CBSE Class 12 Psychology Social Influences And Group Processes Worksheet

Question.Are you a member of a certain group? Discuss what motivated you to join that group.
Answer. When people have common motives or goals, they get together and form a group which may facilitate their goal attainment. Suppose you want to teach children in a slum area who are unable to go to school. You cannot do this alone because you have your own studies and homework. You, therefore, form a group of like-minded friends and start teaching these children. So you have been able to achieve what you could not have done alone.

Question. How does Tuckman’s stage model help you to understand the formation of groups?
Answer. The following are the stages of a group:
(i) Forming stage: When group members first meet, there is a great deal of uncertainty about the group, the goal and how it is to be achieved. There is excitement and apprehension. This stage is called the forming stage.
(ii) Storming stage: In this stage, there is conflict among members about how the target of the group is to be achieved, who is to control the group and its resources, and who is to perform what task.
When this stage is complete, some sort of hierarchy of leadership in the group develops and a clear vision as to how to achieve the group goal.
(iii) Norming stage: Group members by this time develop norms related to group behaviour. This leads to development of positive group identity.
(iv) Performing stage: By this time, the structure of the group has evolved. The group moves towards achieving the group goal.
For some groups, this is the last stage of group development.
(v) Adjourning stage: For some groups this is the last stage like in the case of an organizing committee for a school function. In this stage, once the function is over,the group may be disbanded.
For example, during an annual function in a school, groups are formed consisting of the various participants and when the programme is over the group is dissolved.

Question. How can you reduce social loafing in groups? Think of any two incidents of social loafing in school. How did you overcome it?
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. The results of the study showed that although the total amount of noise rose up, as size increased, the amount of noise produced by each participant dropped. In other words, each participant put in less effort as the group size increased. 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 obey even when they know that their behaviour may be harming others? Explain.
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. How is one’s identity formed?
Answer. Our personal identities derived from views of oneself as a unique individual. Social identity is that aspect of our self-concept which is based on our group membership. You work hard for your school in your city. The group with which you identify yourself becomes the in-group and others become the out-group. We start showing favouritism towards own in-group by rating it more favourably in comparison to the out-group. 

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Chapter 7 Social Influences And Group Processes Objective Type Questions 

Question. The following are examples of a group
(a) family
(b) class
(c) playgroup
(d) all of the above
Answer. D

Question. Cohesion amongst group members can interfere with effective leadership and lead to disastrous decision. This process is called:
(a) Cohesiveness
(b) Groupthink
(c) Polarization
(d) Conflict
Answer. B

Question. Membership of a club is an example of
(a) Primary group
(b) Secondary group
(c) Outgroup
(d) Large group
Answer. B

Question. The person begins by making a small request that the other person is not likely to refuse. This is the _______________ technique of compliance.
(a) the door-in-the-face technique
(b) the deadline technique
(c) the foot-in-the-door technique
(d) none of the above
Answer. the foot-in-the-door technique

Question. Obedience is the most indirect form of social influence. (True/False)
Answer. False

Question. Group think is the tendency of groups to take extreme decisions when in groups than as individuals. (True/False)
Answer. False

Question. _________ is a consequence of extreme cohesiveness.
Answer. Group think

Question. The term which refers to one’s own group is called ____________.
Answer. In-group

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Chapter 7 Social Influences And Group Processes Very Short Answer Questions

Question. How do groups differ?
Answer. Some groups have a large number of members such as a country, some are small like a family, some are short-lived like a committee, some live together for many years, such as religious groups and some are informally organised such as spectators of a match.

Question. Differentiate between groups and teams.
Answer.

Question. What is an audience?
Answer. An audience is a collection of people who have assembled for a special purpose. For example, to watch a cricket match or a movie.

Question. What are norms?
Answer. Norms are expected standards of behaviour and beliefs established, agreed upon and enforced by group members. They may be considered as a group’s ‘unspoken rules’. For example, in a family, there are norms that guide the behaviour of family members. These norms represent shared ways of viewing the world.

Question. What is compliance? Explain with an example.  
Answer. Compliance refers to behaving in response to a request from another person or group even 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’ than ‘no’ to such a harmless request.

Question. Differentiate between identification and internalisation.
Answer. Identification refers to influence process based on agreement seeking or identity seeking while internalisation is a process based on information seeking.

Question. Explain the term 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. Obedience is towards authority such as those who possess symbols of status (e.g. uniform, title).

Question.. What is personal identity?
Answer. Our personal identities are derived from views of oneself as a unique individual.

