9990 · 4.3.2
Individual and group performance flashcards
Revision flashcards for Cambridge 9990 Individual and group performance (syllabus 4.3.2). Flip, recall, then mark a real past-paper question.
Card
Social facilitation (Zajonc)?
Presence of others increases arousal — improves performance on well-learned/simple tasks, impairs complex or new tasks.
Card
Social loafing?
Reduced individual effort when working collectively — 'free-rider' problem when output is pooled.
Card
Ringelmann effect?
As group size increases, individual effort decreases — tug-of-war studies showed bigger teams pulled less per person.
Card
How to reduce social loafing?
Make contributions identifiable, set individual goals, increase task importance, reduce group size.
Card
Co-action vs audience effects?
Co-action = others doing same task; audience = being watched — both can trigger arousal.
Card
When do groups outperform individuals?
Complex tasks benefiting from diverse skills, when loafing is controlled and goals are clear.
Card
What is social facilitation?
A change in performance on a task caused by the real or imagined presence of others. Performance is typically enhanced on simple/well-learned tasks and impaired on complex/new tasks.
Card
What is social loafing?
The tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working collectively towards a common goal, compared to when they are individually accountable.
Card
What is Zajonc's 'dominant response'?
The response that is most likely to occur in a situation. The presence of others increases physiological arousal, which makes the dominant response more likely to be performed.
Card
What is Evaluation Apprehension Theory?
Cottrell's (1972) theory that social facilitation effects are caused not by the mere presence of others, but by the fear of being judged or evaluated by them, which causes arousal.
Card
What is group cohesion?
The forces that bind members of a group together, promoting a sense of unity. It includes task cohesion (commitment to the group's goals) and social cohesion (interpersonal attraction between members).
Card
What is the 'sucker effect' in social loafing?
A reduction in effort by individuals who feel that others in the group are 'free-riding'. They lower their own effort to avoid being the 'sucker' who does all the work.
Card
What are the two components of process loss in the Ringelmann effect?
1. **Motivation loss:** Social loafing due to diffusion of responsibility. 2. **Coordination loss:** Problems in synchronising efforts as group size increases (e.g., getting in each other's way).
Card
Distinguish between social inhibition and social loafing.
Social inhibition is impaired performance on a complex *individual* task due to arousal from an audience. Social loafing is reduced effort on a *collective* task where individual output is not measured.