Deck 8: Group Influence

Question 1

According to Festinger (1954), it is human nature to want to evaluate our opinions by

A) designing everyday tests of validity.
B) engaging in frequent introspection.
C) actively studying the results of scientific research.
D) comparing our views with others.

Answer 1

comparing our views with others.

Question 2

If social arousal facilitates dominant responses, it should boost performance on which tasks?

A) difficult tasks
B) new tasks
C) analytical tasks
D) easy tasks

Answer 2

easy tasks

Question 3

You are in a group with the task of brainstorming a solution to a problem. How could you enhance your group's task?

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Explain the role of evaluation apprehension in both social facilitation and social loafing.

Question 5

"Self-awareness is the opposite of deindividuation."
Explain this statement.

Question 6

People in ________ cultures exhibit less social loafing than people in ________ cultures.

A) individualistic; collectivistic
B) collectivistic; individualistic
C) independent; narcissistic
D) narcissistic; independent

Question 7

In its current meaning, ________ refers to the strengthening of dominant responses in the presence of others.

A) social inhibition
B) informational influence
C) the social facilitation effect
D) the groupthink effect

Question 8

Myers and Bishop (1970) conducted studies where groups of relatively prejudiced and unprejudiced high school students had discussions on issues involving racial attitudes. According to these studies, which of the following is true of the attitudes of students before and after these discussions?

A) The discussions among like-minded students did indeed decrease the initial gap between the two groups.
B) Discussion increased polarization between homogeneous groups of high-prejudice and low-prejudice students.
C) Talking over racial issues decreased prejudice in a high-prejudice group and increased it in a low-prejudice group.
D) Participants evaluated how much the discussion polarized their attitudes, remembering their earlier attitudes as more extreme than they actually were.

Question 9

One effect of deindividuation is

A) a risky shift.
B) increased self-awareness.
C) social facilitation.
D) diminished self-restraint.

Question 10

The concern for how others are assessing us is called

A) social ostracism.
B) deindividuation.
C) evaluation apprehension.
D) the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 11

Marquita favors the death penalty. In discussing this issue with some like-minded classmates, she hears arguments for this position that she has never considered before. After the discussion, her opinion is more extreme. This outcome is best explained by

A) the social comparison theory.
B) the reactance theory.
C) informational influence.
D) counterfactual thinking.

Question 12

A young manager heads a team of 13 members who work together on a technical project. He finds that his team is not able to generate creative ideas lately. According to Brown and Paulus (2002), which of the following should he adopt to enhance group brainstorming in this scenario?

A) Admonish brainstormers "not to criticize."
B) Motivate brainstormers to speak and listen to one another.
C) Encourage group members to express their differences verbally.
D) Have group members interact by writing.

Question 13

People who are made self-aware by acting in front of a mirror or TV camera have been found to

A) exhibit increased self-confidence.
B) behave more consistently with their attitudes.
C) be less thoughtful in analyzing complex social issues.
D) be more vulnerable to persuasive appeals that run counter to social norms.

Question 14

Norman Triplett conducted one of social psychology's first laboratory experiments by asking children to wind string on a fishing reel. The results of the study indicated that the children worked ________ on their fishing reel when co-actors were competing with them in contrast to when they worked alone.

A) uninterestedly
B) slower
C) faster
D) leisurely

Question 15

Summarize Donelson Forsyth's theory (2020) about how groupthink symptoms contributed to group actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question 16

When being observed increases evaluation concerns, ________ occurs; when being lost in a crowd decreases evaluation concerns, ________ occurs.

A) deindividuation; groupthink
B) social facilitation; social loafing
C) groupthink; deindividuation
D) social loafing; social facilitation

Question 17

A girl has a crush on a boy but is afraid to ask him out because she does not think he is interested in her. The same boy has a crush on the same girl but hasn't asked for her phone number because he thinks she'll say "no." This is a case of

A) group polarization.
B) social comparison.
C) groupthink.
D) pluralistic ignorance.

Question 18

Research on brainstorming (Paulus et al., 1995, 2000, 2011; Rietzschel et al., 2006; Stroebe & Diehl, 1994) reveals that people working ________ will generate ________ good ideas.

A) alone; fewer
B) in pairs; more
C) in large groups; more
D) alone; more

Question 19

Describe how normative and informational influence can help us understand group polarization.

Question 20

When people work together in creative teams, one solution is to _____ (Brown & Paulus, 2002; Paulus & Coskun, 2012; Paulus & Korde, 2014).

A) welcome critiques from outside experts and associates
B) alternate group and individual brainstorming
C) admonish brainstormers "not to criticize"
D) focus on solitary brainstorming

Question 21

The fact that people associate mostly with others whose attitudes are similar to their own suggests the prevalence of naturally occurring

A) groupthink.
B) social facilitation.
C) minority influence.
D) group polarization.

Question 22

A young doctor is part of a doctors' team that is operating on a critical patient. Her team decides to follow a shortcut method to avoid blood loss during the surgery. The young doctor is aware of the risks of such a shortcut method; however, she expresses her doubts less quickly than other doctors and gets ridiculed for her dissenting views. The young doctor most likely exhibits ________ in this scenario.

A) a norm formation attitude
B) social comparison
C) pluralistic ignorance
D) a minority slowness effect

Question 23

List and provide examples of each of the three determinants of minority influence.

Question 24

In which of the following situations will deindividuation most likely occur?

A) when individuals lose their sense of anonymity
B) when individuals in a group are completely self-aware of their activities
C) when there is an absence of distracting activities
D) when the group size is large