Lesson 3: Individuals in Groups
 When
in groups we act differently
than we would on our own
◦The decisions we make & the
actions we take in groups may
depend less on our personal desires
than on the structure & dynamics of
the group itself
Group Pressure & Conformity
Conformity
 Taking
actions or adopting attitudes as a
result of real or imagined group pressure
 Line test
◦ Subjects in a group were asked to match line
lengths.
◦ Confederates in the group picked the wrong
line.
◦ Subjects went along with the wrong answer
on 37% of trials.
 Declined
since the 1950’s reflecting social
norms
 Varies with cultural norms too
 Regardless of culture, everyone conforms
under some circumstance & for similar
reasons
◦ Identify with the group, want to be liked,
believe the group has knowledge, & is
superior to their own, self interest, to keep
jobs, win promotions, or win votes
 Group
members are often uncomfortable
with deviants & will try to persuade them to
conform
◦ May punish, isolate, or reject them
 Positive- society runs smoothly
 Negative- suppress critical thinking &
creativity
◦ People may deny their private beliefs, agree
with silly notions & even repudiate their
own values
Groupthink
 In
close-knit groups, the tendency
for all members to think alike and
suppress disagreement for the
sake of harmony.
 Occurs when a group’s need for
total agreement overwhelms its
need to make the wisest decision
 Symptoms
of Groupthink:
◦ Illusion of invincibility- group believes it
can do no wrong
◦ Self-censorship- dissenters keep quiet,
rather than make trouble, offend their
friends, or risk being ridiculed
◦Pressure on dissenters to conformleader teases or humiliates dissenters
or pressures them to go along
◦Illusion of unanimity- create the
illusion of consensus
May explicitly order suspected
dissenters to keep quiet
 Key
features of groups that are
vulnerable of groupthink:
◦ Their members feel that they are part
of a tightly connected team
◦ They are isolated from other viewpoints
◦ They feel strong pressure from outside
forces
◦ They have a strong, directive leader
A
main factor in determining whether a
group will fall victim has to do with group
norms
◦ The standards or rules about appropriate
behavior & thought governing members
of the group
 Some groups demand consensus
 Want all members to dress, think, &
behave in the same way
Module 54
Social Influence
Myers in Modules, Module 54
 Others
value innovative or dissenting
views & set norms that call for
independent thinking & action
 Can be counteracted by creating
conditions that explicitly encourage &
reward the expression of doubt & dissent
& by basing decisions on majority rule
instead of unanimity
The Anonymous Crowd
 The
more people around you, the less
likely it is that one of them will come to
your aid
 Diffusion of Responsibility: In organized
or anonymous groups, the tendency of
members to avoid taking responsibility
for actions or decisions because they
assume that others will do so.
 Bystander
apathy- in crowds, when
someone is in trouble, individuals often
fail to take action or call for help because
they assume that someone else will do so
◦ People are most likely to come to a
stranger’s aid if they are the only ones
around to help because responsibility
can’t be diffused
 In
work groups, the diffusion of responsibility
sometimes takes the form of social loafing
◦ Each member of a team slows down, letting
others work harder
 Occurs when:
 Individual group members are not
accountable for the work they do
People feel that working harder would
only duplicate their colleagues’ efforts
 The
challenge of the job is
increased when each member of
the group has a different,
important job to do, the sense of
individual responsibility rises &
social loafing declines
 Extreme
instances of diffusion of
responsibility occur in large anonymous
mobs or crowds where people often lose all
awareness of their individuality
◦ Deindividuation
 More likely to feel this in a large city or
large classes
 Some groups promote deindividuation of
their members in order to enhance
conformity & allegiance to the group
◦ Uniforms & masks- eliminating identity
 Don’t feel responsible for their actions &
are more likely to violate social norms or
break laws than on their own
◦ Sometimes makes people more friendly
Disobedience & Dissent
 Dissent
& altruism (the willingness to take a
selfless or dangerous action on behalf of
others) are a matter a personal convictions &
conscience
◦ There are external influences on a person’s
decisions to state an unpopular opinion,
choose conscience over conformity, or help
a stranger in trouble
 Situational
factors contributing to
nonconformity:
◦ You perceive the need for intervention
or help
Sometimes people willfully blind
themselves to wrongdoing to justify
their own inaction of when the
situation imposes too many demands
on people’s attention
 The
situation increases the likelihood
that you will take responsibility
◦ When you’re in an environment that
rewards independent thinking & dissent
& discourages social loafing, you may
behave accordingly
 Decision
to take responsibility also
depends on the risk involved
◦ People are less likely to take an
independent action if situational risks
are high (need the job)
 Some cultures place a higher value on
helping strangers
 Cost-benefit
ratio supports your decision to
get involved.
◦ Cost of helping or protesting might be
embarrassment or wasted time, lost income,
loss of friends, or physical danger
◦ Cost of not helping or remaining silent
might be guilt, blame from others, loss of
honor, or the injury or death of others
 You
have an ally.
◦ Reassured a person of the rightness of
the protest & their combined efforts
may eventually persuade the majority
 You become entrapped.