John wants to examine whether social comparison processes help explain why the group polarization effect occurs, beyond the effects of persuasive arguments. He decides to conduct an experiment. John should expose individual group members to ________ to see if group polarization still occurs.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

By exposing individual group members to the positions endorsed by the rest of the group without conveying the specific content of their arguments, John can isolate the effect of social comparison processes on group polarization. This allows him to see if group members are moving toward more extreme positions simply because they want to conform to the group, rather than because of the persuasive arguments presented by other group members.

John Wants to Examine Whether Social Comparison Processes Help Explain