1.What is group polarisation?

Ans:
A group gets stronger as a result of discussions in the group. This strengthening of the group’s initial position as a result of group interaction and discussion is referred to as group polarisation.

2.What are norms?

Ans:
Norms are expected standards of behaviour and beliefs established, agreed upon, and enforced by group members.
In your family, there are norms that guide the behaviour of family members.
These norms represent shared ways of viewing the world.

3.Extreme cohesiveness within a group becomes harmful for functioning. Explain.

Ans:

• Groupthink is a consequence of Extreme cohesiveness.
• Groupthink is characterised by the appearance of consensus or unanimous agreement within a group.
• Groupthink is likely to occur in socially homogeneous, cohesive groups that are isolated from outsiders.
• Studies have shown that such a group has an exaggerated sense of its own power to control events, and tends to ignore or minimise cues from the real world that suggest danger to its plan.

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Q 4. State three conditions which facilitate group formation.

Ans:
Basic to group formation is some contact and some form of interaction between people.
This interaction is facilitated by the following conditions:
Proximity
Repeated interactions with the same set of individuals give us a chance to know them, and their interests and attitudes. Common interests, attitudes, and background are important determinants of your liking for your group members.
Similarity

• Being exposed to someone over a period of time makes us assess our similarities and paves the way for formation of groups.
• The reason given by psychologist for group formation between similar people or liking between similar people is when two people are similar, there is consistency and they start liking each other.For example, you like playing football and another person in your class also loves playing football; there is a matching of your interests. There are higher chances that you may become friends.
• Another explanation given by psychologists is that when we meet similar people, they reinforce and validate our opinions and values, we feel we are right and thus we start liking them.

Common motives and goals

• When people have common motives or goals, they get together and form a group which may facilitate their goal attainment.
• Suppose you want to teach children in a slum area who are unable to go to school.You cannot do this alone because you have your own studies and homework. You, therefore, form a group of like-minded friends and start teaching these children. So you have been able to achieve what you could not have done alone.

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Q 5. Describe any two elements of group structure.

Ans:
The two important elements of group structure are Roles and Norms:
Roles

• Roles are socially defined expectations that individuals in a given situation are expected to fulfil.
• Roles refer to the typical behaviour that depicts a person in a given social context.
• In a role of a son or a daughter there are certain role expectations when in that role.
• An example is , as a daughter or a son, you are expected to respect elders, listen to them, and be responsible towards your studies.

Norms

• Norms are expected standards of behaviour and beliefs established, agreed upon, and enforced by group members.
• They may be considered as a group's "unspoken rules".
• In your family, there are norms that guide the behaviour of family members.
• These norms represent shared ways of viewing the world.

Q 6. What is social loafing ? How can social loafing be reduced in group work?

Ans:
Individuals work less hard in a group than they do when performing alone. This is called as "social loafing".
Social loafing may be reduced by:

• Making the efforts of each person identifiable.
• Increasing the pressure to work hard (making group members committed to successful task performance).
• Increasing the apparent importance or value of a task.
• Making people feel that their individual contribution is important.
• Strengthening group cohesiveness which increases the motivation for successful group outcome.

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Q 7. Explain the reasons for intergroup conflict.

Ans:
Mentioned below are some of the major reasons for group conflicts:

• One major reason is lack of communication and faulty communication among parties which leads to suspicion, lack of trust.
• Comparison of one group members with other group members, and having a feeling that they are not doing well in comparison to other groups.These leads to feelings of deprivation and discontentment, which may trigger off conflict.
• Another cause of conflict is one group feels superior to another group and feels that what they say should be done.
• A feeling that the other group does not respect the norms of my group, and actually violates those norms.
• Desire for retaliation for some harm done in the past could be another reason for conflict.
• Biased perceptions are at the root of most conflicts. As already mentioned earlier, feelings of 'they' and 'we' lead to biased perceptions.
• In groups, people are more competitive as well as more aggressive than when they are on their own.Groups compete over scarce resources, both material resources, e.g. territory, and money as well as social resources, e.g. respect and esteem.
• Perceived inequity is another reason for conflict i.e if you contribute more and get less, you are likely to feel irritated and exploited.

