Deck 8: Group Processes

Question 1

Loss of productivity is least likely to occur in which of the following scenarios?

A) Daphne isn't quite sure what her role in the group is.
B) Fred must play both an instrumental and an expressive role in the group.
C) Velma's role in the group seems to be constantly changing.
D) Shaggy assumes a clearly defined instrumental role in the group.

Answer 1

Shaggy assumes a clearly defined instrumental role in the group.

Question 2

The fact that members of an organization who blow the whistle on problematic practices are often treated harshly by the rest of the group illustrates the power of group

A) roles.
B) norms.
C) status.
D) development.

Answer 2

norms.

Question 3

The idea that a species' brain size is related to the social complexity of their environment is called the

A) social identity hypothesis.
B) social brain hypothesis.
C) collective effort model.
D) entitativity norm.

Answer 3

social brain hypothesis.

Question 4

A group is defined as

A) a set of individuals who interact over time and have shared fate, goals, and identity.
B) a set of rigid boundaries and norms.
C) people engaged in a common activity with or without direct interaction.
D) a social category.

Question 5

Groups include all of the following essential components except

A) roles.
B) norms.
C) cohesiveness.
D) status.

Question 6

Which of the following is true of groups?

A) Groups differ from the sum of their parts.
B) Groups make better decisions than individuals.
C) People work harder in groups than they do alone.
D) Discussion moderates group opinions.

Question 7

An important part of people's self-worth is derived from group membership, according to

A) social identity theory.
B) the social brain hypothesis.
C) the escalation effect.
D) group support systems.

Question 8

A leader who focuses his or her group on the task(s)it needs to achieve is playing a(n)

A) facilitator role.
B) instrumental role.
C) normative role.
D) expressive role.

Question 9

Deviation from group norms is generally tolerated better if a group is seen as

A) homogeneous.
B) heterogeneous.
C) cohesive.
D) formal.

Question 10

Keren is in a work group in which everyone is excited about the job.They are bringing high-speed Internet to low-income neighborhoods, and every single coworker she has feels the task is exciting, inspirational, and world-changing.Keren's work group has high _____ cohesion.

A) task
B) interpersonal
C) expressive
D) instrumental

Question 11

In her group, Melanie is always the one who breaks the tension with a funny story and provides a shoulder to cry on when things go wrong.She can be described as playing a(n)

A) expressive role.
B) facilitator role.
C) instrumental role.
D) normative role.

Question 12

Roles are

A) the rules of conduct for group members.
B) dissimilar to norms in that only roles can be formal or informal.
C) similar to norms in that both must be present for group cohesiveness.
D) beneficial to a group if clear, but can create stress if ambiguous.

Question 13

People join groups for all of the following reasons except to

A) be protected from threat.
B) fulfill the need to belong.
C) reduce superordinate identities.
D) facilitate interactions with liked others.

Question 14

Which of the following would most likely be described as a collective?

A) Students in a small, discussion-focused seminar
B) Members of a sports team
C) Passengers on a plane
D) A boy scout troop

Question 15

Deborah has just joined a sorority at her school.She is unsure what she should wear when she goes to eat at the sorority's dining hall.Her concern reflects Deborah's uncertainty of the

A) informal role.
B) formal role.
C) informal norm.
D) formal norm.

Question 16

Groups differ from collectives in that

A) groups, but not collectives, engage in common activities.
B) collectives, but not groups, engage in common activities.
C) groups have more direct interaction with one another than collectives.
D) collectives have more direct interaction with one another than groups.

Question 17

Research concerning the relationship between group cohesiveness and performance suggests that

A) cohesiveness has a greater effect on performance than vice versa.
B) performance has a greater effect on cohesiveness than vice versa.
C) the relationship is negative.
D) the relationship is stronger among men than among women.

Question 18

A role in a group that is focused on providing emotional support and maintaining group morale is considered

A) instrumental.
B) expressive.
C) formal.
D) informal.

