Soclal sychology

1oplc 13
Soclal sychology
Soclal sychology sLudles how people Lhlnk abouL lnfluences and relaLe
Lo oLhers
1 Pow do we Lhlnk abouL Lhe soclal world (soclal cognlLlon)
JhaL feaLures do we use Lo form lmpresslons of oLher people
Pow do we lnfer causes of Lhelr behavlor
Pow do we form aLLlLudes
uo we have any consLanL blases ln our lnLerpreLaLlon of soclal evenLs
2 Pow does our behavlor adapL Lo Lhe presence of oLhers
uo we Lhlnk dlfferenLly make dlfferenL declslons perform beLLer when
oLhers are presenL or when we are alone
JhaL ls our behavlor when auLhorlLy flgures are presenL
JhaL lmpllcaLlon do Lhese answers have for Lhe sLrucLure of socleLy
3 Pow do we esLabllsh relaLlonshlp and when are Lhey adapLlve
Pow and wlLh whom Lhese relaLlonshlp develop
Pow ls lL LhaL all socleLles conLlnue Lo reporL subsLanLlal aggresslon
Soclal CognlLlon
Soclal cognlLlon ls Lhe sLudy of how people
use cognlLlve processes such as percepLlon
memory and emoLlon Lo make sense of oLher
people and as well as Lhemselves
llrsL ls Lhe Loplc of person percepLlon whlch
deals speclflcally wlLh how we form
lmpresslon of oLhers
erson ercepLlons Pow uo Je form
lmpresslon Cf oLhers
Je do noL slmply see whaL's ouL Lhere ln
physlcal world our percepLlons of ob[ecLs are
also lnfluenced by our expecLaLlons of whaL's
ouL Lhere
Jhen you encounLer a person for Lhe flrsL
Llme your expecLancles Lend Lo domlnaLed by
obvlous physlcal facLors gender physlcal
aLLracLlveness skln color cloLhlng
erson ercepLlons
hyslcal Appearance
Cf Lhe posslble cues for [udglng people physlcal
appearance produces Lhe sLrongesL expecLancles
Jhy do we rely on physlcal appearance Lo form flrsL
lmpresslon? lL seems raLher shallow Lo [udge a person
1he reason ls slmple when you form flrsL lmpresslon you
use Lhe mosL sallenL lnformaLlon LhaL ls cues LhaL are mosL
dramaLlc and avallable
?ou can'L avold noLlclng race gender and aLLracLlveness
faclal expresslon and posLure
1hese raw maLerlals are comblned wlLh your background
knowledge Lo generaLe expecLaLlon of whaL an encounLer
wlLh LhaL person mlghL be
erson ercepLlons
Soclal schemas
Schemas are general knowledge sLrucLures abouL a
parLlcular Loplc ln memory
Je use schemas Lo help reconsLrucL Lhe pasL and Lo
organlze and lnLerpreL our experlences
Jhen schemas are abouL soclal experlences or people Lhey
are called soclal schemas
Jhen we dlrLy ragged man on Lhe sLreeL your lnlLlal
lmpresslon ls llkely Lo be negaLlve because hls LaLLered
experlence acLlvaLes one of your soclal schemas abouL
people
8oLh Lhe physlcal appearance and behavlor feed lnLo your
exlsLlng soclal schema abouL characLers and once lL ls
caLegorlzed Lhe schema qulckly dlrecLs you Lo alLer your
behavlor accordlngly
erson ercepLlons
SLereoLypes
1he collecLlon of bellefs and lmpresslons held abouL a group and lLs
members
Common sLereoLypes lnclude Lhose based on gender race and age
1he cenLral problem wlLh sLereoLypes ls LhaL Lhey lead us Lo [udge
lndlvlduals on Lhe basls of our expecLancles abouL Lhe group Lhey
belong Lo
