Psychology 10/25/07 Groups The Challenger Explosion (January 28, 1986) o 76 seconds after lift-off, the shuttle exploded, because of a leak in the rocket booster field joint o The shuttle was launched in abnormally cold temperatures Effects of Mere Presence of Others o Social facilitation: Arousal from presence of other people and the knowledge you are being evaluated People do better on simple tasks and worse on complex tasks Michaels et al. (1982): 4 students observed either novice or experienced pool players shoot pool It depends on how good you are If you're good you'll get better if you're observed If you're bad you'll get worse if you're observed o Social Loafing: Relaxation from presence of other people and knowledge you cannot be evaluated People do worse on simple tasks and better on complex tasks i.e. group projects where there is no evaluation o Deindividuation: Feelings of anonymity and reduced individuality, resulting in the loosening of normal constraints of behavior Leads to an increase in impulsive and deviant acts o A group is two or more people who interact with each other and are interdependent in the sense that their needs are similar Typical Size : 2-20 Members tend to be similar to each other Have well-defined roles Advantages: People know what to expect, smoother interactions Disadvantages: People adopt roles too much, they get locked into roles o Stanford Prison Study: would people conform to their role even though it doesn't make very much sense? Participants were either the prisoner or guard. People got into these roles with vigor and enthusiasm. o It is expected that Zimbardo egged people on. He had too much invested o Prisoner Abuse in Iraq: <a href="/keyword/abu-ghraib/" >abu ghraib</a> prison Americans tortured prisoners Decision Making o Who makes better decisions? Groups or the same individuals by themselves? o Process Loss (e.g. failure to pay attention to the expert) There is a someone who doesn't know what he's talking about but insists on running his mouth Failure to share unique information Groupthink Sometimes groups get too worried about not rocking the boat and so they don't challenge each other.