Question 19

Cohesion does seem to exert a causal effect on group performance, but whether this effect occurs depends upon

A) group size.
B) whether it is task or interpersonal cohesion.
C) the nature of the group task.
D) All of these

Question 20

Three people in the same place at the same time, but not interacting with one another, are best described as a

A) social group.
B) minimal group.
C) collective.
D) conjunctive group.

Question 21

According to research by Kugihara (1999), social loafing is more likely to occur among

A) men.
B) women.
C) African Americans.
D) Asian Americans.

Question 22

According to the theory of social facilitation, the presence of others should lead to all except which of the following?

A) Improved performance on an easy task
B) Physiological arousal
C) A dominant response
D) More carefully deliberated behavior

Question 23

The tendency for the presence of other people to increase performance on easy tasks and impair performance on difficult tasks is known as

A) social loafing.
B) social facilitation.
C) group polarization.
D) groupthink.

Question 24

A person who experiences social facilitation effects because he is worried about being judged supports the _____ hypothesis.

A) mere presence
B) evaluation apprehension
C) distraction-conflict
D) process loss

Question 25

The theory that the presence of others will produce social facilitation effects only when those others distract one's attention from the task at hand is known as

A) mere presence theory.
B) evaluation apprehension theory.
C) distraction-conflict theory.
D) the transactive memory hypothesis.

Question 26

According to Zajonc, social facilitation

A) occurs because of concerns about being evaluated by others.
B) results from the physical immediacy of others.
C) occurs in humans, but not in less intelligent animals.
D) can be explained by considering attentional processes.

Question 27

Vladimir, a basketball novice, makes about 60 percent of his free throws when practicing alone.However, when playing with his friends, he only makes about 30 percent of his free throws.This decrease is most likely the result of

A) social facilitation.
B) deindividuation.
C) group polarization.
D) social security.

Question 28

All of the following accounts have been proposed to explain social facilitation except

A) the mere presence of others.
B) apprehension about being evaluated.
C) distraction, which can create attentional conflict.
D) a tendency for people to feel less accountable in a group context.

Question 29

According to research by Nibler and Harris (2003), which of the following groups is most likely to experience better performance when group members feel free to disagree with one another?

A) A group of friends in China
B) A group of friends in the U.S.
C) A group of strangers in China.
D) A group of strangers in the U.S.

Question 30

Cross-cultural research suggests that when individuals fail to carry their own share of the weight for the group,

A) cohesiveness suffers less in groups from collectivistic cultures because other people are quick to pick up the slack.
B) collectivist groups are more likely to kick out these individuals than are more individualistic groups.
C) cohesiveness suffers more in groups from collectivistic cultures.
D) collectivistic groups are more likely to seek increases in task complexity.

Question 31

The facilitation of the dominant response from increased arousal will tend to

A) make easy tasks easier but difficult tasks more challenging.
B) make both easy and difficult tasks easier.
C) have no effect on easy tasks, but will make difficult tasks more challenging.
D) have no effect on challenging tasks, but will make easy tasks easier.

Question 32

Zajonc's model for how the presence of others influences individual performance is known as social facilitation."Facilitation" refers to the fact that the presence of others facilitates a performer's

A) ability to focus on the task at hand.
B) task performance.
C) evaluation apprehension.
D) dominant response.

Question 33

According to Zajonc's model of social facilitation, the three steps in determining the influence of the presence of others on performance are

A) arousal, dominant response, and task difficulty.
B) relaxation, elimination of apprehension, and task difficulty.
C) construal, arousal, and attribution.
D) social comparison, attribution, and justification.

Question 34

In one of the earliest social psychological experiments, Triplett (1898)had children wind fishing reels as quickly as they could.He found that

A) the children were fastest when observed by the experimenter.
B) winding times were faster without an audience than with an audience.
C) the children were faster when working next to another child rather than alone.
D) the children were faster working alone than with a partner.

Question 35

Your psychology professor calls you in front of the class and asks you to answer practice exam questions in front of everyone.You find the questions to be easy.According to the model of social ________, you should perform ________ than you would if you had worked on the questions alone.

