PYC3701
CHAPTER 11 – GROUPS AND
INDIVIDUALS
Key Term Explanation Pg.
Cohesive group One where there are strong bonds among 376
the members
Group Involves people who perceive themselves to 378
be part of a coherent unit that they see as
different from another group
Common-bond groups Individuals in the group are bonded to each 378
other
Common-identity groups Members are linked via the category as a 378
whole
Feeling rules Expectations about the emotions that are 381
appropriate to express
Cohesiveness All the forces that cause members to remain 383
in the group
Self-enhancement Boosting one’s own public image 385
Ideology The philosophical and political values of a 387
group
Social facilitation The effects of the presence of others on 391
performance
Additive tasks Ones in which the contributions of each 393
member are combined into a single group
output
Social loafing Reductions in effort when individuals work 393
collectively compared to when they work
individually
Conflict A process in which individuals or groups 396
perceive that other have taken actions
incompatible with their own interests
Social embeddedness A sense of knowing the reputation of the 396
other parties involved, often by knowing
someone else who knows them
Cooperation Helping that is mutual, where both sides 396
benefit
Negative Where if one person obtains a desired 398
interdependence outcome, others cannot
Faulty attribution Errors concerning the causes of others’ 399
behaviour
Group think Strong tendency for decision-making groups 407
to “close ranks” around a decision, to
assume that the group cannot be wrong,
with pressure for all members to support the
decision strongly
, Emergent group norms Norms suggesting that the group is 407
infallible, morally superior
Groups: When We Join and When We Leave
Groups are collections of people who perceive themselves as forming a
cohesive unit to some degree
Common-bond groups:
o Tend to involve face-to-face interaction
o The individuals in the group are bonded to each other
o Players on a sports team
Common-identity groups:
o Members are linked via the category as a whole rather than to each
other with face-to-face interaction often being entirely absent
o Gender, university, language
Groups can differ on their entitativity – the extent to which they are perceived
as a coherent whole
o Can range from a mere collection of individuals who happen to be in
the same place at the same time and have little or no connection with
one another
o The other end would be members of intimate groups such as families
o Groups high in entitativity tend to have the following characteristics:
Interact with one another often, not necessarily face-to-face
The group is important in some way to its members
Share common goals
Members perceive themselves as similar to one another in
important ways
o Highly entitative groups are more likely to be stereotyped
People even use different language to describe entitative groups
compared to those low in entitativity
Abstract language is used to imply that high entitativity groups
are enduring and that they possess distinct characteristics that
differentiate them from other groups
Groups: Key Components
Status:
o Hierarchies in groups
o Many groups have hierarchies, with members differing in status – their
rank within a group
o Official or unofficial
o High status confers important advantages on those who possess it
o Physical attributes may play a role
Those who are taller are held in higher esteem
o Factors relating to individuals’ behaviour also play a critical role
People are seen as prototypical by embodying the group’s
central attributes and are particularly likely to be accorded status
and be selected as a leader of a group
o Longevity or seniority also plays a role
o People with high status behave differently
CHAPTER 11 – GROUPS AND
INDIVIDUALS
Key Term Explanation Pg.
Cohesive group One where there are strong bonds among 376
the members
Group Involves people who perceive themselves to 378
be part of a coherent unit that they see as
different from another group
Common-bond groups Individuals in the group are bonded to each 378
other
Common-identity groups Members are linked via the category as a 378
whole
Feeling rules Expectations about the emotions that are 381
appropriate to express
Cohesiveness All the forces that cause members to remain 383
in the group
Self-enhancement Boosting one’s own public image 385
Ideology The philosophical and political values of a 387
group
Social facilitation The effects of the presence of others on 391
performance
Additive tasks Ones in which the contributions of each 393
member are combined into a single group
output
Social loafing Reductions in effort when individuals work 393
collectively compared to when they work
individually
Conflict A process in which individuals or groups 396
perceive that other have taken actions
incompatible with their own interests
Social embeddedness A sense of knowing the reputation of the 396
other parties involved, often by knowing
someone else who knows them
Cooperation Helping that is mutual, where both sides 396
benefit
Negative Where if one person obtains a desired 398
interdependence outcome, others cannot
Faulty attribution Errors concerning the causes of others’ 399
behaviour
Group think Strong tendency for decision-making groups 407
to “close ranks” around a decision, to
assume that the group cannot be wrong,
with pressure for all members to support the
decision strongly
, Emergent group norms Norms suggesting that the group is 407
infallible, morally superior
Groups: When We Join and When We Leave
Groups are collections of people who perceive themselves as forming a
cohesive unit to some degree
Common-bond groups:
o Tend to involve face-to-face interaction
o The individuals in the group are bonded to each other
o Players on a sports team
Common-identity groups:
o Members are linked via the category as a whole rather than to each
other with face-to-face interaction often being entirely absent
o Gender, university, language
Groups can differ on their entitativity – the extent to which they are perceived
as a coherent whole
o Can range from a mere collection of individuals who happen to be in
the same place at the same time and have little or no connection with
one another
o The other end would be members of intimate groups such as families
o Groups high in entitativity tend to have the following characteristics:
Interact with one another often, not necessarily face-to-face
The group is important in some way to its members
Share common goals
Members perceive themselves as similar to one another in
important ways
o Highly entitative groups are more likely to be stereotyped
People even use different language to describe entitative groups
compared to those low in entitativity
Abstract language is used to imply that high entitativity groups
are enduring and that they possess distinct characteristics that
differentiate them from other groups
Groups: Key Components
Status:
o Hierarchies in groups
o Many groups have hierarchies, with members differing in status – their
rank within a group
o Official or unofficial
o High status confers important advantages on those who possess it
o Physical attributes may play a role
Those who are taller are held in higher esteem
o Factors relating to individuals’ behaviour also play a critical role
People are seen as prototypical by embodying the group’s
central attributes and are particularly likely to be accorded status
and be selected as a leader of a group
o Longevity or seniority also plays a role
o People with high status behave differently
