Transcript Chapter 8 – Groups - the Department of Psychology at Illinois State

Chapter 8 – Groups
Part 2: March 28, 2006
Group Polarization
• Group discussion strengthens members’
initial attitudes  polarization
• Typical Group Study:
– What is the procedure? What is compared?
• Found ‘risky shift’ effect – what is it?
Group Polarization
• Groups strengthen individual’s prior beliefs –
can become more conservative or risky.
• 1. Groups pool ideas that favor dominant
viewpoint.
– How does this happen?
• 2. Social Comparison – compare our views with
others
– How does it affect views?
• Application in book to 9/11
Groupthink
• Janis’ 1972 research – analyzed historical
group decisions
– Pearl Harbor – indications of attack
– Bay of Pigs
• More recent examples?
• Groupthink – tendency of groups to repress
dissenting opinions in favor of group
harmony and cohesion.
Groupthink
• Symptoms of Groupthink –
– 1. Illusion of Invulnerability –
– 2. Belief in Group’s Moral Superiority –
• These 2 symptoms cause group to
overestimate the correctness of decisions.
• 3. Rationalization –
• 4. Stereotypes of Opponents –
• Symptoms 3 and 4 lead group to become
close-minded.
Symptoms 5-8, Pressure to
Conform
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5. Pressure to Conform –
6. Self-Censoring –
7. Illusion of Unanimity –
8. Mindguarding –
Reducing Groupthink
• How can leader change this behavior?
• How can it be reduced via decision making?
• Use of others outside the group?
• Through restructuring the group?
Ch 9: Prejudice
Part 1
Prejudice definition
• A negative prejudgment of a group and its
members.
• Prejudice is an attitude
– Affective component – emotional reaction to a
certain group of people
– Behavioral component – discrimination
– Cognitive component - stereotypes
Stereotypes – Cognitive
component
• Stereotypes – belief about personal
attributes of a group of people.
• Very resistant to change with new info.
– Negative v. positive?
– True v. untrue?
• Use stereotypes because we are
“cognitive misers” –
– What does that mean?
Sports, Race, and Attribution
• Potential abuse of stereotypes –
• We often ignore overlap in distribution of
White/African Amer sports abilities.
• Stone’s experiment – listen to audiotape of
basketball game, focus on “Mark Flick”
– What were the details?
– What were the results?
Stereotype Threat
• Claude Steele – face negative stereotype & fear
you will be evaluated based on that  what is
the result?
• Hard math test to men/women with similar math
abilities 
– How does Steele prompt stereotype threat?
– Results?
• Can we get positive effects of stereotype threat?
– Example of experiment with Asian women
Discrimination – Behavioral Component
• Discrimination - unjustified negative
behavior toward member of a group simply
because of their group membership.
• Math teachers with belief girls aren’t as
good at math as boys –
– Effect on behavior?
• Nature of prejudice is changing…
– Becoming more subtle