MCAT Psychological Social Foundations Flashcards: 7b Group Decision Making Dynamics

What this deck covers

This deck focuses on 7b Group Decision Making Dynamics, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for MCAT Psychological Social Foundations.

How to use these flashcards

Work through these flashcards in short sessions. Try to answer each prompt before flipping the card, then revisit any cards you miss until the explanation feels automatic.

Flashcard 1: Which influence best explains conforming in an ambiguous situation: normative or informational?

Answer: Informational social influence. Uncertainty leads people to look to others for guidance.

Flashcard 2: What does social facilitation predict for simple or well-learned tasks?

Answer: Performance improves in the presence of others. Arousal from others' presence enhances dominant responses on easy tasks.

Flashcard 3: Identify the concept: People in a crowd vandalize while feeling anonymous.

Answer: Deindividuation. Loss of individual identity in crowds enables antisocial acts.

Flashcard 4: What is groupthink in group decision-making?

Answer: Pressure for consensus that suppresses dissent and critical thinking. Desire for harmony overrides realistic evaluation of alternatives.

Flashcard 5: What is the bystander effect in emergencies?

Answer: Lower likelihood of helping when more bystanders are present. As bystander numbers increase, individuals feel less personal obligation to act, assuming others will respond instead.

Flashcard 6: What is the fundamental attribution error in judging others in groups?

Answer: Overattribute others' behavior to disposition over situation. We underestimate situational factors when judging others.

Flashcard 7: What is the difference between a role and a status in groups?

Answer: Role: expected behavior; Status: relative social position. Roles are behaviors; status is hierarchical rank.

Flashcard 8: What is the choice shift effect in group decisions?

Answer: Group decisions shift from the average of individual initial positions. Groups don't simply average opinions but shift toward extremes.

Flashcard 9: What is a reference group, and what does it primarily shape?

Answer: Group used for comparison; shapes norms, identity, and behavior. Provides standards for self-evaluation and belonging.

Flashcard 10: Identify the concept: a committee suppresses dissent to preserve unanimity and cohesion.

Answer: Groupthink. Pressure for consensus prevents critical evaluation of decisions.

Flashcard 11: What is social facilitation in group performance?

Answer: Others' presence improves performance on well-learned simple tasks. Arousal from others enhances dominant responses, aiding familiar tasks.

Flashcard 12: What is the bystander effect in emergencies involving multiple witnesses?

Answer: Lower likelihood of helping as the number of bystanders increases. Responsibility diffuses among observers, reducing individual action.

Flashcard 13: What is the minimal group paradigm used to demonstrate?

Answer: Ingroup bias can occur from arbitrary group assignments. Shows bias emerges even without real group differences or conflict.

Flashcard 14: What is the mere exposure effect and how can it shape group preferences?

Answer: Repeated exposure increases liking, biasing group attitudes toward familiarity. Familiarity breeds preference through comfort and fluency.

Flashcard 15: Identify the concept: People work less hard on a team task than alone.

Answer: Social loafing. Reduced effort occurs when individual output isn't identifiable.

Flashcard 16: What does social facilitation predict for complex or novel tasks?

Answer: Performance worsens in the presence of others. Arousal from others' presence impairs performance on difficult tasks.

Flashcard 17: What is the self-serving bias in evaluating group outcomes?

Answer: Success attributed to self; failure attributed to external factors. Protects self-esteem by attributing outcomes selectively.

Flashcard 18: What is deindividuation in large groups?

Answer: Loss of self-awareness leading to disinhibited behavior. Anonymity in crowds reduces self-regulation and increases impulsivity.

Flashcard 19: What is in-group favoritism in social identity theory?

Answer: Preferential attitudes and behaviors toward one's in-group. People favor their own group to maintain positive social identity.

Flashcard 20: Which concept explains why presence of others increases dominant responses?

Answer: Zajonc's theory of social facilitation. Arousal strengthens habitual responses, improving or impairing performance.

Flashcard 21: What is deindividuation in crowds or anonymous groups?

Answer: Loss of self-awareness and restraint due to anonymity. Group immersion weakens personal identity and inhibitions.

Flashcard 22: What is groupthink as a group decision-making phenomenon?

Answer: Conformity that prioritizes consensus over critical evaluation. It arises in cohesive groups under pressure, suppressing dissent and critical thinking to preserve harmony and apparent consensus.

Flashcard 23: Identify the concept: a person helps less when others are present because responsibility is shared.

Answer: Diffusion of responsibility. Individual responsibility dilutes when others could also act.

Flashcard 24: What is obedience in social influence?

Answer: Following direct commands from an authority figure. Compliance specifically to authority, not peers.

Flashcard 25: Identify the group dynamic: People contribute less on a group project than alone.

Answer: Social loafing. Individual effort decreases when pooled with others.

Flashcard 26: Identify the term: Effort decreases as group size increases on simple tasks.

Answer: Social loafing. Reduced accountability leads to decreased individual effort.

Flashcard 27: What is the social facilitation effect?

Answer: Others' presence improves easy tasks and impairs difficult tasks. Arousal from others enhances well-learned responses, hinders new ones.

Flashcard 28: What is the fundamental attribution error in evaluating others in groups?

Answer: Overattributing others' behavior to disposition over situation. We underestimate situational factors when judging others' actions.

Flashcard 29: Identify the type of influence: You adopt the group's answer because you think it is correct.

Answer: Informational social influence. Accepting group's view as accurate information source.

Flashcard 30: Identify the concept: A group suppresses dissent to maintain unanimity.

Answer: Groupthink. Pressure for consensus prevents critical evaluation.

Flashcard 31: Which concept best fits: After discussion, members adopt a more extreme position?

Answer: Group polarization. Group interaction intensifies pre-existing attitudes.

Flashcard 32: Identify the concept: Helping is less likely when many witnesses are present.

Answer: Bystander effect. Responsibility diffuses, reducing individual intervention.

Flashcard 33: Which intervention reduces groupthink by separating evaluation from initial idea generation?

Answer: Use independent subgroups, then reconvene to compare. Dividing into subgroups allows diverse ideas to emerge independently, reducing conformity when groups later integrate perspectives.

Flashcard 34: What is social loafing in group tasks?

Answer: Reduced individual effort when working collectively. Individual contributions become less identifiable in groups.

Flashcard 35: What is social loafing in group performance?

Answer: Reduced individual effort when working in a group. Individual contributions become less identifiable in groups.

Flashcard 36: What is an in-group bias that can follow minimal group assignment?

Answer: Ingroup favoritism even with arbitrary, minimal group distinctions. Even random grouping triggers preference for one's assigned group.

Flashcard 37: What is an out-group in social psychology?

Answer: A group perceived as not belonging to one's in-group. Defined by contrast with one's own group membership.

Flashcard 38: What is groupthink in highly cohesive decision-making groups?

Answer: Consensus seeking that suppresses critical evaluation. Desire for harmony overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Flashcard 39: What is social inhibition as it relates to the presence of others?

Answer: Others' presence impairs performance on novel or complex tasks. Arousal from others disrupts performance when learning new skills.

Flashcard 40: Identify the concept: In a crowd, a person feels anonymous and acts impulsively.

Answer: Deindividuation. Loss of individual identity enables unrestrained behavior.

Flashcard 41: Identify the concept: Group members work less hard because their individual effort is not tracked.

Answer: Social loafing. Without individual accountability, members reduce effort, relying on others to compensate in collective tasks.

Flashcard 42: Identify the group process: a team avoids dissent to preserve unanimity despite flaws.

Answer: Groupthink. Consensus pressure suppresses critical thinking.

Flashcard 43: Which situational factor most increases deindividuation during group behavior?

Answer: Anonymity (often with high arousal). Lack of identifiability lowers self-awareness and accountability, amplifying impulsive actions especially in stimulating environments.

Flashcard 44: What is the risky shift phenomenon in group decision-making?

Answer: Groups tend to choose riskier options than individuals choose alone. Part of group polarization where initial risk preferences intensify.

Flashcard 45: What is self-serving bias in explaining outcomes?

Answer: Success to self; failure to external factors. Protects self-esteem by attributing differently based on outcome.

Flashcard 46: What is the self-serving bias in group outcomes?

Answer: Attributing success to self and failure to external factors. Protects self-esteem by making favorable attributions.

Flashcard 47: What is the common knowledge effect in group discussions?

Answer: Groups over-discuss shared info and under-discuss unique info. Members focus on validating shared knowledge rather than pooling unique info.

Flashcard 48: What is the mere exposure effect in group attitudes?

Answer: Repeated exposure increases liking. Familiarity breeds preference through reduced uncertainty.

