Transcript Group Dynamics

Group Dynamics
Group Dynamics
• How individuals affect groups and how groups
affect individuals
• Size of the group is significant
– Dyad- 2 ppl smallest most fragile of all human
groupings
– Triad- 3 ppl bond between 2 of the members is
stronger, someone left out
– As more members are added stability increases
but intimacy decreases
Effects of Group Size on Behavior
• As it grows there is a diffusion of responsibility
– Think about group work, the more people in the
group the less you actually have to do
• As it grows, the group loses it sense of
intimacy
– Group becomes more formal
• As it grows, group tends to divide into smaller
groups
– cliques
Group Leaders
• People who influence the behavior, opinions,
or attitudes of others
• Who becomes a leader?
– People who are perceived by group members as
strongly representing their values or as able to
lead a group out of a crisis
Types of leaders
• 2 types of leaders:
– Instrumental (task-oriented)- try to keep the group
moving toward its goal
– Expressive (socioemotional) those who are less likely to
be recognized as leaders but help with the group’s
morale
• 3 types of leadership styles:
– Authoritarian leaders- those who give orders and don’t
explain why they praise or condemn a person’s work
– Democratic leaders- those who try and gain a consensus
by explaining proposed actions, suggesting alternative
approaches and giving facts as the basis for evaluation
– Laissez-faire leaders- those who are passive and give the
group almost total freedom to do as they wish
Which style do you think is the
best?
Brain Teaser
• Lets try a little brain teaser!!!
Results
• Of the fifty people tested, 33 percent always
gave the incorrect answers at least half of the
time because of peer pressure, even though
they knew the answers were wrong. Only 25
percent always gave the right answer despite
the peer pressure.
Peer Pressure
• A study by Dr. Soloman Asch indicated that
people are greatly influenced by peer pressure
• The group is so powerful that most people are
willing to say things that they know are not
true just to go along
Think about these question:
• If the leader of your “clique” asked you to
post a rumor on someone’s facebook wall,
would you?
• If the leader of your “clique” asked you to
fight someone, would you?
• If the leader of your “clique” asked you to
execute someone would you?
Milgram Experiment
Power of Authority
• Groupthink- coined by Irving Janis to refer to
the collective tunnel vision that group
members sometimes develop
– As they begin to think alike, they become
convinced that there is only one “right” viewpoint
and a single course of action
– Comes with great consequences
• Post 9/11 and Guantanamo Bay
New Essay Questions (10 points)
• Identify your in-groups and your out-groups.
How have your in-groups influenced the way
you see the world? And what influence have
your out-groups had on you?
• Milgram’s and Asch’s experiments illustrate the
power of peer pressure. How has peer
pressure operated in your life? Think about
something that you did not want to do but did
anyway because of peer pressure.