Question. What is social identity?
Answer. Social identity is that aspect of our self-concept which is based on our group membership. You work hard for your school in your city. The group with which you identify yourself becomes the in-group and others become the out-group. We start showing favouritism towards own in-group by rating it more favourably in comparison to the out-group.

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Chapter 7 Social Influences And Group Processes Short Answer Questions-I

Question. Why do people behave according to the group norms?
Answer. People behave according to the group norms because
(i) Norms provide information to members of a group about what is expected of them in specific situations.
(ii) People feel uncomfortable if they are considered different from others. Behaving in a way that differs from the expected form of behaviour may lead to disapproval or dislike by others, which is a form of social punishment.
(iii) Norm is seen as reflecting the views and beliefs of majority. Most people believe that the majority is more likely to be right than wrong.
Example of conformity: a rule is announced in school in banning mobile phones in school. You know that if you do not sign the letter you will lose many friends and get a bad name for keeping student unity. Hence you conform to the group norm by signing the letter, i.e., expectations of other group members so that you are not noticed as deviant.

Question. Differentiate between formal and informal groups.
Answer. (i) The formation of formal groups is based on some specific rules or laws and members have definite roles. There is a set of norms which help in establishing order. On the other hand, formation of informal groups is not based on rules or laws.
(ii) Relationship among members in formal groups is not close. On the other hand, there is a close relationship among members of an informal group.
(iii) For example, a university is a formal group while family is an informal group.

Question. What are the techniques of compliance?
Answer. The techniques of compliance are
(i) Foot-in-the-door technique: A person begins with a small request and then a bigger request is made. For example, someone may offer a gift (something free) by a company and then with a request to buy a product made by the company.

(ii) Deadline technique: A last date is announced until which a product or an offer is available. The aim is to make people ‘hurry’ and make the purchase before they miss the rare opportunity. It is more likely that people will buy a product under this deadline condition than if there is no such deadline.

(iii) The door-in-the-face technique: In this you begin with a large request and when this is refused a smaller request is made, the one that was actually desired, which is usually granted by the person.

Question. What are the major determinants of a cooperation and competition?
Answer. The determinants of a cooperation and competition are
(i) Reward structure: Cooperative reward is one in which there is interdependence and reward is possible only if all contribute. A competitive reward structure is one in which one can get a reward only.
(ii) Interpersonal communication: Good interpersonal communication facilitates cooperation which in turn facilitates interaction and discussion.
(iii) Reciprocity: Cooperation may encourage more cooperation while competition produces more competition. For example, if someone has helped you in the past you are more likely to help him while on the other hand, if someone has refused to help you, you also might refuse to help him.

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Chapter 7 Social Influences And Group Processes Short Answer Questions-II 

Question. Describe the characteristics of a group. 
Answer. The characteristics of a group are as follows:
(i) A social unit consisting of two or more individuals.
(ii) A collection of individuals who have common motives or goals.
(iii) A collection of individuals who are interdependent. For example, fielders in a cricket team drop a catch – this will have a consequence for the entire team.
(iv) A collection of individuals who satisfy each others’ needs.
(v) A gathering of individuals who interact with one another.
(vi) The interactions in a group are structured by a set of roles and norms. That is, the group performs the same functions every time it meets and the group members adhere to the group norms.

Question. Differentiate between crowd and teams.
Answer. A crowd is a collection of people who are present in a place or situation by chance. There is neither any structure nor any feeling of belongingness in a crowd. The behaviour of people in crowds is irrational and hence there is no interdependence among the members. For example, a large number of people collected around an accident on a road. Teams are special kind of groups who have a common goal or purpose as in a cricket team. Both individual contribution and team work matter. Although there is a leader, the members hold themselves responsible.

Question. Enumerate the four elements of group structure.
Answer. The elements of a group structure are:
(i) Roles are socially defined expectations that individuals in a given situation are expected to fulfill. You have the role of a son or a daughter and you have certain role expectations such as to respect elders, listen to them and responsible towards your studies.
(ii) Norms are expected standards, behaviour and beliefs enforced by group members.They are group’s ‘unspoken rules’.
(iii) Status refers to relative social position given to group members by others. By being members of the group we enjoy the status associated with that group. For example, the captain of a cricket team has a higher status compared to other members.
(iv) Cohesiveness refers to togetherness, binding or mutual attraction among group members. It refers to the team spirit or ‘we feeling’ or a sense of belongingness to the group.

