Topic Topics On Social Psychology

Dale, O. S. (2009). Human behavior and the social environment: Social systems theory (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Person.

Within social psychology there are areas of behaviour which psychologists have been particularly interested in. These areas include conformity, obedience and social facilitation to name a few. Two key studies within the areas of obedience and conformity were carried out by Milgram and Asch (Billingham, Ladbrook, Standring & Teahan, 2008).

According to Irving Janes (1972), groupthink occurs when a group makes an irrational decision because of group pressure fostering and the deterioration of ‘mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgement” (Irving, Janis, Victims of groupthink, p.9). Social influence is the effect that people have upon the beliefs or behaviors of others (Aaronson, 2004). Both groupthink and social influence theory have a factor in what

Human behavior is impacted greatly by race and ethnicity. Human behavior can easily be affected by stereotypes, discrimination, and

Chapter 12 social psychology cover how we affect one another’s behaviors. Culture, stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination attitude, and interpersonal attraction are all factors that contribute to behavior in a social setting. Understanding how we influence one another on a social level forces us to look at not only ourselves, but also look at how others affect the world we live in and why it is important to be able to identify these influences and the impact they have on our behaviors good or bad

There are two threats to team effectiveness. First, the Asch effect, when an individual’s judgement is distorted by an incorrect but unanimous opposition, and second, group think, when a cohesive in-group members choose unanimity over appraisal of alternative courses of action (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, pp. 290, 292). Diversity is important to mitigate the Asch effect and group think.

In my work, we absolutely rely on a group of people from different departments in order to make proper informed decisions. Since I work in the healthcare field, all of our decisions are determined keeping the safety and care of our patients in mind first. I could not imagine making a decision that could negatively impact patient care without using all of the proper resources to gather all of the required information so that an informed decision could be made. It is important in any decision making to be as well informed as possible, be aware of any potential risks, and being prepared for contingencies if the result of the decision is not a favorable one. I have seen some not so extreme “groupthink” decisions made, and sometimes they work out and no harm is done. However, in many cases, I have seen negative results that have impacted patient care, caused a lot of unnecessary work for other people, and created safety and compliance issues. This is not to imply that bad decisions cannot be made even when not employing groupthink. The difference is the effort and the intent behind those decisions, and whether or not the consequences and risks were analyzed and acted upon in a moral and ethical

If a person’s actions disturb the group’s cohesiveness, he will feel guilty and as though his behavior is not positive, even if it was intended to be. Conformity, which is a factor involved in groupthink, is when a person alters his behavior to accord with the socially accepted standards, while groupthink is when the desire of group members to reach an amicable consensus hinders good decision-making and progress. In a 1951 experiment on conformity by Solomon Asch, a group of people, in which all but one participant were confederates to the study, were asked to judge the length of lines. The confederates all answered incorrectly, and at least 75 percent of the actual subjects conformed to using the incorrect answer. In attempt to study groupthink, psychologist Irving Janis researched the United States’ decision to invade Cuba in 1961 with a very meager force, a terrible decision made by an excellent group of people. All of the people in this group, although knowing it was a bad decision, felt they were good people for not interrupting the flow of the group. Both of these concepts surround the desire to not ‘rock the boat’. The sinking of the Titanic is an important example of groupthink in history. The agreement that lifeboats were unnecessary due to the ships unsinkability was most likely caused by groupthink. According to economist Dan Cravens, “The ship’s

Group cohesiveness is often strived for and encouraged, however, after this chapter it is clear just how damaging cohesiveness can be to a group. While it can be much more pleasant to work with people similar to yourself, highly cohesive groups often miss the benefits of disagreement and diverse opinions. Often cohesiveness is so strongly supported and encouraged that there may be punishments from varying away from group norms. If members fear punishment or judgement from speaking against the group, biased sampling is more likely to occur. This can result in making poor decisions and not actively using the skills each member holds. Group polarization is also much more likely to affect a highly cohesive group in comparison to a relatively diverse group. Group polarization can be avoided or limited by members who hold opposing views to the majority, which cannot be supported by a highly cohesive group.

Groupthink is a theory from a social psychologist, Irving Janis. It is when a group makes faulty decisions because of group pressure. This eventually leads to a lack of mental competence, enabling one from making decisions solemnly on their own ideas. Groupthink also lowers the level of one’s morals and ethics. People affected my Groupthink discard alternatives and tend to take irrational measure and “go-with-the-flow”. “A group is especially vulnerable to groupthink when its members are similar in background, when the group is insulated from outside opinions, and when there are no clear rules for decision making.” The concept of groupthink is to depict a particular form of excessive concurrence-seeking in cohesive groups associated with several U.S. Policy fiascoes

Loyalty and unity are traits that most members of society seek in our lives, both personally and professionally. In order to attract these traits, we tend to demonstrate that same loyalty and unity. At times, loyalty and sense of unity come at a price that we may not realize we are paying. Groupthink is a phenomenon discovered by Irving Janis that demonstrates this high price. Groupthink is a concept that describes a group whereas "loyalty requires each member to avoid raising controversial issues" (Janis, 1982, p 12). Groupthink occurs in all levels of competent and intelligent groups and has been around long before Irving Janis coined the term.

Studies have shown groupthink compromises the integrity of the decision making environment. The compromise leads to sub-par decisions, and negatively impacts the decision making process. They further demonstrate that less than optimal decisions, when continually made, correlate directly to a group’s performance and or downfall. This paper will discuss the negative effects of groupthink through erosion of the deliberative process within a group.

Social psychology is a scientific-based study which is used to examine and explain how an individual’s thoughts and feelings affect their behaviour within a society; how the members socially interact, including their motives; and what influences these members have on each other. This essay will endeavour to introduce the key psychologists, their theories and the idiographic research they conducted. In particular, it will focus on the features and definition of conformity and the investigations into the views on conformity. Furthermore, it aims to critically analyse and reveal a correlation in the results and conclusions in respect to the current comprehension of human social behaviour.

What judgments do we make about others? Everyday we make judgments in our social interactions about why others act the way they do, which is known as