Flashcard 49: What is deindividuation and what typically increases it in groups?

Answer: Loss of self-awareness; increased by anonymity and arousal. Group immersion reduces self-monitoring and increases impulsive behavior.

Flashcard 50: What is the Ringelmann effect in group tasks?

Answer: Individual productivity decreases as group size increases. Coordination losses and motivation deficits compound with size.

Flashcard 51: Identify the group phenomenon: A unanimous committee ignores warning signs to preserve harmony.

Answer: Groupthink. Prioritizing consensus over critical analysis exemplifies this phenomenon.

Flashcard 52: What is the fundamental attribution error in judging others in groups?

Answer: Overattributing behavior to disposition and underweighting situation. Neglects situational factors when explaining others' actions.

Flashcard 53: What is social loafing in group task performance?

Answer: Reduced individual effort when working in a group. When efforts are pooled anonymously, individuals perceive less personal accountability, leading to decreased motivation and output.

Flashcard 54: What is social loafing during group tasks?

Answer: Reduced individual effort when working in a group. People exert less effort when their contribution isn't identifiable.

Flashcard 55: What is social loafing when people work in groups?

Answer: Reduced individual effort when contributions are not identifiable. People exert less effort when their individual output can't be evaluated.

Flashcard 56: Identify the influence type: conforming to avoid rejection, not because you agree.

Answer: Normative social influence. Social pressure overrides personal beliefs.

Flashcard 57: What is the out-group homogeneity effect?

Answer: Perceiving out-group members as more similar to each other. Less exposure to out-group variety creates perception of sameness.

Flashcard 58: Identify the term: In a team project, each member works less hard because effort is pooled.

Answer: Social loafing. Diffusion of responsibility reduces individual motivation.

Flashcard 59: What is compliance as distinct from conformity?

Answer: Publicly agreeing with a request without necessarily internal belief change. Surface-level agreement without genuine attitude change.

Flashcard 60: Which option best explains reduced helping when others are present: diffusion of responsibility or social facilitation?

Answer: Diffusion of responsibility. Presence of others reduces personal obligation to help.

Flashcard 61: Identify the mechanism: nobody calls $911$ because each assumes someone else will.

Answer: Diffusion of responsibility. Each person thinks others will take responsibility.

Flashcard 62: What is social loafing in a group task?

Answer: Reduced individual effort when contributions are pooled in a group. Individual contributions become unidentifiable, reducing motivation.

Flashcard 63: What is the fundamental attribution error in social judgment?

Answer: Overattribute others' behavior to disposition over situation. Underestimates situational factors in explaining behavior.

Flashcard 64: What is the risky shift phenomenon?

Answer: Groups make riskier decisions than individuals would alone. Diffusion of responsibility reduces individual caution.

Flashcard 65: What is the self-serving bias in group-related outcomes?

Answer: Attributing success internally and failure externally. Protects self-esteem by biasing causal explanations.

Flashcard 66: What is deindividuation in group settings?

Answer: Loss of self-awareness and restraint, increasing impulsive behavior. Group immersion weakens normal inhibitions against deviant behavior.

Flashcard 67: What is the difference between risky shift and group polarization?

Answer: Risky shift is risk-specific; polarization is any attitude extremity shift. Polarization includes all extremes; risky shift only toward risk.

Flashcard 68: What is group polarization in group decision-making outcomes?

Answer: Shift toward more extreme attitudes after group discussion. Discussion amplifies initial leanings through repeated exposure and arguments.

Flashcard 69: What is the risky shift phenomenon?

Answer: Groups make riskier decisions than individuals would alone. Diffusion of responsibility reduces individual caution.

Flashcard 70: What is social inhibition in the context of social facilitation effects?

Answer: Worsened performance on complex or novel tasks. Arousal impairs performance when tasks require new learning.

Flashcard 71: What is groupthink in group decision-making?

Answer: Pressure for consensus that suppresses dissent and critical evaluation. Desire for harmony overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Flashcard 72: Identify the best method to reduce social loafing in teams.

Answer: Increase individual accountability (identify and evaluate each member). Making individual contributions visible prevents hiding in the group.

Flashcard 73: What is deindividuation in a crowd or anonymous group setting?

Answer: Loss of self-awareness leading to disinhibited, norm-driven behavior. Anonymity reduces self-regulation and increases impulsive actions.