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Q 8. Why do conflicts arise between groups and how can they be resolved?

Ans:
Mentioned below are some of the major reasons for group conflicts:

• One major reason is lack of communication and faulty communication among parties which leads to suspicion, lack of trust.
• Comparison of one group members with other group members, and having a feeling that they are not doing well in comparison to other groups.These leads to feelings of deprivation and discontentment, which may trigger off conflict.
• Another cause of conflict is one group feels superior to another group and feels that what they say should be done.
• A feeling that the other group does not respect the norms of my group, and actually violates those norms.
• Desire for retaliation for some harm done in the past could be another reason for conflict.
• Biased perceptions are at the root of most conflicts. As already mentioned earlier, feelings of 'they' and 'we' lead to biased perceptions.

Strategies to Resolve Group Conflicts are as follows:
Many strategies have been suggested by psychologists. Some of these are :

• Introduction of superordinate goals: by introducing superordinate goals, intergroup conflict can be reduced.A superordinate goal is mutually beneficial to both parties, hence both groups work cooperatively.
• Altering perceptions: Conflicts can also be reduced by altering perceptions and reactions through persuasion, educational and media appeals, and portrayal of groups differently in society.
• Increasing intergroup contacts: Conflict can also be reduced by increasing contacts between the groups.
• Redrawing group boundaries: creating conditions where groups boundaries are redefined and groups come to perceive themselves as belonging to a common group.
• Negotiations: Conflict can also be resolved through negotiations and third party interventions,resolve conflict by trying to find mutually acceptable solutions. Negotiation refers to reciprocal communications so as to reach an agreement in situations in which there is a conflict.

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Q 9. Explain group polarisation. Give reasons for occurrence of group polarisation.

Ans:
A group gets stronger as a result of discussions in the group. This strengthening of the group's initial position as a result of group interaction and discussion is referred to as group polarisation.

• For example, a decision is to be taken whether a school has to be established in a village.Such a decision has to be a group decision.
• Another example an employee who has been caught taking bribe or engaging in some other unethical act.Her/his colleagues are asked to decide on what punishment s/he should be given.They may let her/him go scot-free or decide to terminate her/his services instead of imposing a punishment.
• Group gets strengths as the discussion in the group takes place.

Reasons for group polarisation:
Let us take an example based on which will analyze the reasons for group polarisation.
An example is whether capital punishment should be there or not.Suppose your view is in favour of capital punishment , when this same issue is discussed with other like minded people it will get more stronger.

• In the company of like-minded people, you are likely to hear newer arguments favouring your viewpoints. This will make you more favourable towards capital punishment.
• When you find others also favouring capital punishment, you feel that this view is validated by the public. This is a sort of bandwagon effect.
• When you find people having similar views, you are likely to perceive them as ingroup. You start identifying with the group, begin showing conformity, and as a consequence your views become strengthened.

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Q 10. Why do people conform? How is conformity different from compliance?Explain.

Ans:

• People conform because when they are in a group and are dependent on the decision of the group, which means behaving according to the group norm and as per the expectations of other group members.
• People who do not conform get noticed more than those who do conform.
• An example of this case is consider some of your friends come to you with a letter of protest against a rule that has been recently announced, i.e. banning use of mobile phones in the school.Personally you feel the idea is very good.But if you don;t sign you know that you will lose many friends and get a bad name for not keeping "student unity".
• If you sign the letter as yes is means you expressed a form of social influence called "conformity" which means behaving according to the group norm.

Conformity	Compliance
Conformity is a social influence that makes you behave according to the group norm.	Compliance refers to behaving in a particular way in response to a request made by someone.
In the example described above , you will sign the letter so that you don’t go against your friends.	In the example described above, you may sign the letter with the thought that you were accepting the request, not because you agree with other students, but because you have been requested to do so by a significant member.