A) loafing; better
B) loafing; worse
C) facilitation; better
D) facilitation; worse

Question 36

According to the model of ________, when the presence of others is physiologically arousing, a person's performance tends to ________ on a task that is difficult.

A) social loafing; decline
B) social loafing; improve
C) social facilitation; decline
D) social facilitation; improve

Question 37

Ingham (1974)asked participants to pull on a rope and found that participants pulled almost 20 percent harder when they thought they were pulling alone than when they thought they were part of a group.This finding best illustrates

A) social loafing.
B) a social dilemma.
C) groupthink.
D) social facilitation.

Question 38

Better performance by an individual on difficult tasks in the presence of others can be encouraged the most when the individual's arousal level is _____ and evaluation pressure on the individual is _____.

A) high; high
B) low; low
C) high; low
D) low; high

Question 39

Ringelmann's research in the 1880s demonstrated that

A) people exert less effort in simple group tasks than they would if working alone.
B) the presence of other people improves performance on simple group tasks.
C) groups tend to make more extreme decisions than individuals.
D) individual performance is impaired by the distraction of an audience.

Question 40

Research by Zajonc et al.(1969)in which cockroaches run in simple or complex mazes alone, in pairs, or with an audience provides support for which explanation of social facilitation?

A) The evaluation apprehension theory
B) The distraction-conflict theory
C) The persuasive arguments theory
D) The mere presence theory

Question 41

Harriett goes trick-or-treating on Halloween.She arrives at her neighbor's door just as the phone is ringing.Her neighbor puts the candy on the table and says, "I need to get the phone, so help yourself to whatever kind of candy you want, but please take only one piece." Which of the following would most encourage Harriett to take only one piece of candy?

A) If Harriet's costume prevented the neighbor from recognizing her
B) If Harriett was dressed up as a pirate
C) If the candy was placed in front of a mirror
D) If Harriett was high in need for cognition

Question 42

In many anonymous online communities, accountability is ______ and attentional cues are _______.

A) low; low
B) low; high
C) high; low
D) high; high

Question 43

The fact that many assaults are committed by people wearing disguises-and that these disguised assaults are often the most vicious ones-illustrates the concept of

A) social loafing.
B) entrapment.
C) deindividuation.
D) distraction-conflict.

Question 44

Henderson suspects that the other members of his work group may slack off, so he works late and puts in extra time on their proposal.Henderson is engaging in

A) social compensation.
B) social facilitation.
C) social loafing.
D) deindividuation.

Question 45

Johnson and Downing (1979)found that participants wearing nurses' uniforms delivered lower levels of shock when they were anonymous than when they were identifiable.This finding suggests that deindividuation causes people to

A) feel that the normative standards of the group do not apply to them.
B) engage in destructive behavior when they are anonymous.
C) rely more heavily on personal standards of behavior when they are anonymous.
D) act in ways that are consistent with the norms of the most salient group.

Question 46

Deindividuation is more likely when

A) accountability for behavior is high.
B) accountability for behavior is low.
C) the group is engaged in a conjunctive task.
D) the group is engaged in a disjunctive task.

Question 47

Individuals from collectivist cultures are more likely to engage in social loafing

A) when a group norm of low effort has already been established.
B) when tasks are difficult.
C) in groups with a majority of female members.
D) when task orientation is high.

Question 48

Aggarwal and O'Brien (2008)studied hundreds of college students and identified several keys to reducing social loafing.All of the following are examples of the strategies they suggest except

A) breaking down complex projects into smaller components.
B) keeping groups small.
C) selecting group members low in achievement motivation.
D) using peer evaluations.

Question 49

Sheila and Peter are invited to a masquerade party.At the party, people start insulting and pushing around Parker, another guest at the party.Given the research on deindividuation, which of the following is most likely false?

A) If Sheila was dressed as a nun and Peter was dressed as a priest, their costumes would decrease the likelihood that they would behave aggressively toward Parker.
B) If there was a loud band playing that made the floor shake, Sheila and Peter would be more likely to behave aggressively toward Parker.
C) If Sheila and Peter were dressed in costumes in which they could not be recognized, Peter would likely behave more aggressively toward Parker than Sheila would.
D) If Sheila and Peter believed that at the end of the party all the guests would have to reveal their true identities, they would be less likely to behave aggressively toward Parker.

