GROUP INFLUENCE
What is a Group?
-all groups have one thing in common: their members interact. Group: two or more people who interact
and infuence one another
-different groups help us meet different human needs: to afliatee to achieve and to gain social idenity
-3 examples of collecive infuence are: social facilitaione social loafng and deindividualizaion
-4 examples of social infuence in interacing groups are: group polarizaione groupthinke leadershipe and
minority infuence
Social Facilitatoo: how are we afectee by the preseoce of others?
-The Mere Presence of Others:
-‘mere presence’ means that the people are not compeinge do not reward or punish and in fact do
nothing expect be present as a passive audience
-the presence of others improves the speed with which people do simple tasks
-these social facilitatoo effects also occur in animals
-howevere other studies started to reveal that having others around actually hinders performance
-BASICALLYe arousal enhances whatever response tendency is dominant. Increased arousal enhances
performance on easy tasks for which the most likely dominant response is correcte
-on complex taskse for which the correct answer is not dominante increased arousal promotes
incorrect responses
-Crowding: The Presence of Many Others:
-in imes of stresse a comrade can be comforing. Howevere with others presente people may also tend to
get more stressed having others present on complex tasks decreases performance
-the effect of other’s also increases with numbers
-being in a crowd also intensifes posiive or negaive reacions. When they sit close togethere friendly
people are liked even more and unfriendly people are disliked even more.
-BASICALLYe crowdinge had a similar effect to being observed by a crowd: it enhances arousale which
facilitates the dominant response
Why Are We Aroused in the Presence of Others?
-there is evidence to support 3 possible factors:
1. Evaluatoo Appreheosioo: the enhancement of the dominant response is strongest when
people are being evaluated. The self-consciousness we feel when being evaluated can also
interfere with behaviours that we perform best automaically
, 2. Driveo by Distractoo: when people wonder how co-actors are doing or how an audience is
reacinge they get distracted. This arousal comes not from the presence of another person but
even from a non-human distracione such as a burst of light
3. Mere Preseoce: the mere presence of others produces some arousal even without evaluaion
apprehension or arousing distracion. Recall that facilitaion effects also occur with non-human
creatures. This fnding hints at an innate social arousal mechanism common to much of the
zoological world
Social Loafon: Do Ioeivieuals Exert Less Efort io a Group?
Many Hands Makes Light Work:
-contrary to the common noion that “in unity there is strength”. Group members may actually be less
moivated when performing addiive tasks social loafon
-in group condiionse people are tempted to free-riee on the group effort
-to moivate group memberse one strategy is to make individual performance idenifable. Whether in a
group of note people exert more effect when their output is individually idenifable
Social Loafng in Everyday Life:
-researches have found evidence of social loafng in almost every culturee communitye collecivist and
north American
-howevere someimes the goal is so compelling and maximum output from everyone is so essenial that
team spirit maintains intensity and effect (ie. Olympic teams)
-people in groups load less when the task is challenginge appealing or involving
-people also loaf less when they know the members in the group or know they will see them again
Deioeivieuatoo: Wheo Do People Lost Their Seose of Self io Groups?
Doing Together What We Would Not Do Alone:
-groups can arouse peoplee and groups can diffuse responsibility. When arousal and diffused
responsibility combinee and normal inhibiions diminishe the results can be startling
-acts may range from mild lessening of restraint to impulsive self-graifcaion to destrucive
social explosion
-these unrestrained behaviours have something in common: they are somehow provoked by the power
of the group
-people are more likely to abandon normal restraints and to lose their sense of individual responsibility
called eeioeivieuatoo
-circumstances that elicit this response:
What is a Group?
-all groups have one thing in common: their members interact. Group: two or more people who interact
and infuence one another
-different groups help us meet different human needs: to afliatee to achieve and to gain social idenity
-3 examples of collecive infuence are: social facilitaione social loafng and deindividualizaion
-4 examples of social infuence in interacing groups are: group polarizaione groupthinke leadershipe and
minority infuence
Social Facilitatoo: how are we afectee by the preseoce of others?
-The Mere Presence of Others:
-‘mere presence’ means that the people are not compeinge do not reward or punish and in fact do
nothing expect be present as a passive audience
-the presence of others improves the speed with which people do simple tasks
-these social facilitatoo effects also occur in animals
-howevere other studies started to reveal that having others around actually hinders performance
-BASICALLYe arousal enhances whatever response tendency is dominant. Increased arousal enhances
performance on easy tasks for which the most likely dominant response is correcte
-on complex taskse for which the correct answer is not dominante increased arousal promotes
incorrect responses
-Crowding: The Presence of Many Others:
-in imes of stresse a comrade can be comforing. Howevere with others presente people may also tend to
get more stressed having others present on complex tasks decreases performance
-the effect of other’s also increases with numbers
-being in a crowd also intensifes posiive or negaive reacions. When they sit close togethere friendly
people are liked even more and unfriendly people are disliked even more.
-BASICALLYe crowdinge had a similar effect to being observed by a crowd: it enhances arousale which
facilitates the dominant response
Why Are We Aroused in the Presence of Others?
-there is evidence to support 3 possible factors:
1. Evaluatoo Appreheosioo: the enhancement of the dominant response is strongest when
people are being evaluated. The self-consciousness we feel when being evaluated can also
interfere with behaviours that we perform best automaically
, 2. Driveo by Distractoo: when people wonder how co-actors are doing or how an audience is
reacinge they get distracted. This arousal comes not from the presence of another person but
even from a non-human distracione such as a burst of light
3. Mere Preseoce: the mere presence of others produces some arousal even without evaluaion
apprehension or arousing distracion. Recall that facilitaion effects also occur with non-human
creatures. This fnding hints at an innate social arousal mechanism common to much of the
zoological world
Social Loafon: Do Ioeivieuals Exert Less Efort io a Group?
Many Hands Makes Light Work:
-contrary to the common noion that “in unity there is strength”. Group members may actually be less
moivated when performing addiive tasks social loafon
-in group condiionse people are tempted to free-riee on the group effort
-to moivate group memberse one strategy is to make individual performance idenifable. Whether in a
group of note people exert more effect when their output is individually idenifable
Social Loafng in Everyday Life:
-researches have found evidence of social loafng in almost every culturee communitye collecivist and
north American
-howevere someimes the goal is so compelling and maximum output from everyone is so essenial that
team spirit maintains intensity and effect (ie. Olympic teams)
-people in groups load less when the task is challenginge appealing or involving
-people also loaf less when they know the members in the group or know they will see them again
Deioeivieuatoo: Wheo Do People Lost Their Seose of Self io Groups?
Doing Together What We Would Not Do Alone:
-groups can arouse peoplee and groups can diffuse responsibility. When arousal and diffused
responsibility combinee and normal inhibiions diminishe the results can be startling
-acts may range from mild lessening of restraint to impulsive self-graifcaion to destrucive
social explosion
-these unrestrained behaviours have something in common: they are somehow provoked by the power
of the group
-people are more likely to abandon normal restraints and to lose their sense of individual responsibility
called eeioeivieuatoo
-circumstances that elicit this response:
