What traumatic event does Zitkala-Sa describe at the school?

The forcible cutting of her long hair

Why was the cutting of her hair so humiliating to Zitkala-Sa?

Among her people, shingled hair was worn by cowards and mourners

How is a group defined?

As an organised system of two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who have common motives, role relationships and norms that regulate behaviour.

How does a group differ from a crowd?

A group has structure, interdependence and a sense of belongingness, whereas a crowd is a chance collection of people without structure or interdependence.

What is groupthink and how can it be prevented?

It is a tendency of cohesive groups to make uncritical decisions for the sake of unanimity; it can be countered by encouraging critical thinking, alternatives and outside opinions.

Distinguish primary and secondary groups.

Primary groups (family, caste) are pre-existing, face-to-face and emotionally close; secondary groups (a political party) are joined by choice and more impersonal.

What did Tajfel's minimal group paradigm show?

That even when groups are formed on a flimsy, meaningless basis, members still favour their own ingroup over the outgroup.

Differentiate social facilitation and social loafing.

Social facilitation is improved performance in the presence of others when individually evaluated; social loafing is reduced individual effort in pooled collective tasks.

What is group polarisation and why does it occur?

It is the strengthening of a group's initial view after discussion, due to hearing new supporting arguments, a bandwagon effect and identification with the ingroup.

CBSE · Senior secondary

CBSE Class 12 — Notes, Chapters & Practice Quizzes

Q: Why do people join groups?

For security, status, self-esteem, satisfaction of psychological and social needs, goal achievement and access to knowledge and information.

Q: Name Tuckman's five stages of group formation.

Forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.

Q: What are the four elements of group structure?

Roles, norms, status and cohesiveness.

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Chapter 7: Social Influence and Group Processes — Class 12 Psychology

Psychology · 7 chapters

Summary, key terms, important questions and a practice quiz with AI diagnosis for each.

Chapter 7: Social Influence and Group Processes

Try one from this chapter

A group is best defined as:

Summary

This chapter examines what groups are and how they influence individual behaviour. A group is an organised system of two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who share common motives, role relationships and norms that regulate behaviour. Groups differ from crowds, audiences, mobs and teams. People join groups for security, status, self-esteem, satisfaction of psychological and social needs, goal achievement and access to knowledge and information. Group formation is facilitated by proximity, similarity and common motives and goals. Tuckman described five developmental stages: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. Group structure has four elements: roles, norms, status and cohesiveness. Excessive cohesiveness can produce groupthink, where the desire for unanimity overrides realistic appraisal and leads to poor decisions. Groups are of several types: primary and secondary, formal and informal, and ingroup and outgroup, with the ingroup viewed favourably and the outgroup negatively, as shown by Tajfel's minimal group paradigm. Group influence on individual behaviour includes social facilitation (improved performance in the presence of others when individually evaluated) and social loafing (reduced individual effort in collective tasks). Social loafing can be reduced by making contributions identifiable and increasing task importance and group cohesiveness. Group polarisation is the strengthening of a group's initial position after discussion, sometimes leading to extreme decisions.

Nature of groupsWhy people join groupsGroup formationStages of group formationGroup structureGroupthinkTypes of groupsIngroup and outgroupSocial loafing and facilitationGroup polarisation

Key terms

Group

An organised system of two or more interacting, interdependent individuals with common motives, roles and norms.

Cohesiveness

The togetherness, binding or mutual attraction (the "we feeling") among group members.

Groupthink

A faulty decision-making process in cohesive groups where the desire for unanimity overrides realistic appraisal.

Ingroup and outgroup

One's own group (we) versus another group (they); the ingroup is viewed favourably and the outgroup negatively.

Social loafing

The reduction in individual effort when working on a collective task in which outputs are pooled.

Social facilitation

The improvement of performance in the presence of others when one's efforts are individually evaluated.

Group polarisation

The strengthening of a group's initial position as a result of group discussion, leading to more extreme decisions.

Important questions

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An organised system of two or more interacting, interdependent individuals with common motives, roles and norms.

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