groupthink

Lecture notes: Group behavior

GroupThink

Group Think - deindividualization

we embedded in social contexts, we are influenced by imitation and risk aversion = herding, information cascades =

imitation can be a rational response, no one knows everything and we can specialize

we supplement our information by looking at what others are doing and decisions are not made all at once but in sequence, at some point stop paying attention to our own knowledge and rely on the flow of others,

depend more on public knowledge than private knowledge, then cascade stops becoming informative

groups that are too much like each other find it harder to keep on learning because each member brings less and less information to the table,

bringing in new members into an organization makes it smarter (even if the people are less experienced and capable, usually less than the person they replaced),

diversity makes it easier for an individual to say what they really think,

Conditions	Groupthink occurs when groups are highly cohesive and when they are under considerable pressure to make a quality decision.
Negative outcomes	Some negative outcomes of groupthink include: Examining few alternatives Not being critical of each other's ideas Not examining early alternatives Not seeking expert opinion Being highly selective in gathering information Not having contingency plans
Symptoms	Some symptoms of groupthink are: Having an illusion of invulnerability Rationalizing poor decisions Believing in the group's morality Sharing stereotypes which guide the decision Exercising direct pressure on others Not expressing your true feelings Maintaining an illusion of unanimity Using mindguards to protect the group from negative information

Tragedy of the Commons: Win As Much As You Can

Cooperation - societies need cooperation, laws alone wouldn’t work, but it is not rational to cooperate, “shadow of the future” not about trust but about durability of relationship, the promise of continued interaction,

but then we also cooperate with strangers such as donating to charities, buying on ebay, tipping,

we see over time that trade and exchange are games that everyone gains rather than zero-sum games with only a winner and loser, reciprocity = key idea, we will pay our fair share of taxes (although we stand to benefit for services even if we don’t) if everyone does and there is a chance that those who don’t will get caught and punished,

most of us are conditional consenters who cooperate if that is why the game works, it is important that we believe the system works

Coordination – it is possible for us to be coordinated even without talking to each other, people’s experiences of the world are often similar, this creates norms and conventions that regulate behavior but new rules can be formed quickly, conventions also reduce amount of cognitive work, first-come first-served seating in public places (subway, bus, movie theater, on the beach), not the best way to distribute seating but it is easy and internalized

The Ultimatum Game

Famous Speaker

We are in the midst of the first presentation cycle. Of course, it's apparent who's going forward on this assignment and those who are struggling. The learning and emotional issues all rise to the surface. This gives us something to work on but is challenging for me and, naturally, for the students. Some are not organized and an assignment needs attention to detail and timeliness. Some have language difficulties, and this makes it hard to translate research from different sources into a coherant narrative. Confidence, especially with public speaking, becomes a major factor. Preparation and practice are the key, but for some it's like putting yourself in front of the firing line. Avoidance makes the problem worse. I got my fingers crossed. Fortunately there appears to be a range. As long as some are thriving then the exercise has momentum.

more week three

Weird how one class jells and another a period later doesn’t. And sometimes its irregular. It’s unpredictable which class will generate heat and interest and which will space out. This AM the Tannen video did not fly very well with period one but great with period two. I would have predicted the opposite, at least in this instance, so you never know.

Anyway, I want to finish up Tannen and see if there are ways to make that better. I want to get into some of the universals – about language and context, co-created meaning, negating the conduit metaphor, lifting the burden of pathology, ethnocentrism and stereotypes

Before Tannen, it would be good to take a tour of CO greatests hits

- Boxing Plato’s Shadow – Ancient Athenian Greece – created western civilization, including democracy (one person, one vote; marketplace of ideas), Plato was concerned about oral communication (not Socratic Dialogues, use of logic) in groups, argued against the mob, in the Republic wanted society to be ruled by the elite, Philosopher King, Socrates was killed – Plato found group communication too emotional (today we call this hype, spin, BS, propaganda) This belief, that talk is cheap persists to this day.

