Behavior in Groups

Aj.Nuannut Khieowan
Faculty of International Studies
• Behavior in the Presence of Others

• Group Interaction:Competition vs
Cooperation

• Leadership
Read a story about Jessica and Jake !
Jessica is an outstanding high school runner who hopes to try out for the
Olympics. She trains very hard, and she notices that she runs better with a
Training partner than by herself. Her best performances have been during
actual track meets when she ran against tough competition.

Jake is taking his first class in acting. At home in the privacy of his bedroom,
he delivers his lines with accuracy and self-confidence. But in front of his
classmates, he stumbles over his part.

As these examples suggest, the presence of others Sometimes enhances

and sometimes impair an individual’s performance.
Behavior in the Presence of Others
If the task is easy,
then the performance
improved = this
reaction is called
“social facilitation”
Increases an
Presence
of others individual’s
drive/motivation

If the task is difficult,

then the performance
- Whether increased motivation impaired = this
facilitates or interferes with reaction is called
performance depend on the “social inhibition”
“task”.
What should Jake do to improve
his performance?
Why does the presence of others
motivate us?
1. It’s an innate tendency to become
aroused by the mere presence of others.

2. We are concerned about how they will

evaluate us and we want to make a
positive impression. – “evaluation
apprehension”
Simple task – we will have more effort.
Complex task – we will have pressure and it will be harmful
for our performance
3. The presence of others is distracting
Simple task – we will concentrate more and try harder.
Complex task – we will lose concentration and it will be
harmful for our performance

This idea is connected to the

“distraction-conflict model” – the presence
of others creates a conflict
1. to pay attention to the task
2. to pay attention to the audience
 Group Interaction:
Competition vs Cooperation

• Much of the research on competition and

cooperation found that “people tend to
compete even when cooperation would be
a more rewarding strategy”
Road Map of the Trucking Game
Factors influencing the cooperatively or
competitively interaction

1. Reward Structure
2. Personal Values
3. Communication
4. Reciprocity
 Reward Structure
• A competitive reward structure exists
when one person’s gain is another’s lose.
It is called “competitive interdependence”.
In this situations, a person who wants the
rewards will do best to compete. (e.g. in an
Olympic swimming match, only one person can win the gold medal.)
• A cooperative reward structure exists
when the outcome of group members are
linked in a positive way. This is called
“cooperative interdependence”. In this
situation, people will help each other to
win the goal. (e.g. to win a soccer game, teammate must
help each other)
 Personal Values
Individuals tend to have one of three value
orientations

1. Cooperators – value equality of outcomes

between the partners.
2. Competitors – want to do better than the
partner
3. Individualists – pay attention at their own
gains, with no concern for the gain or loses of
the partner.
 Communication
• More communication leads to more
cooperation

• Communication enables partners to urge

each other to cooperate, to discuss their
plans, to make promises, to convince each
other, to learn about each other and etc.
 Reciprocity

• Meaning : the practice of exchanging

things with others for mutual benefit

• Initial competition provokes more

competition, and initial cooperation
sometimes encourage further cooperation
• If one party makes a small concession and then
waits for the other to do the same, there is
usually greater cooperation eventually. (If we want
somebody to cooperate with us, we should start first)

• The important element is “timing” (the concession must

be gradual and sequential – if you give to much at once your concession
may be weak, also your concession should be larger than others.)

• It does not work if the other is a completely

competitive./ Both sides are willing to cooperate
to some extent.
 Leadership
The person who has the most impact on
group behavior and beliefs. (initiate action, gives
orders, makes decisions, offer encouragement, and etc.)
 Formal Leader vs Informal Leader

• Formal leader e.g. business or schools

have formal organization charts indicating
the roles of the leader

• Informal leader e.g. among friendship

group, one person may be more
persuasive than others in group
discussion, decision making.
Task Leadership vs Social Leadership

• Task leadership concerns accomplishing

the goals of the group – getting the work done, gives
suggestions, control, organize group.

• Social leadership focuses on the

emotional and interpersonal aspects of
group interaction – concern about people’s feelings, uses
humor to relieve tension, encourage people.

Often, a single person serves both functions

If you want to become a Leader,
1. Be excel in those abilities that help the
group to accomplish its goal.
2. Be sociable, understanding and
emotionally stable.
3. Be ambitious, achievement oriented, and
willing to assume responsibility.
4. Be confident in your own abilities and
optimistic about the success of group
efforts.