Question 50

Deindividuation refers to the

A) loss of individuality and reduction of constraints against deviant behavior.
B) decrease in individual effort on simple group tasks.
C) tendency for group decisions to be more extreme than the decisions of the individuals comprising the group.
D) impairment in group decision making that results from a concern with unanimity.

Question 51

Esteban's work group has been assigned a new project by management.Before deciding how much effort to exert on this new assignment, Esteban considers how important the group goals are to him and whether his input will help the group reach its goals.Esteban's thinking is most consistent with

A) distraction-conflict theory.
B) the collective effort model.
C) the social identity model of deindividuation.
D) persuasive arguments theory.

Question 52

Which of the following conditions makes social loafing more likely to occur?

A) When peer evaluations are used
B) When the task is large and complex
C) When the group in question is small
D) When the task is small in scope

Question 53

Tommy needs to get his subordinates to all invest considerable time and energy into the development of a new design for the company's fall clothing line.If he wants to reduce the likelihood of social loafing, he should

A) bring together a large group of diverse individuals.
B) keep the task big and inspirational rather than breaking it into parts.
C) make sure that people contribute anonymously to reduce evaluation apprehension.
D) allow the group members to evaluate each other's contributions.

Question 54

At crowded parties, Amy loses her sense of self and, as a result, often behaves in ways that she later regrets.These parties seem to create in Amy a state of

A) deindividuation.
B) cohesiveness.
C) groupthink.
D) entrapment.

Question 55

It seems that every Halloween night in Gotham is marred by violence and vandalism.In order to reduce the likelihood of such behavior, the leaders of Gotham should

A) increase self-awareness by making sure everyone who goes out wears a name tag.
B) increase anonymity by making sure that everyone who goes out wears a mask.
C) make sure that people only venture outside in groups.
D) create a highly stimulating environment by playing loud Halloween music over all public address systems.

Question 56

Attentional cues that decrease self-awareness should increase

A) deindividuated behavior.
B) social facilitation on an easy task.
C) cooperation in a prisoner's dilemma.
D) groupthink in a decision-making process.

Question 57

Mr.Belding notices that his students seem to put more effort into their individual assignments than into their group projects.This is most likely the result of

A) social loafing.
B) group facilitation.
C) groupthink.
D) group polarization.

Question 58

All of the following factors have been suggested to contribute to deindividuation except

A) the presence of others.
B) reduced feelings of responsibility.
C) low arousal.
D) anonymity.

Question 59

Research suggests that which of the following people would be most likely to engage in social loafing?

A) A woman from a collectivist culture
B) A man from a collectivist culture
C) A woman from an individualistic culture
D) A man from an individualistic culture

Question 60

According to the collective effort model, social loafing is more likely when people

A) see the group outcome as personally important.
B) believe the group outcome is important to other group members.
C) believe that their efforts will lead to the desired outcome.
D) feel that their input will not compensate for social loafing by others.

Question 61

Research on brainstorming suggests that

A) it is typically an effective practice, even though people often dislike doing it.
B) it is typically an ineffective practice, even though people often enjoy doing it.
C) it works better among very large groups than among smaller groups.
D) it works better for disjunctive tasks than for conjunctive tasks.

Question 62

Brainstorming is an example of a(n)_____ task.

A) additive.
B) conjunctive.
C) disjunctive.
D) unitary.

Question 63

Farooq and his coworkers are trying to develop a creative direct mail campaign that will increase sales of their new snowboard.Which of the following strategies is least likely to yield high-quality ideas?

A) Hold a brainstorming session with a facilitator trained in group brainstorming
B) Form an interactive group employing electronic brainstorming
C) Hold a brainstorming session using Osborn's ground rules for brainstorming
D) Create "nominal groups" and work independently

Question 64

According to the ___________, whether deindividuation affects people for better or for worse depends on a group's characteristics and norms.