Do words matter? Sticks and Stones may break my bones…(attack of symbols, American Flag, Confederate Flag, Nazi sign, Twin Towers) insult someone’s mother

- Sapir-Whorf Theory (chicken or egg) – which came first = language or thought (linguistic determinism) people with more words for color see more colors, Suicides rate in Philippines without word for sad or depressed, Eskimos and snow, generally this theory is not trued, just because a word does not exist doesn’t mean it can’t be perceived, 1) the language use tells us more about a culture, some cultures do not have a word for virgin, US usage for money and for women 2) words create efficiency – harder to talk about something with the words (emoticons) allows you to manipulate others perceptions, jargoning creates efficiency 3) new words are constantly evolving adding new concepts that can influence behavior – date rape, road rage, designated driver

- Colorless Green Ideas – Chomsky Syntactic Structures 1957 – the ability to use language is hardwired, to understand sequence, universal grammar (noun or actor, verb or action, object and modifiers) sentence is a complete thought, this is an extreme example, say it backwards it is even more nonsensical, we deduct new words and ideas by context (association) pathology and pathologize example (pathological liar, psychopath, negative interpretation of personality qualities), lifting the burden of pathology

- And perhaps Tragedy of the Commons

week three

Finished this week’s quiz, grades dropped, giving us something to talk about

Weds.

Didn’t show the Raymond video on perception, will do so as a warm-up, questions on perception and action/communication – see the motivations (attribution)

Watch Tannen video and take out time, provide handout for notetaking, stop and thinking maps diagram of Signals, Devices and Rituals

Thurs.

Finish Tannen video, use precise language as warm-up and maps and territory

Fri. – need to get through Weds, Thurs before deciding how to proceed with Friday, possibilities include

Colorless Green Ideas (prep this)

Metaphor information (prep this)

Aspects of conversations (prep this)

week 2

The quiz was okay. Going over it help. The quiz itself wasn’t so great and the extra credit options were confusing. I will need to think this through better and make some flight corrections.

I want to finish the samplings and take a big picture look at things. It is worth the time to do this.

For “story” focus on group process first: are two heads better than one, in what instances is this true or not? How did these groups work, what is the effect of external stimulus such as competitive groups, time limit, what if more pressure was put on outcomes, are three kinds of people- leaders, followers, mix (most of us fit into mix, under what conditions does this change)

Go over answers – critical thinking exercise, power of assumptions, filling in the story

Perception activities- what color is the fridge, what do cows drink

Perception is an active process!!

Overheads (bring projector)

Multiple perspectives (in groups)

Self monitoring exercise (by self)

Context exercise – fill in the story even further, four aspects of context

Lecture notes for week one

It has been a long time since I have entered anything in this blog. Lost some energy for it last spring and didn't use it at all in the fall. Here's another round, I am convinced that some students will find it interesting, and maybe even helpful.

Lecture notes – week one, day one (need to get through first day to see how the rest of week should go)

Inventory and course details (Course details – office hours on Tuesday (ADM215C), materials = textbook, notebook (sections – notes, handouts, returned work), writing utensil, videotape, computer on Weds.

Introductions using circle map, I will model,

Partners present something unique, special, cool about their partner

Note sampling, four areas of communication – differences and similarities – Interpersonal, Small groups, Public Speaking, Mass Media- 3 principles – cannot not, expert, cannot master

Decide about taking the course – easy course – common sense, hard course – will make you change, decide by Monday – best course you will ever take (most important)

Day two-

Matches – What conclusions can we draw (1) assumptions/perception are part of all communication (people are never a blank slate, carry attitudes, experiences, history into situations) (2)What techniques were successful and what were not? (references to direction, using precision) – the process of adjustment, finding commonalities, creating a frame (called phatic communication)

Draw - CO model – sender/receiver (transactional), channel (immediate, mediated) (synchronous, asynchronous), message (verbal, nonverbal), noise (technical interference, semantic interference, psychological), effect (if a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a noise) (intentional or unintentional) Can we really make anyone really understand anything?

Multi-flow map – cause -What makes for effective communication? (empathy – which is not sympathy, emphasis upon feelings, turn off our inner voice) Or should we ask What makes for ineffective communication? Multi-flow map - effects

Add frame of different contexts to CO model and multi-flow maps – interpersonal, small group, public speaking, mass media

Visit web site – login, look around, homework, discussion board introductions, syllabus

[Sampling – small groups: story] move this to tomorrow?

Model of Object from Closet speech (paper bags)

Day three

Object from Closet speeches

Chose to do this or story - Describe a Person Speeches (provide organizational handout) and videotape?

Day four

Practice quiz

Mass Media: Behind the Screens video

Decide about taking the course – easy course – common sense, hard course – will make you change, decide by Monday – best course you will ever take (most important)

Minute paper1

Week ten

Spring break is over and it's a coast downhill to the end of the semester. Now much of the work, or at least the pressure, is more on the students to perform. Most of them appear ready for the challenge. The role-plays, especially how I redesigned the assignment, worked out well for most of the students. We will continue to have more of these experiential opportunities.