Introduction
Grade 12 Social Psychology Group Influence Lesson
Stage 1
Expected learning
Describe how social structure can affect intergroup relations.
Discuss the circumstances under which conformity, compliance, and obedience are likely to occur.
Stage 1
Essential questions /
big ideas
How do influential professionals get us to do what they want?
Are two heads better than one?
Stage 2
Assessment evidence
and artifacts
Group think – group activity
Teacher observations and notes
Exit slips
Journal entry
Stage 3
Lesson outline
Activate
We have all heard the saying “two heads are better than one” well then I guess three, four, or five is
even better, right?
Acquire
I will have a PowerPoint presentation based on the chapter Groupthink – Many heads one mind p.
251, from the textbook Social Psychology Fifth Canadian Edition. I will explain what it is, antecedents
of groupthink, what the symptoms or "warning signs" of groupthink are, how it creates defective
decision making, what are some groupthink examples in schools, I will have a funny video from
YouTube from the movie Mean Girls with an example of groupthink, and the final slide will be ways to
avoid the groupthink trap.
Apply
To apply the new learning I will use a fun activity that involves handing out candy lollipops for a group
task and the instructions are:
 All group members are colleagues who have worked together for many years who like and
respect each other
 Groups must come to consensus on which flavor to promote as the company’s best tasting
lollipop
 One group member assumes the leadership role and is very fond of cherry lollipops
 One group member acts as dissenter who favors mango lollipops and thinks it’s the new cherry
 What are you waiting for let’s start disagreeing!
After a set amount of time we can go around the groups and see how they were able to make
decisions based on the instructions. It’s difficult to come up with a consensus with this activity but
students will get the idea in this very simplistic example of groupthink in that the decision of what flavor
lollipop to promote is interchangeable with any decisions that groups have to make and what are some
good discussion processes that will help them to avoid the groupthink phenomenon.
Assess
In class students will write a quick exit slip on the question “What are some things you can do to avoid
groupthink?” I will use this as a guide to check for consolidated learning. Outside of class students will
reflect on this experience with groupthink and write a journal entry for this day which I will use the
journal entry as a formative assessment piece, and the complete journal as a summative piece. I will
use teacher observations and make notes of student group work.