FINAL REVIEW
CHAPTER 12
Groups
•Recap:
•Over the course of human evolution, being kicked out of the group would have had dire
consequences, so people are motivated to maintain good relations with members of
their groups
•Being a member of a group is complex and requires capacity to understand complex and
subtle social rules, recognize when actions might offend others, and control desires to
engage in behaviors that might violate group norms
•Banding together in a group provides numerous advantages, such as security from
predators and assistance in hunting and gathering food
Groups Cont.
•We discussed two conditions that appear to be critical for group formation:
•Reciprocity:
•If Person A helps (or harms) Person B, then Person B will help (or harm) Person A. In other
words, if you scratch my back, I will scratch yours.
•Transitivity:
•Means that people generally share their friends’ opinions of other people. If Person A and
Person B are friends, then if Person A likes Person C and dislikes Person D, then Person B will
also tend to like Person C and dislike Person D.
Groups Cont.
•Outgroup homogeneity effect: the tendency to view outgroup members as less
varied then in–group members
•Social identity theory: the idea that in–groups consist of individuals who perceive
themselves to be members of the same social category and experience pride
through their group membership
•What part of the brain did we discuss that holds the importance for thinking about
other people generally or specifically, whether they are in in–groups or out–
groups?
•Medial Prefrontal Cortex
•Social facilitation: the idea that the presence of others generally enhances
performance
Groups Cont.
•Group Polarization: the process by which initial attitudes of groups become more
extreme over time
•Groupthink: the tendency of groups to make bad decisions when the group is
under pressure, facing external threats, and biased
•Social Loafing: the tendency for people to not work as hard in a group than when
working alone
•Conformity: the altering of one’s behaviors and opinions to match those of other
people or to match other people’s expectations
•Two influences of why we conform –what are they?
•Normative influence: the tendency for people to conform in order to fit in with the group
•Informational influence: the tendency for people to conform when they assume that the
behaviors of others represents the group
Groups Cont.
•Zimbardo study…
