Session 39 Groupthink and Conformity Pressure.ppt

Groupthink and Conformity Pressure

1. Ms. Muskan Sethi
Interpersonal Processes of
Organization
Assistant Professor
School of Liberal Arts (SOLA)
K. R. Mangalam University
Unit IV
Power, Diversity, and Social Influence
​
Ms. Muskan Sethi

2. Session 39
Groupthink and Conformity Pressure
2

3. Groups
What is a group?
Two or more individuals
Who interact with one another
Are interdependent upon one another
Aware of belonging to a group

4. Characteristics of Effective Work Teams
Informal, relaxed atmosphere
Lot of “on-task” discussion (all members participate)
Well-defined tasks or objectives
Group members listen to one another
There IS disagreement
Criticism is frequent, frank, comfortable and constructive
Ideas and feelings are freely expressed
Clear assignments are made and accepted
Group leadership shifts to members from time to time
The group is aware of how it is operating
From Douglas McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise, pp. 232-235. Copyright © 1960

5. Elements of Group Structure
Norms - implicit or explicit rules that regulate the
behavior of group members.
Prescriptive - tell members how to behave.
Proscriptive - tell members how NOT to behave.
Cohesiveness - “forces” that bind group members together
“Cost” of getting into group.
The higher the cost the more attracted and committed we are to the group.
External threats or severe competition
Past history of success
Group size.
Smaller groups are more cohesive

6. Elements of Group Structure
Goal(s) - a desired state of affairs
Direct and motivate group effort
Provide a vision of what the group could/should be
Aid in solving group conflict
Used to evaluate effectiveness of group processes/procedures
Roles - differentiation of function within groups.
Task-oriented roles - focus on getting the group’s job done.
Relations-oriented roles - focus on reducing interpersonal
friction and maintaining good relationships within the group.

7. How Groups Influence Behavior
Group Productivity
Are groups more productive than individuals
Depends upon
Type of task
Social Facilitation
Social Loafing

8. Types of Tasks
Additive tasks
the contributions of each member are combined into a single group
product.
Conjunctive tasks
the groups final product is determined by its poorest performing
member (the weakest link in the chain).
Disjunctive tasks
the groups final product is determined by the best or most
competent person in the group.
Compensatory tasks
the contributions of various members a averaged together to form a
single group outcome.

9. Social Facilitation
Organism
performing
some task
Presence of
audience
or coactors
Social
facilitation
effects
Increased
arousal
Conflict
Tendency to pay
attention to
audience or coactors
Tendency to pay
attention to task
Distraction-Conflict TheoryDistraction-Conflict Theory

10. Social Loafing
1 2 3 4 5 6
Obtained output
Coordination loss
Reduced effort
0
2
4
6
8
10
S
o
u
n
d
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
p
e
r
P
e
r
s
o
n
Group Size
Actual group
productivity
Pseudogroup
productivity
Potential
productivity
Tendency to slack off
when individual effort
cannot be monitored
Latane’, Williams, and Harkins (1979)

11. Making Decisions in Groups
Group Polarization
Groupthink

12. Group Polarization
Risky CautiousNeutral
Group Polarization- tendency to shift toward more
extreme positions after group discussion

13. Groupthink
Groupthink- syndrome of bad decision-making
12.17

14. How Groups Influence Behavior
Conformity
Yielding to social pressure
Factors that influence conformity
Asch studies
Group size (magic #’s 4 & 7)
Group unanimity

15. How Groups Influence Behavior
Form of compliance when people follow direct
commands, typically from an authority figure.
Milgram studies
• Obedience