Groups in context

25 important questions on Groups in context

What is the social brain hypothesis?

- group size correlates with brain size, this suggest that our brain is SOCIAL
- the maximum social network size of humans is around 150

Trade hypothesis (Dunbar, 2004)

It has got to do with the benefits of reciprocity. the larger the groups, the more you can share and trade. 

Warfare hypothesis (Alexander, 1979)

We enlarge our networks because of intergroup conflicts. How do we defend ourselves against other groups? We need more members in our own gourd. This leads to an escalation of expending group sizes. 
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Of how many indiv. does the circle of people consist with whom you are most intimate? What is special about a romantic partner?

- the circle of most intimate friends consists of 5 indiv.
- a romantic partner counts for 2 close friends

How happy are people after a conversation?
- e-mail/text message
- face to face

- After conversations involving no face to face contact, people actually do not appear to be very happy. 
- What makes people happier is face to face contact (also Skype)

Social glue mechanism - cohesion: 
- name 6 things that make enhance cohesion!

1. language: connects you also with people not physically present
2. laughter: creates endorphins (makes you feel better and more attached to the group); increases your pain tolerance 
3. singing/music: making music together makes you fee more connected 
4. dancing: same for dancing
5. symbolic identity (religion): a way to create strong cohesive moral groups with no free-riders (with people who were not necessarily your friends) 
6. (charismatic) leadership

Does social cohesion matter? Study by Van Vugt (2001) -> community with water storage
Explain!

What was measured: the amount of water used within the community
2 condition: high community identification vs. low comm. identification
2 variables: fixed amount of water could be used vs. paying for amount of water used. 

Results:
Indiv. in the high identification cond. were more inclined to stick to the fixed amount of water they were allowed to use than indiv. of the low identification cond.
When people had to pay for the water they used, indiv. in the low identification cond. used a little less water. 

What is task cohesion?

How strongly is the belief that the team can finish the job -> collective efficacy
Stable football teams perform better because they may have a stronger task cohesion.
Remaining question: does cohesion effects performance or does performance effects cohesion?

What is emotional cohesion? 

When the group members share emotional reactions -> empathy! 
It's also about respect for your group members. 

What is perceived cohesion?

At the group level, members and non-members alike consider the grow pro be high in entitativity: perceiving the group as unified, highly bonded group rather than a loose aggregation of individuals. 
Members express sense of belonging by stressing their group commitment!

Which team is more cohesive?

The left one! -> more arrows going to both sides!

Initiation - how do you turn a large group of indiv. into a cohesive group?

An initiation is a way to make groups cohesive. 
the more severe the initiation, the more commitment is found in the groups!!

Dictator game - what if you prime people with religion related words?

-> people become more prosocial/ altruistic!!

Is evoked generosity unique to religious primes?

No, it is not! 
- people primed with religious words (church, pope) give more to strangers compared to neutral words (chair, sky)
- However, moral secular primes (descent, honest) have the same generosity effect as religious primes!

Does religion foster cohesion? - individual selection

Religion has fitness benefits for individuals believers - e.g. health benefits of prayer, reputation benefits 

Does religion foster cohesion? - religion as by-product

No fitness consequences, just one of the things you can think about when you have a big brain - e.g. thinking about own mortality 

Does religion foster cohesion? - mismatch

Making sense of the work in ancestral environments (naive science) - but no longer functional - e.g. superstitious beliefs

Does religion foster cohesion? - maladaptive trait

Religion as a meme (or even parasite) that affects the minds and exploits you (Dawkins, 2006)

Does religion foster cohesion? - (cultural) group selection

REligion as a way to create strong cohesive moral groups without free-riders
(Norenyayan & Sharrif in Science, 2008)

What is a collective?

Individuals who are brought together because of a common goal (go to the same concert or so). The usually consist of large numbers of indiv., who have no underlying unity. 

Collective Dynamics - Contagion theories 

- Contagion: the spread of behaviors, attitudes, and affect through social collectives (mimicry)
- different types of "leaders" can produce social change: 
  • connectors
  • mavens (experts)
  • salespeople

Collective Dynamics - Deindividuation theory

- deindividuation: an experiential state caused by a number of input factors, such as group membership and anonymity, that is characterized by the loss of self-awareness, altered experiencing, and atypical behavior. 

  • reduced responsibility (diffusion of responsibility)
  • membership in large gouts
  • heightened state of physiological arousal 

Collective Dynamics - Social identity theory

Collective behavior is sustained by social identity processes
  • collectives sustain rater than undermine individuals' identities
  • ingroup/outgroup processes increase self-categorization 
  • injustice, efficacy, social identity (Van Zomeren et al, 2008)

Collective Dynamics - Emergent norm theories (Turner and Killian)

Crowds often develop unique standards for behavior and that these atypical norms exert a powerful influence on behavior. 

Main findings of Norenzayan & Sharif, 2008 (article)

·       Religiously socialized individuals should be and are more discriminating in prosociality.
·       Religions association with prosociality is most evident when people must maintain a favourable social reputation.
·       The religious situation is more important than the religious disposition in predicting prosocial behaviour.
·       Experimentally induced reminders of secular moral authority has as much effect on generous behaviour in economic games as reminders of God.
·       There are many large, cooperative and nonreligious groups that retain intragroup trust and cooperation.

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