Flashcard 74: Identify the effect: a crowd makes a skilled performer do better on a simple routine.

Answer: Social facilitation. Audience arousal improves well-learned performance.

Flashcard 75: Which option best reduces social loafing: individual accountability or anonymity?

Answer: Individual accountability. Making contributions identifiable prevents free-riding.

Flashcard 76: Identify the group phenomenon: a person works less hard on a team project than when graded individually.

Answer: Social loafing. Individual accountability increases effort; anonymity decreases it.

Flashcard 77: What is an outgroup in intergroup relations?

Answer: A group perceived as different from and separate from the ingroup. Often subject to stereotyping and discrimination by ingroup.

Flashcard 78: What is the diffusion of responsibility effect in groups?

Answer: Reduced personal accountability when others are present. Responsibility spreads across group members, reducing individual action.

Flashcard 79: What is social loafing in group performance?

Answer: Reduced individual effort when working in a group. Individuals exert less effort due to decreased accountability in groups.

Flashcard 80: What is evaluation apprehension as it relates to group performance?

Answer: Performance changes due to concern about being judged by others. Fear of negative evaluation affects task performance in social settings.

Flashcard 81: Identify the phenomenon: a team ignores warnings to preserve unanimity and morale.

Answer: Groupthink. Cohesion and isolation create pressure for consensus over accuracy.

Flashcard 82: What is an ingroup in social identity theory?

Answer: The group with which an individual identifies and feels membership. Forms part of one's social identity and self-concept.

Flashcard 83: What is social loafing in group work settings?

Answer: Reduced individual effort when contributions are not identifiable. People exert less effort when their individual output can't be evaluated.

Flashcard 84: What is the difference between normative and informational social influence?

Answer: Normative: fit in; Informational: accept others as accurate. Normative seeks approval; informational assumes others know better.

Flashcard 85: What is informational social influence in group behavior?

Answer: Conformity because others are viewed as a source of correct info. People assume the majority knows something they don't.

Flashcard 86: What is pluralistic ignorance in group situations?

Answer: Privately rejecting a norm while assuming others accept it. Everyone misperceives group consensus due to public conformity.

Flashcard 87: What is social facilitation when others are present?

Answer: Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks. Arousal from others enhances dominant responses.

Flashcard 88: What is a reference group?

Answer: Group used as a standard for self-evaluation and behavior. People compare themselves to this group to guide their actions.

Flashcard 89: What is the choice shift phenomenon in group decision-making?

Answer: Group decision shifts from the pre-discussion average of members. Group dynamics move decisions away from individual starting positions.

Flashcard 90: What is obedience in social influence?

Answer: Following direct commands from an authority figure. Authority legitimacy compels action despite personal beliefs.

Flashcard 91: What is self-serving bias in explaining outcomes?

Answer: Success to internal causes; failure to external causes. Protects self-esteem by attributing differently.

Flashcard 92: What is the informational social influence mechanism of conformity?

Answer: Conform because others are viewed as a source of information. We assume the group knows better in ambiguous situations.

Flashcard 93: What is the difference between risky shift and group polarization?

Answer: Risky shift is risk-specific; polarization is any attitude extreme. Risky shift is one type of polarization toward risk-taking.

Flashcard 94: Which intervention best reduces groupthink by formalizing dissent during deliberation?

Answer: Assign a devil's advocate. This role encourages critical scrutiny by deliberately challenging assumptions, countering pressures toward premature consensus.

Flashcard 95: What is the diffusion of responsibility in group settings?

Answer: Reduced personal accountability when others are present. Individual responsibility dilutes across group members.

Flashcard 96: What is the difference between an ingroup and an outgroup?

Answer: Ingroup: "us" identity; outgroup: "them" identity. Social categorization creates boundaries between groups.

Flashcard 97: Identify the term: After discussion, a jury becomes more extreme in its initial leanings.

Answer: Group polarization. Discussion reinforces and intensifies pre-existing attitudes.

Flashcard 98: What is a group status hierarchy?

Answer: Rank ordering of members by prestige, power, or influence. Members are differentiated by their relative social standing.

Flashcard 99: What is social loafing in group performance settings?

Answer: Reduced individual effort when working in a group. Individuals exert less effort when their contribution is not identifiable.

Flashcard 100: What is normative social influence in a group?

Answer: Conforming to gain approval or avoid disapproval. Social pressure motivates compliance to maintain group acceptance.