roLoLype Lheorles of sLereoLypes assume LhaL we sLore absLracL
represenLaLlon of Lyplcal feaLures of Lhe group we Lhen [udge
parLlcular lndlvlduals based on Lhe slmllarlLy Lo Lhe proLoLype
Lxemplar Lheorles of sLereoLype assume LhaL we sLore memorles of
parLlcular lndlvlduals or exemplars and Lhese lndlvldual memorles
forms Lhe basls for sLereoLypes
1he sLereoLype bellef LhaL 8lack people are aLhleLlc would be based
on lnformaLlon abouL parLlcular lndlvlduals
erson ercepLlons
1he Selflulfllllng rophecy LffecL
Cnce sLereoLype are acLlvaLed we expecL cerLaln klnds of
behavlor from members of Lhe group
1hese expecLaLlons can produce selffulfllllng prophecy
effecL whlch ls Lhe power of expecLaLlons abouL a person's
acLlons Lo cause LhaL person Lo behave ln Lhe expecLed way
lf you expecL some one Lo be unrellable and you acL ln
accordance wlLh your expecLaLlon ( such as snubblng or
avoldlng Lhe person) Lhe chance LhaL fuLure behavlor ls
unrellable may acLually lncrease
1he facL LhaL expecLaLlons can lmporLanLly shape behavlor
has many lmpllcaLlons for socleLy especlally when lL comes
Lo Lhe expecLaLlons generaLed abouL groups and culLures
1he Selffulfllllng rophecy LffecL Cur lmpresslon of how LhaL person behaves leadlng hlm or
her Lo acL ln Lhe expecLed way ln a sLudy by Synder and hls colleagues lf a male LhoughL he
was Lalklng Lo an aLLracLlve female hls conversaLlonal sLyle was raLed more frlendly and
poslLlve buL so Loo was Lhe conversaLlonal sLyle of Lhe female Lelephone operaLor
re[udlce
SLereoLypes can cause us Lo over generallze and focus on Lhe dlfferences
beLween groups (beLween men and women) raLher Lhan acknowledglng
Lhe dlfference LhaL exlsL wlLh ln Lhe group
Jhen bellefs we hold abouL a group are negaLlve sLereoLypes lncrease
Lhe llkellhood of pre[udlce and dlscrlmlnaLlon
re[udlce ls an unreallsLlc negaLlve evaluaLlon of a group and lLs members
ulscrlmlnaLlon ls behavlng ln an unfalr way Lowards members of anoLher
group
esearch has shown LhaL Lhere are Lhree oLher componenL of pre[udlce
besldes sLereoLypes
1 Symbollc bellefs abouL Lhe ouL group ( a group of lndlvlduals LhaL you do
noL belong Lo) 1hese are Lhe bellefs LhaL ouL group vlolaLes essenLlal
LradlLlons and values
2 LmoLlonal responses Lo Lhe ouL group
3 asL experlences wlLh Lhe ouL group
ercept|on Management
lmpresslon managemenL
A person's sysLemaLlc aLLempL Lo behave ln ways
LhaL creaLe and malnLaln deslred lmpresslons ln
oLhers' eyes
Successful ersons
use lmpresslon managemenL Lo enhance Lhelr own
lmages
Are senslLlve Lo oLher people's use of lmpresslon
managemenL
@e process of Impress|on
Management
1wo separaLe componenLs of lmpresslon
ManagemenL
1 lmpresslon MoLlvaLlon
1he moLlvaLlon Lo conLrol how oLher percelves
Lhem
2 lmpresslon ConsLrucLlon
Concerned wlLh speclflc Lype of lmpresslon
people wanL Lo make and how Lhey wanL Lo go
abouL dolng lL
@e Iactors of Impress|on Management
Impress|on Mot|vat|on
Pow much do l care abouL Lhe
lmpresslon l am Maklng?
Impress|on Construct|on
JhaL lmages do l wanL Lo convey?
Pow do l go abouL lL?
Impress|on Management
lmpresslon ManagemenL SLraLegles
1wo baslc Lype of sLraLegles of lmpresslon
ManagemenL
1 uemoLlon revenLlon SLraLegy
1rylng Lo mlnlmlze responslblllLy of some
negaLlve evenL or Lo sLay ouL of Lrouble
2 romoLlon enhanclng sLraLegy
Seeklng Lo maxlmlze Lhelr responslblllLy for a
poslLlve ouLcome or Lo look beLLer Lhan Lhey
really are
Caracter|st|cs of Demot|on
prevent|ve strategy
1 Accounts ALLempLs Lo excuse or [usLlfy
acLlons
2 Apo|og|es
3 D|sassoc|at|on when lndlrecLly assoclaLed
wlLh dolng someLhlng LhaL wenL wrong
Lrylng Lo creaLe lmpresslon LhaL Lhey dld Lhelr
besL buL was Lurned down
Caracter|st|cs of promot|on
enanc|ng strateg|es
1 Lnt|t|ements Maklng sure LhaL lL ls known
Lhrough formal channels lf Lhey Lhlnk Lhey
are noL glven credlL for a poslLlve ouLcome
2 Lnancements erson geLs credlL buL polnL
ouL Lhey dld more
3 Cbstac|e d|scover|es success desplLe blg
obsLacles
4 Assoc|at|on Seen wlLh rlghL people aL rlghL
Llmes
Impress|on Management @act|cs
Tactics Description ExampIe
BehavioraI
Matching
The target of perception
matches his or her behavior
to that of the perceiver
A subordinate tries to imitate his
boss's behavior by being
modest and soft-spoken
because his boss is modest
and soft spoken
$eIf Promotion
The target tries to present
himself/herself in as positive
light as possible
A worker reminds his boss
about his past
accomplishments and
associates with workers who
are evaluated high
Conforming to
situationaI norms
The target follows agreed
upon rules for behavior in the
organization
A worker stays late every
evening even he has completed
all his assignment because
staying late is the norm
Appreciating or
fIattering others
The target compliments the
perceiver. The tactics works
best when flattery is not
extreme
A coworker compliments a
manager on his excellent
handling of trouble some
employee
ALLrlbuLlon 1heory ALLrlbuLlng Causes
1o 8ehavlor
Jhen people asslgn causes Lo behavlors psychologlsL
refer Lo Lhese lnferences as aLLrlbuLlons
ALLrlbuLlons are Lhe lnference process people use Lo
asslgn cause and effecL Lo behavlor
ALLrlbuLlon Lheory alds ln percepLual lnLerpreLaLlon by
focuslng on how people aLLempL Lo
undersLand Lhe causes of a cerLaln evenL
Assess responslblllLy for Lhe ouLcomes of Lhe evenL
LvaluaLe Lhe personal quallLles of Lhe people lnvolved ln
Lhe evenL
Attr|but|ons
Pow people explaln Lhe cause of anoLher's or Lhelr own behavlor
1he aLLrlbuLlon rocess
Informat|on
8e||efs Mot|vat|on
ercelved Causes of 8ehavlor
lnLernal versus LxLernal
8ehavlor feellngs
expecLaLlons
Antecedents facLors
lnLernal Lo Lhe percelver
Attr|but|ons made by Lhe
percelver
Consequences for Lhe
percelver
@ypes of Attr|but|ons
Attr|but|ons
Interna| attr|but|ons
Asslgn Lhe cause of behavlor Lo some
characLerlsLlcs of Lhe person
AblllLy
ersonallLy
moLlvaLlon
Lxterna| Attr|but|ons
Asslgns Lhe cause of behavlor Lo
facLors exLernal Lo Lhe person
1ask dlfflculLy
luck
Interna| Versus Lxterna| Causes Cf Attr|but|on
Cons|stency
1he exLenL Lo whlch Lhe person percelved behaves ln Lhe same manner on oLher
occaslons when faced wlLh Lhe same slLuaLlon
?es conslsLency hlgh
no conslsLency low
D|st|nct|veness
1he exLenL Lo whlch Lhe person percelved acLs ln Lhe same manner ln dlfferenL
slLuaLlons
?es dlsLlncLlveness ls low
no dlsLlncLlveness ls hlgh
Consensus
1he exLenL Lo oLhers faced wlLh Lhe same slLuaLlon engage ln behavlor slmllar Lo
person percelved
?es hlgh consensus no low consensus
e||y's Co var|at|on Mode| of Attr|but|on
Distinctiveness
Does the actor
behave this way
towards other
peopIe
Consistency
Does the actor
behave this way
on other
occasions?
