a “second chance” meeting 30 15 2023-11-02 Deindividuation GETTING LOST IN THE CROWD 31 Deindividuation  Why do riots occur?  What leads to “mob mentality”?  Deindividuation: forgetting ourselves in a crowd – we abandon our normal restraints and lose sight of our individual identity  Why?  Combination of social arousal and diminished responsibility 32 16 2023-11-02 Factors Contributing to Deindividuation  Crowd size and visibility  Anonymity  Activities that distract and/or emotionally arouse the crowd  Diminished self-awareness 33 Self-Awareness  Self-awareness is the opposite of deindividuation  Self awareness increases:  When an individual is acting in front of a mirror (private self-awareness)  In small towns (public self-awareness)  When name tags are used (public self-awareness) 34 17 2023-11-02 Leadership TRAITS, TYPES, STYLES 35 Leadership: A Form of Minority Influence?  Leadership defined: the process of guiding and motivating groups of people  Two types: task vs social  Task leadership: directive, goal oriented, order-driven  Strengths:  stay focused on a mission; high achievement Social leadership: democratic, communication driven, team oriented  Strengths: collaborative, creative, avoid groupthink 36 18 2023-11-02 Leadership: Trait Perspective  Are there certain personality traits associated with great leaders? If so, what are they?  So is there a “personality profile” of a great leader?  Do these traits predict leadership success in all contexts?  Why or why not? (What are the exceptions to the rule?) 37 Leadership Styles  Transactional  Rewards and punishments – i.e., using extrinsic motivation to guide performance  Autocratic  My  way or the highway – leadership must not be questioned Democratic  Collaborative style – everyone’s input is solicited, but leader has final say  Laissez-faire  Absentee leadership – letting people “do their own thing” 38 19 2023-11-02 Transformational Leadership  Visionary leaders who motivate others to share in and commit themselves to the group’s mission  Not motivated by self-interest or personal gain, although they are generally charismatic and benefit from their subordinates’ output  Transformational leaders:  Articulate high standards  Are inspirational  Offer personal attention to subordinates 39 And that’s it for new material…  Next week is Test 2: in class  Same test format, timing and rules about late arrivals  Test review? 40 20