How Groups Operate
Intragroup Dynamics
Group Redefined
A collection of two or more people doing or being something
together; they have a common identity; interact frequently
with one another; depend on each other; share common goals,
beliefs, values, and practices; share emotionally powerful
experiences, and feel similar to each other
They may also face a collective outgroup, or rival/enemy
Role Differentiation
Each group member specializes at something, in effect
becoming an expert at their role, and the result is that all
of the jobs are performed by experts
Complementary Roles
The differentiated roles complement each other, so the
joint effort improves total performance, generally
producing better results than simply having everyone chip
in and do the same thing
The State of the Self in Groups
A loss of self-awareness and of individual accountability in a
group, referred to as “deindividuation" can occur
A person's need to balance individual identity and group
belonging is the core of the Optimal Distinctiveness Theory
Intragroup Dynamics - Problems
Social Loafing (The Free-Rider Problem) relates to the
occurrence of individuals reducing effort when working in a
group, compared to when working alone
The Bad Apple Effect occurs when one social loafer causes
others to loaf as well
The Commons Dilemma is the tendency for shared or jointly
owned resources to be squandered
Intragroup Dynamics - Solutions
Altruistic Punishment - a group of people who are all willing to
punish cheaters and free riders will have a safer, fairer system
than a group of people who don't guard their culture
It is altruistic in the sense that the individual sacrifices their
own gain for the betterment of all
The Truth About Brainstorming
Compared against the same number of people working
alone, brainstorming sessions are more enjoyable than
generating ideas alone
However, the output of brainstorming is substantially
lower than that of people working separately in terms of
both quantity and quality
Transactive Memory
Transactive Memory refers to a process by which
members of a small group remember different kinds of
information
What makes a group most effective is if group members
know about what they know and can shift responsibility
for remembering to the best-suited individuals
Groupthink
Groupthink refers to the tendency of group members to
think alike, characterized by a style of thought in which
the group clings to a shared but flawed or mistaken point
of view of the world rather than being open to learning
the truth
Recipe for Groupthink
Ingredients
1.
2.
3.
4.
Cohesive, similar group
Strong, directive leader
Isolation from others
High self-esteem
Procedure
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pressure toward conformity
Appear in unanimous agreement
Retain the illusion of invulnerability
Exude a sense of moral superiority
Underestimate opponents
Risky Shift and Group Polarization
The “Risky Shift" was defined as a tendency of groups to take
greater risks than the same individuals (on average) would
have decided to take individually
This thinking was replaced by the "Group Polarization
Effect", the tendency of a group to be driven toward a
preexisting extreme
The Wisdom of Groups
Groups can be smarter than the smartest individual, but
only if different people contribute different information
to the mix
A group's collective wisdom can exceed the sum of its
individual members, but only if the individual member
have diverse and different views
True Colors