Consensus
Do other peopIe
behave in the same
way as the actor in
simiIar situation?
yes
Distinctiveness
is Iow
Yes
Consistency is
high
No
Consensus is Iow
No
Distinctiveness
is high
No
Consistency is
Iow
Yes
Consensus is high
Interna|
attr|but|on
Lxterna|
Attr|but|on
Attr|but|ons
Attr|but|on Lrrors
Iundamenta| Attr|but|on Lrror
eople have very sLrong Lendency Lo explaln oLher people's behavlor Lo lnLernal facLors and
underesLlmaLe Lhe role of exLernal facLors 1here are Lwo reasons for Lhls
1 Jhen a person ls observed one focus on Lhe person and Lhe slLuaLlon ls slmply ln
background for Lhe behavlor 1hls slLuaLlon leads Lo Lhlnklng LhaL someLhlng wlLhln Lhe
person prompLed Lhe behavlor
2 CLhers are ofLen unaware of Lhe slLuaLlonal facLor LhaL may be responslble for Lhe behavlor
of Lhe person belng observed
@e Actor Cbserver Lffect
1he Lendency of aLLrlbuLlng lnLernal causes Lo fallure/ underachlevemenL of oLhers and of Lhelr
success Lo exLernal causes
Se|f Serv|ng Attr|but|ons
1he Lendency Lo aLLrlbuLe lnLernally Lo one's own success and fallure Lo exLernal causes
Att|tudes
ALLlLudes are evaluaLlve sLaLemenLs elLher favorable
or unfavorable concernlng people ob[ecLs or Lhlngs
ALLlLudes can be characLerlzed Lhree ways
1 1hey Lend Lo perslsL unless someLhlng ls done Lo
change Lhem
2 ALLlLudes can fall somewhere along Lhe conLlnuum
from very favorable Lo very unfavorable
3 1he aLLlLudes are dlrecLed Loward some ob[ecL abouL
whlch a person has feellngs and bellefs
@e @r|component Mode|
CognlLlve ComponenL
1he knowledge and percepLlons LhaL are acqulred by a
comblnaLlon of dlrecL experlence wlLh Lhe aLLlLude ob[ecL
and relaLed lnformaLlon from varlous sources
AffecLlve ComponenL
A consumer's emoLlons or feellngs abouL a parLlcular
producL or brand
ConaLlve ComponenL
1he llkellhood or Lendency LhaL an lndlvldual wlll
underLake a speclflc acLlon or behave ln a parLlcular way
wlLh regard Lo Lhe aLLlLude ob[ecL
1echnlques for effecLlvely managlng
percepLlons and aLLrlbuLlons
8e selfaware
Seek a wlde range of dlfferlng lnformaLlon
1ry Lo see a slLuaLlon as oLhers would
8e aware of dlfferenL klnds of schemas
8e aware of percepLual dlsLorLlons
8e aware of self and lmpresslon
managemenL
8e aware of aLLrlbuLlon Lheory lmpllcaLlons
A $impIe Representation of the Tri-
component Attitude ModeI
Conation Conation
AIIect AIIect
Cognition
ComponenLs of ALLlLude
1he luncLlons Cf ALLlLudes
@e Ut|||tar|an] Ad[ustment Iunct|on
1he aLLlLudes help people Lo ad[usL Lo Lhelr envlronmenL
and are basls for fuLure ad[usLmenL Je Lend Lo maxlmlze
rewards and mlnlmlze punlshmenLs
ALLlLude gulde behavlor Lo galn poslLlve relnforcemenL and
avold punlshers
@e LgoDefens|ve funct|on
Pelp people defend Lhelr self lmages and [usLlfy Lhelr
acLlons
1o proLecL people from baslc LruLhs abouL Lhemselves or
from harsh reallLles of llfe Smokers who hold poslLlve
Loward Lhelr producLs LhaL promlse Lo help a man pro[ecL
macho lmage( Marlboro) may be appeallng Lo hls
lnsecurlLles abouL hls mascullnlLy
1he luncLlons Cf ALLlLudes
@e Va|ue Lxpress|ve Iunct|on
efers Lo how people express Lhelr cenLral values
Lo oLhers 1hls ls also called soclal ldenLlLy