Question. Distinguish between primary and secondary groups.
Answer. The following are the differences between primary and secondary groups:
(i) Primary groups are pre-existing formations which are usually given to individual whereas secondary groups are those which the individual joins by choice.
(ii) In a primary group, there is a face-to-face interaction, members have close physical proximity and they share warm emotional bonds. In contrast, secondary groups are those where relationships among members are more impersonal, indirect and less frequent.
(iii) In primary group, boundaries are less permeable, i.e. members do not have the option to choose its membership as compared to secondary groups where it is easy to leave and join another group.
(iv) Family, caste and religion are primary groups whereas membership of a political party is an example of a secondary group.

Question. What is meant by ‘Social Loafing’? Give suitable 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. For example, in tug of war or clapping of students in morning assembly individuals put in less effort and social loafing is observed.
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.

Question. Why do groups take extreme decisions or why does group polarisation occur? What is bandwagon effect?
OR
Explain group polarisation. Give reasons for occurance of group polarisation.
Answer. Groups are more likely to take extreme decisions than individuals alone. This is group polarisation. If an employee is caught taking bribe, the group might take a decision of imposing an extreme decision of terminating his services.When you find others also favouring capital punishment, you feel that this view is
validated by the public. This is known as bandwagon effect.
Groups take extreme decisions because
(i) In the company of like-minded people, you take extreme decisions.
(ii) You feel that your view of capital punishment is validated by the public
(iii) You become a part of the group that has similar view and you start identifying with the group.

Question. State the determinants of conformity? 
Answer. The determinants of conformity are:
(i) Size of the group: Conformity is greater when the group is small than when the group is larger. It is easier for a deviant member to be noticed in a small group and hence they conform because they do not want to be perceived as different.
(ii) Size of minority: When the deviating minority size increases, the likelihood of conformity decreases.
(iii) Nature of the task: Conformity is more likely in a situation where there is a correct or incorrect answer than when answers vary widely without any answer being correct or incorrect.
(iv) Public or private expression of behaviour: Less conformity is found under private expression (e.g., voting by secret ballot) than under public expression.
(v) Personality: Highly intelligent people, those who are confident of themselves, those who are strongly committed and have high self-esteem are less likely to conform.

Question. When does conformity occur?
Answer. Conformity takes place because of informational influence, i.e., influence that results from accepting evidence rather than reality.
Conformity may also occur because of normative influence, i.e., influence based on a person’s desire to be accepted or admired by others. In such cases, people conform because deviation from group may lead to rejection or non-acceptance which is a form of social punishment.

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Chapter 7 Social Influences And Group Processes Long Answer Questions 

Question. What is a group? Explain the stages of group formation giving examples.
OR 
Explain giving examples the stages of group formation. 
OR
Discuss the Tuckman’s stage model in detail.
Answer. A group is defined as an organized 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.
The following are the stages of a group:
(i) Forming Stage: When group members first meet, there is a great deal of uncertainty about the group, the goal and how it is to be achieved. There is excitement and apprehension. This stage is called the forming stage.
(ii) Storming Stage: In this stage, there is conflict among members about how the target of the group is to be achieved, who is to control the group and its resources, and who is to perform what task.
When this stage is complete, some sort of hierarchy of leadership in the group develops and a clear vision as to how to achieve the group goal.
(iii) Norming Stage: Group members by this time develop norms related to group behaviour. This leads to development of positive group identity.
(iv) Performing Stage: By this time, the structure of the group has evolved. The group moves towards achieving the group goal.For some groups, this is the last stage of group development.
(v) Adjourning Stage: For some groups this is the last stage like in the case of an organizing committee for a school function. In this stage, once the function is over,
the group may be disclosed.
For example, during an annual function in a school, groups are formed consisting of the various participants and when the programme is over the group is dismantled.

Question. Why do people conform? Explain how conformity is different from compliance.
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. 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. This is compliance.
Conformity takes place due to normative or informational influences whereas compliance is obtained by using any of these techniques Foot-in-the-door technique,Deadline technique or The door-in-the-face technique.

Question. What is conflict? What are the potential causes of inter-group conflict?
OR
Explain the reasons for intergroup conflict. 
Answer. Conflict is a process in which either an individual or a group perceives that others have opposing interests, and both try to contradict each other. There is an intense ‘we’ or ‘they’ feeling. Causes of inter-group conflict are
(i) Lack of communication: Faulty communication leads to suspicion and a lack of trust.
(ii) Relative deprivation: It arises due to comparison when members of a group feel that they do not have what they desire to have or are not doing well in comparison to other groups. Hence, they feel deprived and discontented.
(iii) Belief of being superior from the other: It occurs when one party believes it is better than the other and every member wants to respect the norms of his/her group.
(iv) Disrespect for the norms of the other group: A feeling that the other group does not respect the norms of my group, and violates them because of malevolent intent leads to inter-group conflict.
(v) Desire for Retaliation: Some harm done by the group in the past could be the reason for inter-group conflict.
(vi) Biased perception: Feelings of ‘they’ and ‘we’ leads to biased perceptions.
(vii) Existence of a group: Groups obviously generate the feeling of competition and people become more aggressive when they are in a group than when they are alone.Groups compete over scarce resources, both material resources such as territory or money and social resources such as respect or self-esteem.
(viii) Perceived inequity: Perceived inequity is a reason for conflict. Equity refers to distribution of rewards in proposition to individual contributions. If both contribute more but get less, you feel irritated.

