Psychology 742: Group Behavior

Dr. Stangor

Spring, 2003

Objectives:

The goal of this course is to provide an in‑depth review of research and theorizing about the social group. The course covers both intra-group as well as inter-group processes. Topics include historical perspectives on the social group, group development and structure, group decision‑making and performance, groups in society (i.e. juries, group psychotherapy, families, etc), group conflict, the formation and maintenance of prejudice, the development of social stereotypes, and the processes and outcomes of social categorization.

Grading:

Grades will be assigned on the basis of three sets of requirements. In each case, it is expected that the student will present knowledge of the material. However, knowledge is not sufficient for an "A" grade. "A" grades will only be assigned to students who demonstrate creative, original thinking and integration of ideas.

1. Weekly discussion questions. Each week, students will generate two discussion questions on the basis of the assigned readings. These questions should be typed, and will be returned to the student the following week. The questions may be used to develop class discussions. Attempt to create questions that elicit creative and original ways of thinking about the readings, and which integrate ideas.

2. Two in‑class presentations. Each presentation should last about 15 minutes. Presentations should be carefully prepared, as organization will count toward the assigned grade. In addition to briefly reviewing the major points of the assigned readings, presentations should attempt to generate new ideas and new ways of thinking about the materials. This may include, among other things, integrating the assigned material with previous course material or with other material not covered in the course (such as your own research).

3. A class presentation and a written research proposal (the latter is due on the last day of classes). The presentation and paper should (a) summarize the current state of empirical and theoretical knowledge in the area of interest, (b) indicate what you perceive as the strengths and limitations of this knowledge and (c) propose at least one empirical study designed to expand knowledge in the area. The proposed research should be described in enough detail that I can judge whether it is likely to be successful in demonstrating what it is designed to demonstrate.

Texts:

Stangor, C. (2003). Social groups in action and interaction. New York: Psychology Press.

Feb 5 Perspectives on groups (Chapters 1-3; Crandall, 1988; Ennett & Bauman, 1994; Lickel et al., 2000).

Feb 12 Social influence (Chapter 4; Kruglanski & Mackie 1990; Nowak, Szamrej, & Latané, 1990).

Feb 19 Social Categorization and Social Identity (Chapter 5; Eagly & Steffen, 1984; Gaertner & Dovidio, 1986; Tajfel & Forgas, 1981; ).

Feb 26 Group Structure: Status, Power, Roles and Leadership (Chapters 6-7; Driskell & Mullen, 1990; Fiedler, 1972; Kipnis, 1972; Meindl, 1985; Zaccaro et al., 1991).

Mar 5 Group Decision-making: Groupthink, Polarization, Brainstorming (Chapter 8; Brauer & Judd, 1996; Laughlin & Shippy, 1983; Kerr, 1981; Stasser & Titus, 1985; Turner et al., 1992).

Mar 12 Group Performance: Social facilitation, Task typologies (Chapters 9-10 ; Latané et al., 1979; Liang et al., 1995; Weldon et al., 1991).

Mar 19 Cultures and Collectives (Chapter 11; Ancona et al., 1988 ; Arrow, 1997; Mckenna & Bargh, 1998; Postmes & Spears, 1998).

Apr 2 Within-Group conflict (Chapter 12; Gruenfeld, 1995; Kramer & Brewer, 1984; Weingart et al.,1993)

Apr 9 Between-Group conflict (Chapter 13; Hewstone, 1996; Rothbart & John, 1985; Wolsko et al., 2000).

Apr 16 Stereotyping and Prejudice (Jones & Stangor, 2003; Lepore & Brown, 1997; Major et al., 2003; Pratto et al., 1995).

Apr 23 Research presentations

Apr 30 Research presentations

May 7 Research presentations

May 14 Papers due

REFERENCES

Ancona, D. G., & Caldwell, D. F. (1988). Beyond task and maintenance: Defining external functions in groups. Group and Organization Studies, 13, 468-494.

Arrow, H. (1997). Stability, bistability, and instability in small group influence patterns. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(1)), 75-85.

Brauer, M., & Judd, C. M. (1996). Group polarization and repeated attitude expressions: A new take on an old topic. European Review of Social Psychology, 7, 173-207.

Crandall, C. S. (1988). Social contagion of binge eating. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 55(4), 588-598.

Driskell, J. E., & Mullen, B. (1990). Status, expectations, and behavior: A meta-analytic review and test of the theory. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16, 541-553.

Eagly, A. H., & Steffen, V. J. (1984). Gender stereotypes stem from the distribution of women and men into social roles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 735-754.