funcLlon 1he expresslon of aLLlLudes may help an
lndlvldual deflne hls or her self concepL Lo oLhers
@e now|edge Iunct|on
some aLLlLudes are as Lhe resulL of a need for
order sLrucLure or meanlng 1hrough Lhls
funcLlon people's aLLlLude form a frame of
reference by whlch Lhey lnLerpreL Lhe world
Pow are ALLlLudes lormed
Mere exposure effecL greaLer exposure Lo Lhe lLem and Lherefore greaLer
famlllarlLy wlLh lL cause people Lo have more poslLlve aLLlLudes Lowards
Lhe lLem
ulrecL poslLlve or negaLlve experlence wlLh an aLLlLude LargeL ls generally
agreed Lo be Lhe slngle mosL lmporLanL facLor affecLlng aLLlLude change
ALLlLudes can be formed Lhrough classlcal condlLlonlng
AdverLlsers generally Lry Lo manlpulaLe how people feel Lowards consumer
producLs by palrlng Lhe producL wlLh some Lhlng pleasurable such as
aLLracLlve model or successful aLhleLe
1hrough lnsLrumenLal condlLlonlng aLLlLudes are lnfluenced by Lhe rewards
and punlshmenL people recelve for Lhelr acLlons
1hrough observaLlonal learnlng we model slgnlflcanL oLhers when lL comes
Lo boLh aLLlLudes and behavlors
eople also use Lhelr peers as reference groups for [udglng Lhe
accepLablllLy of Lhelr behavlors and and bellefs
Pow ALLlLude Change
Central Peripheral
Routes to persuasion
1he LlaboraLlon Llkellhood Model a
declslon maklng approach Lo
persuaslon
ls an approach Lo
undersLandlng Lhe
persuaslon process whlch
lllusLraLes Lhe declslon
maklng paLh Lo bellef
aLLlLude and behavlor
change
1he LlaboraLlon Llkellhood Model
1he CenLral ouLe Lo persuaslon ls when Lhe
consumer has hlghlnvolvemenL lnformaLlon
processlng
1he erlpheral ouLe Lo persuaslon ls when
Lhe consumer has lowlnvolvemenL
lnformaLlon processlng
1he CenLral ouLe Lo ersuaslon
Moves Lhrough Lhe hlgh lnvolvemenL hlerarchy
1he erson aLLends more carefully Lo Lhe message belng
recelved and compares lL Lo hls or her own aLLlLudlnal
poslLlon
Llkely Lo generaLe a number of cognlLlve responses Lo Lhe
communlcaLlon
CenLral Cues refer Lo ldeas and supporLlng daLa LhaL bear
dlrecLly upon Lhe quallLy of Lhe argumenLs developed ln
Lhe message
1he erlpheral ouLe Lo ersuaslon
erson moves Lhrough Lhe low lnvolvemenL hlerarchy
CognlLlve responses are much less llkely Lo occur because
Lhe person ls noL carefully conslderlng Lhe pros and cons of
Lhe lssue
erlpheral persuaslon cues lnclude such facLors as Lhe
aLLracLlveness and experLlse of Lhe source Lhe mere
number of Lhe argumenLs presenLed and Lhe poslLlve or
negaLlve sLlmull LhaL form Lhe conLexL wlLhln whlch Lhe
message was presenLed (eg pleasanL muslc source
aLLracLlveness source LrusLworLhlness eLc)
1ruLh effecL epeaL someLhlng ofLen enough people wlll
come Lo belleve lL
CognlLlve ulssonance
CognlLlve ulssonance occurs when Lhere ls a
conLradlcLlon beLween Lwo aLLlLudes or beLween an
aLLlLude and behavlor
eople experlence cognlLlve dlssonance when Lhey
smoke even Lhough Lhey smoklng mlghL klll Lhem
A baslc assumpLlon of dlssonance Lheory ls LhaL
dlssonance causes anxleLy and Lenslon and Lherefore
moLlvaLes people Lo reduce Lhe dlssonance and relleve
dlspleasure
Cenerally people reduce dlssonance by changlng Lhelr
aLLlLudes and behavlors Lhey some Llmes also
