CBSE Class 12 Psychology Social Influences And Group Processes Assignment Set A

Question. Tendency of group to take extreme decision is called ____________.
Answer. Group polarisation

Question. Extreme cohesiveness in groups results is _____________.
Answer. Groupthink

Question. Teams are special kind of group. (True/False) 
Answer. True

Question. Collection of people assembled for a particular purpose is called an __________.
Answer. Audience

Question. Group polarisation is a phenomenon which is a consequence of extreme cohesiveness. (True/False)
Answer. True

Question. Differentiate between ingroup and outgroup. 
Answer. The term in-group refers to one’s own group and out-group refers to another group.For in-group members, we use the word ‘we’ while for out-group members the word ‘they’ is used.

Question. What is a group?
Answer. A group is defined as an organised system of two or more individuals who are interacting and interdependent, who have common motives, have a set of role relationships and norms that regulate their behaviour.
Example: family, class, playgroup.

Question. What is group polarisation? Explain with examples.
Answer. It has been found that groups are more likely to take extreme decisions than individuals alone. This is referred to as ‘group polarisation’. For example, an employer is caught taking bribe or engaging in some unethical act. A group through discussion and interaction decides to take extreme decisions like terminating his services than a simple punishment. This is known as group polarisation when a group takes extreme positions by taking strong decisions.

Question. What is ‘bandwagon effect’?
Answer. When you find others also favouring capital punishment, you feel that this view is validated by the public. This is known as the bandwagon effect.

Question. What is social influence?
Answer. Social influence refers to those processes whereby our attitudes and behaviours are influenced by real or imagined presence of other people. Parents, teachers, friends, radio and television commercials create one or other kind of social influence.

Question. ‘Extreme cohesiveness within a group becomes harmful for functioning.’ Explain.
Answer. Extreme cohesiveness may not be in a group’s interest. This phenomenon is called group think. It is the tendency of decision maker to make irrational and uncritical decision. It overrides the motivation to realistically appraise courses of action. No one expresses dissenting opinion because each person believes it would undermine the cohesion of the group.

Question. Explain conformity. 
Answer. People conform because:
- It allows people to function more smoothly by adhering to group norms.
- People behaving in a different way may lead to disapproval.
- The norm is seen as reflecting views and beliefs of the majority. Most people believe that the majority is more likely to be right.

Question. Why do people conform? How is conformity different from compliance? Explain.
Answer. People conform because:
(i) It allows people to function more smoothly by adhering to group norms.
(ii) People behaving in a different way may lead to disapproval.
(iii) The norm is seen as reflecting views and beliefs of the majority. Most people believe that the majority is more likely to be right.

Conformity means behaving according to the group norm while compliance is a response to a request made by someone. Example of conformity: a rule is announced in school in banning mobile phones in school. You agree to do so. For example Compliance refers to behaving in response to a request from another person or group in the absence of a norm. For example, a member of a community group for ‘Clean Environment’ requests you to put a sticker on your bike that reads, ‘Say no to Plastic bags’. You agree to do so not because of group norm or because you personally believe in banning plastic bags, but because you see no harm or problem in putting such sticker. At the same time, it is easier to say ‘yes’ then ‘no’ to such a harmless request.

Question. Describe the factors that facilitate group formation.
OR
State three conditions which facilitate group formation. 
Answer. The following factors facilitate group formation:

(i) Proximity: Repeated interactions with the same set of individuals give us a chance to know them and their interests and attitudes. Common interests, attitudes and background are important determinants of your liking for your group members.

(ii) Similarity: When two people are similar, there is consistency and they start liking each other. For example, when two students in a class share the interest of playing cricket, they are likely to become friends. When we meet similar people, they reinforce and validate our opinions and values and thus we start liking them. For example, you feel watching TV is not good because it shows too much violence and when you meet someone with similar views, it validates your opinion and you start liking the person.

(iii) Common motives and goals: When people have common motives or goals, they get together and form a group. For example, you want to teach children in a slum area and meet like-minded people who help you in achieving your goal.

Question. What is obedience? What do people obey?
OR
Why do people show obedience?
Answer. When compliance is shown to an instruction or order from a person in authority such as parents, teachers, leaders or policemen, that is called obedience.
The causes of obedience are:
(i) People obey because they feel that they are not responsible for their own actions, they are simply carrying out orders from the authority.
(ii) Authority possesses symbols of status (e.g., uniform, title) which people find difficult to resist.
(iii) Once you obey small orders, slowly there is an escalation of commitment for the person who is in authority and one starts obeying bigger orders.
(iv) Many times, events are moving at such a fast speed, that no one has time to think but just to obey orders from above.

Question. Differentiate between cooperation and competition.
Answer. When groups work together to achieve shared goals, we refer to it as cooperation. For example, in a relay race, victory depends on the collective performance of all members of a team.
Competition occurs when members try to maximize their own benefits and work for realization of self-interest. For example, in a hundred meters race, between six people, only one can be the winner.

Question. Give one incident of social loafing in school. Why does it happen? Give the ways of reducing social loafing.
OR
How can social loafing be reduced in group work?
OR
Explain the phenomenon of ‘social loafing’ by giving examples. 
Answer. Individuals work less hard in a group than they do when performing alone. This phenomenon is referred to as social loafing. Social loafing is a reduction in individual effort when working on a collective task.
This occurs because:
(i) Group members feel less responsible for the overall task being performed and therefore exert less effort.
(ii) Motivation of members decreases because they realize that their contribution will not be evaluated on individual basis.
(iii) The performance of the group is not compared with other groups.
(iv) There is improper coordination among members.
(v) Belonging to the same group is not important for members.

For example, students competing in a game of tug-of-war. Similarly, in an experiment, a group of people were asked to clap or cheer as loudly as possible. Results showed that the amount of nose produced by each participant dropped as the size of the group decreased. It is possible to identify how much force each member of the team has been exerting. Such situations give opportunities to group members to relax and become a free rider.
The various ways of reducing social loafing:
(i) Making the efforts of each person identifiable.
(ii) Increasing the pressure to work hard.
(iii) Increasing the apparent importance or value of a task.
(iv) Making people feel that their individual contribution is important.
(v) Strengthening group cohesiveness which increases the motivation for successful group outcome.

Question. Why do people join groups?
Answer. People join groups because they satisfy a range of needs:
(i) Security: When we are alone we feel insecure. Groups reduce this insecurity. Being with people gives a sense of comfort and protection. As a result, people feel stronger and less vulnerable to threats.
(ii) Status: People feel recognised, important and experience a sense of power. For example, your school wins in inter-school debate, you feel proud and think that you are better than others.
(iii) Self-esteem: Groups provide feelings of self-worth and give positive social identity.Being a member of a prestigious group enhances one’s self-concept.
(iv) Satisfaction of psychological and social needs: Groups satisfy needs of belongingness, giving and receiving attention, love etc.
(v) Goal achievement: Groups help in achieving such goals which cannot be attained individually. There is power in the majority.
(vi) Provide knowledge and information: Group membership provides knowledge and information that broadens our view.