7.1-7.6 Groups & Power.pdfvery cool very

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1. Factors That
Influence Behaviour:
Groups & Power
Unit 2 Psychology
Area of Study 1: How are people influenced to behave in particular ways?
Grivas textbook Ch.7, pages 448-471.

Note: some content has been taken from Cambridge & Nelson Psychology textbooks

2. Learning Intentions
(key knowledge from the VCE Psychology Study Design 2023-2027)
We will understand
•the influence of social groups and culture on individual behaviour.
•the concepts of obedience and conformity and their relative influence on
individual behaviour.
•positive and negative influences of different media sources on individual
and group behaviour, such as changing nature of social connections, social
comparison, addictive behaviours and information access.
•the development of independence and anti-conformity to empower
individual decision-making when in groups.

3. Social Influence
Social Influence: how people change their attitudes and/or
behaviour due to the direct or indirect influence of others.
•Influence of others may be real or imagined, due solely to their
presence or a result of others’ actions.

We are constantly influenced by people around us:
•In real life (family, friends, colleagues, teachers, etc.).
•Via the media (influencers, celebrities, news, etc.).
•Through word-of-mouth.

Social Psychology: the scientific study of how people think about, interact
with, influence and are influenced by others’ thoughts, feelings & behaviour.

4. Social Groups
(Social) Group: Two or more people, often with similar characteristics.
In a social group, the group members:
•Influence each other (or have the potential to influence each other).
•Work towards a common goal/interest/purpose.
•Each feel that they are part of the group.
•Example: Sporting team.

Collective/Aggregate: collection of people who exert minimal influence on each
other and don’t interact.


Culture: the way of life of a particular society or community that distinguishes it
from other societies and communities.
•Attitudes, behaviours, customs and values are passed through generations.
•Can be seen as a group, particularly in collectivist cultures.
•In collectivist cultures the group is prioritised (e.g. China, Japan) whereas in individualist
cultures the individual is prioritised (e.g. America, Australia).

5. Cultural Differences

7. ACTIVITY: Group or Collective?
1.People in the same family.
2.Penguins huddled together in the Antarctic winter.
3.People running the Melbourne marathon.
4.A duo of singers.
5.150 VCE students in a school.
6.People playing on a soccer team.
7.23 looters raiding a store during a civil riot.
8.Students sitting in the same Psychology class.
9.Shop owners at a shopping centre.
10.Your friends who sit with you at lunchtime.

8. Status & Power
Status: a group member’s real or imagined level of importance, as
perceived by other group members.
•Higher perceived status often results in greater power.

Power: an individual’s ability to control or strongly influence
thoughts/feelings/behaviour of another person or group.
•Power isn’t always a bad thing.
•Misuse of power can lead to bullying.
•We all try to exert power (influence others) in our lives.
•Most societies, communities, clubs, etc. are built around social
hierarchies that grant some members more power than others.
•There are different types of power.

9. Types of Power

10. ACTIVITY: Pick That Power!
1.tennis coach
2.witness to a crime who refuses to testify
3.clinical psychologist
4.host of a radio talkback show
5.the Pope
6.dog owner
7.parking inspector
8.pilot of a jumbo jet
9.museum tour guide
10.famous actor
11.soccer player with a penalty shot at goal
12.prison guard.

11. ACTIVITY: Pick That Power!
1.tennis coach Expert
2.witness to a crime who refuses to testify Informational
3.clinical psychologist Expert/Informational
4.host of a radio talkback show Referent/Informational
5.the Pope Referent
6.dog owner Reward
7.parking inspector Legitimate
8.pilot of a jumbo jet Expert/Legitimate
9.museum tour guide Informational/Expert
10.famous actor Referent
11.soccer player with a penalty shot at goal Referent
12.prison guard Legitimate/Coercive

12. Stanford Prison Experiment (Zimbardo, 1971)
•Highly realistic prison scenario (real cells!):
•Participants became ‘guards’ or ‘prisoners’;
•Observed how status/power influenced behaviour.

•Guards abused their power; prisoners submitted.
•Experiment was stopped after only 6 days (was supposed to run for 2
weeks).
•Widely criticised for being highly unethical.

•Fundamental Attribution Error: tendency to blame our
behaviour on the situation (rather than on personal faults) but
do the opposite when discussing the behaviour of others.

13. Stanford Prison Experiment - Links
•Official website: http://www.prisonexp.org/
•Includes trailer for film.

•Mini doco (10mins): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRR7CwdHxUE

•Open Uni Overview (9mins): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jdOoxnr7AI

•Zimbardo interview (20:33mins): https://clickv.ie/w/kzDv



*Language warning for all clips.

16. Groupthink
Groupthink: occurs when people’s desire to maintain group loyalty becomes more important
than making the best choices.

Groupthink is most likely to occur when the group:
•Is highly cohesive (everyone feels positive about the group, members are all similar and everyone
feels like they belong).
•Has a strong leader who asserts their authority.
•Lacks procedures to look for alternative views (individuals may lack knowledge and assume the other
group members ‘know better’).
•Is isolated from outside influences.
•Is under time pressure to make a difficult decision (stressful situation).

17. Symptoms of Groupthink

18. Preventing Groupthink

19. Group Polarisation
Group Polarisation: occurs when group discussion results in an
individual member shifting their initial opinion to a more extreme
(polarised) position. Sometimes called Group Shift.
•Polarisation occurs in same direction as initial opinion – the initial view
just becomes more extreme. E.g. initial mild negative towards
something will become extreme negativity.
•Helps to explain the existence of extremist views in society and also the
increased risk-taking behaviour that occurs in groups.

20. Causes of Group Polarisation
There are many explanations for why Group Polarisation occurs.
The table below outlines just a few.

21. Deindividuation
Deindividuation: occurs when a person’s group identity overrides
their individual identity and self-awareness.
•Characterised by reduce self-consciousness, inhibition, feelings of
personal responsibility and inner restraint.
•Two main factors lead to conformity through deindividuation:
•Anonymity: when we feel ‘invisible’ or ‘faceless’, we feel less accountable for our
actions, so will be more willing to participate in activities that we wouldn’t as an
individual.
•Shift in attention: in a group our focus is generally on the group’s activities
(external), rather than our own thoughts or feelings (internal), so we are less
likely to reflect on the appropriateness of our actions.

22. Deindividuation – Zimbardo’s View
Zimbardo suggests that there are
multiple factors that can make
deindividuation more likely to occur
(left image).

He also states that it is not necessary
for all of them to be present in order
for deindividuation to occur.

23. What Do We Know?
•Our attitudes and behaviours are influenced by our social interactions.
•In psychological terms, a social group is two or more people who share a goal and
influence each other (as opposed to a collective).
•Larger cultural groups can also influence behaviour, whether they are collectivist or
individualist.
•Status influences power, which in turn influences behaviour.
•There are six types of power: coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, informational,
referent.
•Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment clearly demonstrated the way that power can
influence behaviour.
•Groupthink occurs when individuals prioritise group loyalty over their own opinions.
•Group polarisation occurs when individuals become more extreme in their views after
discussion with the group.
•Deindividuation occurs when individuals lose their personal identity within a group.

24. Consolidate Your Understanding
○Edrolo 7A https://edrolo.com.au/s/2963024/
(can do textbook or online/link above)