Question. What are the consequences of Inter-group conflict?
Answer.
(i) Conflicts between groups lead to group polarisation.
(ii) Conflicts may result in coalition formation of like-minded parties, thereby increasing the apprehensions of both parties resulting in mis-perceptions and biased interpretations and attributions.
(iii) Conflicts can be at three levels; structural, group and individual. Structural conditions include high rates of poverty, economic and social stratification, inequality, limited social and political opportunity. Group level factors has shown that social identity, realistic conflict between group over resources and unequal power relations between groups lead to escalation of conflict. At the individual level; beliefs, biased attitudes and personality characteristics are important determinants.
According to Deutsch, the various direct or indirect consequences of inter-group conflict are:
(i) Breakdown of communication in which
- Communication between the groups becomes poor.
- The group members do not trust each other, thereby leading to a breakdown in communication and this generates suspicion for each other.
(ii) Distorted perception: Groups start magnifying their differences and start perceiving their behaviour as fair and others’ behaviour as unfair.
(iii) Increase in power: Each side tries to increase its own power and legitimacy. As a consequence, the conflict gets escalated shifting from few specific issues to much larger issues.
(iv) Escalation of conflict: Once conflict starts, several other factors lead to escalation of conflict such as the following:
- Hardening of in-group opinion.
- Explicit threats directed at the out-group.
- Each group retaliating more and more.
- Other parties also choose to take sides.

Important Notes for Class 12 Psychology Chapter 7 Social Influence and Group Processes

Chapter At A Glance

Group is a collection of individuals. Group refers to two or more persons who interact with one another, share common goals and they recognize themselves that they belong to a group. They interact with each other, either directly or indirectly and their relationship is relatively stable. Their interaction should be structured in some manner so that they perform the same and similar function when they meet.
Generally, group members help to satisfy both psychological and social needs, such as towards giving attention and receiving attention. Groups help us to fulfill our need for security. In contrast we can think about a mere collection of individuals, who are not part of a group, as for example, members of a crowd, as in case of disorganized group. In a nutshell it can be said that the group has some kind of structure to hold it together and attain the goals effectively. The structure is hierarchical where the functions and powers are distributed. Group may be of different types, viz., primary and secondary group, formal and informal group, etc. Group structure is a pattern of relationships among members that hold the group together. It can be interpreted in various ways depending on group size, group roles, group norms and group cohesiveness.
A powerful factor which has significant impact on group is ‘norm’. The rules may be implicit or explicit, established by groups to regulate the behaviour of their members. In many situations, norms tell group members how to behave or how not to behave. Generally, group insists upon adherence to their norms as a basic requirement for membership. Groups influence their members through roles, i.e., members’ assigned functions in the group; status i.e., their relative standing in the group and norms, i.e., rules concerning appropriate behaviour for members, and lastly, cohesiveness, i.e., all factors that cause members to remain in the group.
Among the various group processes, cooperation and competition are the important ones. Cooperation involves mutual goals, but competition is concerned with personal goals.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTION

Q1. Explain the various reasons that may lead to a group conflict.

Q2. How does the prisoner’s Dilemma game define the concept of cooperation and competition?

Q3. Differentiate between:-

(a) Conformity, compliance and obedience.

(b) Ingroup and outgroup

(c) Primary and secondary group

(d) Deadline Technique vs. Door in the face technique

Q4. “According to “Irving Janis”, team work leads to beneficial results.” Elaborate.

Q5. What role does cohesiveness plays in binding the group together?

Q6. “Raghav is a 17 years old boy who has just joined college after shifting to Delhi. He plays Guitar and has got friendly with the band in college”. What do you think are reasons for him to become a part of the Band or becoming friendly with that group?

Q7. Explain the various determinants of conformity?

Q8. What reasons do you think are responsible for making people obey others even in the harmful situations?

Q9. How did Sherif and Asch determine the norm formation of the group?

Q10Explain the concept of social loafing with the help of latane’s experiment. How can it be reduced?