Social Psychology Concepts Group Dynamics and Behavior

group a collection of people who are connected, so they are interdependent to some significant degree social facilitation the effect, pos or neg, of the presence of others on performance zajonc's theory the presence of others increases arousal and consequently enhances the emission of dominant responses dominant response in a person's hierarchy of possible responses in any context, the response that person is most likely to make evaluation apprehension people's concern about how they might appear in the eyes of others, or be evaluated by them social loafing the tendency to exert less effort when working on a group task in which individual contributions cannot be monitored groupthink highly cohesive groups focus more on reaching consensus than the issues at hand (faulty thinking) causes of groupthink shallow examination of info, narrow consideration for alternatives, and sense of invulnerability self-censorship withholding info or opinions in group discussions group polarization the tendency for group decisions to be more extreme than those made by individuals; whatever way the group is leaning, they end up leaning further the elements of power power, status, authority, dominance approach/inhibition theory high power individuals go after goals and make quick judgments; low power individuals constrain behavior and pay attention to others deindividuation a reduced sense of individual identity accompanied by diminished self-regulation when in a big group individuation focusing on oneself leads to enhanced sense of individualism, so people act carefully and accordance with their values spotlight effect people's conviction that other people are paying attention to them more than they actually are need to belong a motivation to bond with others in relationships that provide ongoing, positive interactions communal relationship a relationship in which people feel a special responsibility for one another and give/receive according to the principle of need. Tend to be long term. exchange relationship a relationship that is trade based and often short term; individuals feel no special responsibility for one another social exchange theory a theory based on the idea that how people feel about a relationship depends on their assessments of its costs and rewards comparison level expectations people have about what they think they deserve or expect to get out of a relationship comparison level for alternatives expectations people have about what they can get out of available, alternative relationships equity theory the idea that people are motivated to pursue fairness in their relationships attachment theory the idea that early attachments with parents and other caregivers can shape relationships for a person's whole life anxiety dimension of attachment a facet of attachment that captures the degree to which a person is worried about rejection and abandonment by relationship partners avoidance dimension of attachment a facet of attachment that captures the degree to which a person is comfortable with intimacy and dependence on relationship partners secure attachment attachments rooted in trust and marked by intimacy avoidant attachment attachments marked by discomfort over, or resistance to, being close to others anxious-ambivalent attachment attachment style in which infants become extremely upset when their caregiver leaves but reject the caregiver when he or she returns functional distance the influence of an architectural layout to encourage or inhibit contact between people mere exposure effect the idea that the more you are exposed to something, the more you tend to like it similarity and attraction people tend to become romantically involved with people who are similar social class, educational level, and religious background complementarity the tendency for people to seek out others with characteristics that are different from, and complement, their own halo effect the common belief that attractive individuals possess other positive qualities gender and attractiveness attractiveness is more important for women than for men reproductive fitness the capacity to pass one's genes on to subsequent generations (we've evolved to prefer people investment model of commitment once partners have a romantic bond, they are more committed to each other: satisfaction, no alternatives, and investments in the relationship Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse criticism, defensiveness, stonewalling, and contempt altruism prosocial behavior that benefits others without regard to consequences for oneself social reward a benefit, such as praise, positive attention, something tangible, or gratitude, that may be gained from helping others personal distress a motive for helping others in distress that may arise from a need to reduce one's own distress empathic concern identifying with someone in need, including feeling and understanding what that person is experiencing, accompanied by the intention to help the person volunteerism assistance a person regularly provides to another person or group with no expectation of compensation bystander intervention assistance given by a witness to someone in need diffusion of responsibility a reduction of the sense of urgency to help someone in an emergency or dangerous situation, based on the assumption that others who are present will help pluralistic ignorance a false impression of what most other people are thinking or feeling, or how they are responding kin selection an evolutionary strategy that favors the reproductive success of one's genetic relatives, even at a cost to one's own survival/reproduction