Question

During an inter-school science exhibition,

• Riya, who usually works efficiently when alone, noticed a drop in her productivity while working with a team.
• Her friend Arjun, however, performed much better during the final group presentation than he did during rehearsals.
• Meanwhile, during a debate on climate change, the group members who initially had mild views became more extreme after discussing their options together.
• While playing tug of war, only Riya’s teammates contributed less efforts in the group task compared to working alone.

Based on the above situation, identify and explain any four psychological concepts related to group influence on individual behaviour.

Answer 1

The four psychological concepts related to group influence in the given scenario are:

1. Social Inhibition (Riya’s productivity drop): This happens when a person’s performance declines in the presence of others, especially on difficult or novel activities. Riya, who is efficient alone, most likely felt the pressure of evaluation while working with the team, resulting in a decrease in her productivity.
2. Social Facilitation (Arjun’s improved performance): This is an improvement in performance on a well-learned or basic task in front of an audience. Arjun performed better in the final presentation because the presence of others raised his arousal, allowing him to respond more dominantly.
3. Group Polarization (The climate change debate): This relates to a group’s tendency to make decisions that are more extreme than its members’ initial inclination. After the conversation, the group members’ mild opinions grew more extreme as they were exposed to new arguments and felt compelled to conform to the perceived group norm.
4. Social Loafing (Tug of War): This refers to the reduction in individual effort when working on a collective task where individual contributions cannot be independently evaluated. Riya’s teammates felt less personally accountable during the tug of war, they put in less effort than they would have alone.