raLlonallze or Lrlvlallze Lhe dlscrepancles
CognlLlve ulssonance
osL ueclslonal ulssonance
Accordlng Lo cognlLlve dlssonance Lheory holdlng poslLlve
aLLlLudes abouL Lwo opLlons buL havlng Lo chose one of
Lhem causes dlssonance'
A person mlghL have Lrouble decldlng whlch unlverslLy Lo
aLLend 1he person mlghL narrow Lhe cholce Lo Lwo
alLernaLlves and Lhen have Lo chose osL declslonal
dlssonance Lhan moLlvaLes Lhe person focus on one
school's poslLlve aspecLs and oLher schools negaLlve
aspecLs
A person leanlng Lowards buylng a mlnlvan raLher Lhan a
car mlghL suddenly Lhlnk of many reasons for ownlng a
mlnlvan Lhan a car
CognlLlve ulssonance
ALLlLude Change
esearch shows one way Lo geL people change Lhelr aLLlLudes ls Lo
change Lhelr behavlor flrsL uslng few lncenLlves as posslble
lesLlnger's ulssonance sLudles
each parLlclpanL performed an exLremely borlng Lask for an hour
1he experlmenLer Lhan pald Lhe parLlclpanLs $ 1 and $ 20 Lo lle and
Lell Lhe nexL parLlclpanL LhaL Lhe Lask was really lnLeresLlng
educaLlonal and worLh whlle
nearly all parLlclpanLs provlded Lhe false lnformaLlon
LaLLer Lhe gulse of a dlfferenL survey Lhe same parLlclpanLs were
asked how worLhwhlle Lhe acLual Lask had been
1he parLlclpanLs who were pald $1raLed Lhe Lask more favorably
Lhan Lhose LhaL had been pald $ 20
Accordlng Lo researchers Lhe effecL occurred because who were
pald $1 had lnsufflclenL moneLary [usLlflcaLlon for lylng 1herefore
Lo [usLlfy why Lhey wenL along wlLh Lhe lle Lhey changed Lhelr
aLLlLudes abouL performlng dull experlmenL Lask
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lesLlnger's ulssonance SLudy
Pow do CLhers lnfluence uS
Croup lnfluence 8ehavlor
l Soclal faclllLaLlon
resence of oLhers enhances faclllLaLlon
oberL Za[onc proposed a model of soclal accepLance LhaL
lnvolves Lhree baslc sLep
1 Arousal
All anlmals are geneLlcally predlsposed Lo become
aroused by Lhe presence of oLhers of Lhelr own specles
slnce oLhers are assoclaLed wlLh mosL of llfe's rewards and
punlshmenLs
2 LnhancemenL of domlnanL response
1hls ls Lhe response mosL llkely Lo be performed
Pow do CLhers lnfluence uS
3 Lnhance or lmpalr performance
1he presence of oLhers lmproves Lhe performance of
slmple Lasks for whlch domlnanL response ls well learned
buL lL lnLerferes wlLh performance of complex Lasks
lf employees are performlng slmple Lask such as daLa base
enLry Lhey mlghL work besL ln a falrly open envlronmenL
around Lhe Lable where each person ls aware of Lhe raLe
aL whlch oLhers are performlng
lf employees are performlng more complex Lask Lhey
mlghL work besL ln prlvaLe offlces slnce concenLraLlon ls
paramounL and an awareness of how oLhers are
performlng ls lreelevanL
Croup lnfluence 8ehavlor
ll Soclal Loaflng
1he Lendency of people Lo work less hard ln a group Lhan worklng alone
1hls occurs when people's efforLs are pooled so LhaL no lndlvldual feels
personally responslble for Lhe group's ouL puL
lf maklng lL clear LhaL lndlvldual efforLs could be monlLored ellmlnaLes soclal
loaflng
lll uelndlvlduaLlon
A phenomena of low self awareness ln whlch people lose Lhelr lndlvlduallLy and
fall Lo aLLend Lo personal sLandards
