performance in groups social facilitation social loafing collective behavior brainstorming
TRANSCRIPT
Performance in Groups
•Social Facilitation•Social loafing
•Collective behavior•Brainstorming
What is Group Dynamics?
§ Group DYNAMICS Refers to social
FORCES operating on individuals as members of a group
Refers to group processes and the scientific study of groups
Triplett’s (1898) study
§ Triplett Noticed bicyclists performed better when riding with others
Study with children performing simple task either alone or with others.
Results:• Children performed better when in the presence of others compared
to when alone
I. Social Facilitation
§ Enhancement and impairment performance effects resulting from the presence of one or more persons
§ Social facilitation: Performance enhancement
§ Social inhibition: Performance impairment
Social Facilitation a la Zajonc
§ Dominant response: Well-learned or instinctive behaviors that the organism has
practiced and is primed to perform
§ Nondominant response: Novel, complicated, or untried behaviors that the organism has
never performed (or performed infrequently)
§ Presence of others increases our tendency to perform dominant responses
Research Examples
§ Cockroach study (Zajonc et al. 1969) :
Not limited to humans! Cockroaches performed simple or difficult task
• Runway or maze Measured speed when alone or with fellow roaches present Presence of other roaches facilitated performance on easy task
and hampered it on difficult task
Cockroach study
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Simple Runway Complex Maze
OthersAlone
Seconds
Research Examples
§ Pool room study (Michaels et al., 1982)
Players identified as above or below average Research team of 4 approached the table and observed playing Found classic facilitation/inhibition effects
Pool room study
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Above average Below average
OthersAlone
% shotsmade
The Social Facilitation Effect
Perform task inpresence of
audience
Perform task inpresence of
audience
Do not know the task wellDo not know the task well
Know the task wellKnow the task well
PerformanceImproves
PerformanceImproves
PerformanceDeclines
II. Social Loafing
§ Social loafing Members work below their potential when in a
group i.e., people getting lazy in groups
The Social Loafing Effect
High
Low
One personworking alone
Smallgroups
Largegroups
Number of People Working
Am
ou
nt
of
Ind
ivid
ual
Eff
ort
Exe
rted
The greater the number of peoplewho work on a group task, the
smaller the contribution any onemember of the group will make
Research Example
§ Shouting experiment
SS separated into rooms with headphones Led to believe they were shouting alone or with other
people Results:
• Groups of 2 shouted at 66% capacity
• Groups of 6 at 36% capacity
§ People exhibit a sizable decrease in individual effort when performing in groups compared to alone
Ways to Reduce Social Loafing
Identify individual performance.
Form smaller work groups. More task structure and
specialized roles Direct and immediate
feedback Increased personal
involvement Group cohesion
III. Collective Behavior
§ Deindividuation: Loss of sense of individuality. This loss reduces
constraints against "deviant" behavior.
§ Conditions promoting deindividuation When you feel anonymous; unlikely to be caught When environment focuses your attention away
from the self
Collective Behavior
Zimbardo’s (1969) Model of Deindividuation
Output behaviour
Emotional, impulsive, irrational, regressive and extreme behaviour
Uncontrolled behaviourDistorted memory/
perceptionHyper-responsiveness to
immediate surroundingsLiking for groupDestruction of traditional
forms and structures
Input Variables
AnonymityShared/diffused
responsibilityGroup sizeArousalSensory input overloadPhysical involvement in
the actNovel and unstructured
situationsAltered consciousness
through drugs, alcohol
Subjective changes
Decreased self-observation and -evaluation
Decreased Concern for social evaluation
Crowd Reduced self-awareness DisinhibitionReduced accountability
Classic Studies
§ Focused on anonymity and its effects
Research Examples
Ostensible Administration of Electric Shocks to Participant in Adjacent Room (Zimbardo, 1969, Study 1)
Plain Clothes Cloak & Hood
Shock
dura
tion -
->
§ Trick or treat study (Diener et al. 1976)
Children trick or treated alone or in group 1/2 Trick or treating children asked name;
other 1/2 not All children given the opportunity to steal extra
candy
Research Examples
Trick or Treat Study
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Alone Group
IdentifiedAnonymous
% transgressing
Another Account of Collective Behavior
§ Social Identity explanation: In the crowd the person doesn’t lose a sense of
individuality rather the person transitions from a personal identity to a social identity
§ Social identity When social identity is made salient, people internalize
group norms as their own. If group members behave normatively, collective behavior results.
§ KKK vs. nurses study (Johnson & Downing 1979)
Participants identified by name or anonymous Participants wore KKK or nurses costumes Then given opportunity to shock
Research Examples
“Deindividuation Effects” Depend on Normative Cues
Ostensible Administration of Electric Shocks to Participant in Adjacent Room
Unmasked Masked
Shock
Inte
nsi
ty -
->
Klanlike robesNurselike uniforms
Collective Behavior Explanations Compared
DEINDIVIDUATION
§ Cause: Anonymity, arousal, noise, other external factors demanding attention
§ Process: Loss of identity, decreased (self) awareness
§ Outcome: Disinhibition, anti-normative behaviour, suggestibility
SOCIAL IDENTITY
§ Cause: Factors inducing identity salience
§ Process: Transition from individual to social identity
§ Outcome: Normative behaviour, responsiveness to group norms
Brainstorming
§ Brainstorming groups often create fewer ideas than individuals because:
social loafing blocking (because of waiting turns, ppl forget ideas or decide not to
share)
evaluation apprehension social matching (lower standards of performance are matched).
Brainstorming Exercise
§ "Each year a great many Americans go to Europe to visit. Now suppose that Americans want to entice Europeans to come to America. What steps would you suggest to get more Europeans to visit America?"