A) process loss model
B) social identity model of deindividuation effects
C) emotional reciprocation model
D) conflict-distraction model of deindividuation

Question 65

A task in which the group's performance is determined by the best group member is considered

A) additive.
B) conjunctive.
C) disjunctive.
D) divisible.

Question 66

In conjunctive tasks, group performance is determined by the

A) sum of the performance of each individual in the group.
B) ratio of individual performance to group performance.
C) performance of the weakest group member.
D) performance of the strongest group member.

Question 67

A group of students is discussing whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.The students begin the discussion with opinions that are somewhat in favor of gay marriage.If group polarization occurs,

A) students will be more strongly supportive of gay marriage after the discussion.
B) students will be more strongly opposed to gay marriage after the discussion.
C) students' attitudes will not change as a result of the discussion.
D) a great deal of disagreement and conflict will occur during the discussion.

Question 68

Groups tend to outperform individuals on

A) additive tasks, but not conjunctive tasks.
B) disjunctive tasks, but not conjunctive tasks.
C) conjunctive tasks, but not additive tasks.
D) additive, conjunctive, and disjunctive tasks.

Question 69

Tendencies that interfere with a group's ability to live up to its full potential are referred to as examples of

A) disjunctive tasks.
B) process loss.
C) sample biases.
D) nonadditive effects.

Question 70

An increase in group performance such that the group outperforms the individuals who comprise the group is called

A) process loss.
B) process gain.
C) escalation.
D) polarization.

Question 71

Electronic brainstorming may be more effective than face-to-face group brainstorming because it

A) enhances production blocking.
B) inhibits free riding.
C) promotes performance matching.
D) increases personal accountability.

Question 72

Before the meeting, each of several city council members was tentatively considering an air pollution ordinance.After the meeting, they expressed strong support of the ordinance.This outcome is an example of

A) group polarization.
B) social loafing.
C) a social dilemma.
D) social facilitation.

Question 73

When a task can be divided so various subgroups can work on different aspects of it, and the task has a solution in which the correct answer is immediately evident when presented to the group, the group is likely to experience

A) process loss.
B) synergy.
C) escalation.
D) group support.

Question 74

Sam, Diane, and Frasier are members of a team competing in a test of general knowledge.Any team member can answer the moderator's questions.The team's task can be described as

A) additive.
B) conjunctive.
C) disjunctive.
D) collective.

Question 75

Consider a study in which researchers created groups of relatively prejudiced and unprejudiced high school students and asked them to respond to issues concerning racial attitudes, both before and after discussion of these issues.Following the group discussions, you would expect that

A) both groups would become more prejudiced.
B) both groups would become less prejudiced.
C) those who were relatively unprejudiced would become less prejudiced and those who were relatively prejudiced would become more prejudiced.
D) those who were relatively unprejudiced would become more prejudiced and those who were relatively prejudiced would become less prejudiced.

Question 76

All of the following appear to reduce the effectiveness of group brainstorming except

A) production blocking.
B) social compensation.
C) evaluation apprehension.
D) performance matching.

Question 77

De Dreu and others (2011)have found that _____ can enhance the performance of brainstorming groups.

A) motivation toward the collective success of the group
B) motivation for personal success in individual performance
C) motivation for a thorough and accurate understanding of the problem at hand
D) All of these

Question 78

The tendency for groups to become more extreme in their positions following discussion is called

A) group polarization.
B) social loafing.
C) a social dilemma.
D) social facilitation.

Question 79

Following group discussion, group decisions tend to _____ the positions of the individuals comprising the group.

A) be more conservative than
B) be more risky than
C) reflect the average of
D) be more extreme than

Question 80

Research on brainstorming in groups demonstrates that

A) people brainstorming together produce fewer and lower-quality ideas than those brainstorming individually.
B) people believe that the ideas generated in group brainstorming sessions are not as good as those generated by individuals.
C) group brainstorming can be enhanced by production blocking.
D) people feel more comfortable expressing unusual ideas in group brainstorming sessions.