Ennett, S. T., & Bauman, K. E. (1994). The contribution of influence and selection to adolescent peer group homogeneity: The case of adolescent cigarette smoking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 653-663.

Fiedler, F. E. (1972). The effects of leadership training and experience: A contingency model interpretation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 453-470.

Gaertner, S. L., & Dovidio, J. F. (1986). The aversive form of racism. In S. L. Gaertner & J. F. Dovidio (Eds.), Prejudice, Discrimination and Racism (pp. 1-34). Orlando: Academic.

Gruenfeld, D. H. (1995). Status, ideology, and integrative complexity on the U.S. Supreme Court: Rethinking the politics of political decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 5-20.

Hewstone, M. (1996). Contact and categorization: Social psychological interventions to change intergroup relations. In C. N. Macrae & C. Stangor & M. Hewstone (Eds.), Stereotypes and stereotyping (pp. 323-368). New York: The Guilford Press

Jones, P., & Stangor, C. (2002). The Moderators and Mediators of Stereotype Threat: A Meta-analysis. Manuscript in Preparation, University of Maryland.

Kerr, N. L. (1981). Social transition schemes: Charting the group's road to agreement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 684-702.

Kipnis, D. (1972). Does power corrupt? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 24, 33-41.

Kramer, R. M., & Brewer, M. B. (1984). Effects of group identity on resource use in a simulated commons dilemma. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 46(5), 1044-1057.The

Kruglanski, A. W., & Mackie, D. M. (1990). Majority and minority influence: A judgmental process analysis. European Review of Social Psychology, 1, 230-261.

Latane, B., Williams, K., & Harkins, S. (1979). Many hands make light the work: The causes and consequences of social loafing. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 37(6), 822-832.

Laughlin, P. R., & Shippy, T. A. (1983). Collective induction. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 45(1), 94-100.

Lepore, L., & Brown, R. (1997). Category and stereotype activation: Is prejudice inevitable? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(2), 275-287.

Liang, D. W., Moreland, R., & Argote, L. (1995). Group versus individual training and group performance: The mediating factor of transactive memory. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 21(4), 384-393.

Lickel, B., Hamilton, D. L., Wieczorkowska, G., Lewis, A., Sherman, S. J., & Uhles, A. N. (2000). Varieties of groups and the perception of group entitativity. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 78(2), 223-246.

Major, B., Quinton, W., & McCoy, S. (2003). Antecedents and consequences of attributions to discrimination: Theoretical and empirical advances. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 34.

McKenna, K. Y. A., & Bargh, J. A. (1998). Coming out in the age of the Internet: Identity "demarginalization" through virtual group participation. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 75(3), 681-694.

Meindl, J. R., Ehrlich, S. B., & Dukerich, J. M. (1985). The romance of leadership. Administrative Science Quarterly, 30(1)), 78-102.

Nowak, A., Szamrej, J., & Latane, B. (1990). From private attitude to public opinion: A dynamic theory of social impact. Psychological Review, 97(3), 362-376.

Postmes, T., & Spears, R. (1998). Deindividuation and antinormative behavior: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 123, 238-259.

Pratto, F., Sidanius, J., Stallworth, L. M., & Malle, B. F. (1995). Social dominance orientation: A personality variable predicting social and political attitudes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 741-763

Rothbart, M., & John, O. P. (1985). Social categorization and behavioral episodes: A cognitive analysis of the effects of intergroup contact. Journal of Social Issues, 41, 81-104.

Stasser, G., & Titus, W. (1985). Pooling of unshared information in group decision making: Biased information sampling during discussion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48(6), 1467-1478.

Tajfel, H., & Forgas, J. P. (1981). Social categorization: Cognitions, values and groups. In J. P. Forgas (Ed.), Social Cognition (pp. 113-140). New York: Academic

Turner, M. E., Pratkanis, A. R., Probasco, P., & Leve, C. (1992). Threat, cohesion, and group effectiveness: Testing a social identity maintenance perspective on groupthink. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 781-796.

Weingart, L. R., Bennett, R. J., & Brett, J. M. (1993). The impact of consideration of issues and motivational orientation on group negotiation process and outcome. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(3)), 504-517.

Weldon, E., Jehn, K. A., & Pradhan, P. (1991). Processes that mediate the relationship between a group goal and improved group performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 555-569.

Wolsko, C., Park, B., Judd, C. M., & Wittenbrink, B. (2000). Framing interethnic ideology: Effects of multicultural and color-blind perspectives on judgments of groups and individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 635-654.

Zaccaro, S. J., Foti, R. J., & Kenny, D. A. (1991). Self-monitoring and trait-based variance in leadership: An investigation of leader flexibility across multiple group situations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(2), 308-315.