eople are noL self aware and Lherefore noL paylng aLLenLlon Lo Lhelr personal
sLandards
uelndlvlduaLed persons ofLen do Lhlngs LhaL Lhey would noL do lf Lhey were
alone
Crowd or mob behavlor
eople are especlally llkely Lo delndlvlduaLed when Lhey are aroused and
anonymous and when responslblllLy ls dlffused
loLlng burnlng looLlng eLc
Croup lnfluence 8ehavlor
ConformlLy
1he Lendency of member's oplnlons and feellngs and behavlor Lo move Lowards
Lhe group norm
esearch has conslsLenLly demonsLraLed LhaL people Lend Lo soclal norms
AdolescenLs conform Lo peer pressure Lo smoke
lacLors LhaL lessens group conformlLy
1 Croup slze
lf Lhe group slze ls 3 or less conformlLy ls less
Croup conformlLy ls hlgher for groups havlng 47
ln large groups conformlLy becomes less
2 Any dlssenL from ma[orlLy oplnlon can dlmlnlsh Lhe lnfluence of soclal norms
8uL dlssenLers are Lyplcally noL LreaLed well by groups
1he boLLom llne LhaL groups enforce conformlLy and Lhose who fall Lo go along
are re[ecLed
1he need Lo belong and Lhe anxleLy assoclaLed wlLh Lhe fear of soclal excluslon
glves group powerful lnfluence over lLs members
Croup ueclslon Maklng
Croup olarlzaLlon
Croups domlnanL polnL of vlew whlch ls deLermlned
by Lhe lnlLlal vlew of Lhe ma[orlLy becomes sLronger
and even more sLronger wlLh Llme
Some of Lhe facLors LhaL promoLe conformlLy promoLe
polarlzaLlon
eople wanL Lo be llked by oLher members of Lhe group
so Lhey shlfL aLLlLude Lowards group consensus
lL ls seen LhaL group Lends Lo Lake more rlsk ln Lhelr
declslons Lhan an lndlvldual would Lake Lhls ls called
rlsky shlfL effecL
Croup 1hlnk
1he Lrend Lowards consensus and polarlzaLlon of oplnlons
may also be lnfluenced by a phenomena known as group
Lhlnk
1he Lendency of coheslve group members Lo lose Lhelr
crlLlcal evaluaLlve capablllLles
1he CroupLhlnk conformlLy problem
a deLerloraLlon of menLal efflclency reallLy LesLlng and
moral [udgmenLs LhaL resulL from lngroup pressure"
ressure from lndlvldual members Lo conform and reach
consensus
Croups LhaL are sufferlng from groupLhlnk are benL on
reachlng consensus
no reallsLlc appralsal of alLernaLlve courses of acLlon
uevlanL mlnorlLy or unpopular vlews are suppressed
SympLoms of Croup 1hlnk
1 llluslon of lnvulnerablllLy Lxcesslve opLlmlsm and rlsk
Laklng
2 1here are raLlonallzaLlon by Lhe members Lo dlscounL
warnlngs
3 1here ls unquesLloned bellef ln Lhe group's lnherenL
morLallLy 1he group lgnores quesLlonable eLhlcal or
moral lssues
4 1hose who opposed Lhe group are sLereoLyped as evll
weak or sLupld
3 1here ls a dlrecL pressure on any member who quesLlons
Lhe sLereoLypes Loyal members don'L quesLlon Lhe
dlrecLlon ln whlch Lhe group seems Lo be headlng
6 1here ls selfcensorshlp of any devlaLlon from Lhe
apparenL group consensus
7 1here ls llluslon of unanlmlLy Sllence ls lnLerpreLed as
consenL
8 1here are self appolnLed mlnd guards who proLecL Lhe
group from adverse lnformaLlon
Jays Lo avold groupLhlnk
Asslgn Lhe role of crlLlcal evaluaLor Lo each group
member
Pave Lhe leader avold seemlng parLlal Lo one
course of acLlon
CreaLe subgroups LhaL each work on Lhe same
problem
Pave group members dlscuss lssues wlLh ouLslders
and reporL back