Psychology of Group Behaviors
Discover Yourself, Build Relationships, and Navigate Groups
PsycLearn Essentials
October 2024
Sometimes being a part of a group can improve the way we think and perform, but other times it can make us act inconsistently with our values and lead to disastrously poor decision making. In this course, you’ll learn about why groups can sometimes lead us astray, and the warning signs that indicate it’s happening. Topics that you’ll learn about include the various ways that groups derail good decision making practices; how groups can make people engage in antisocial behavior; how being observed can either bring out a person’s best performance or cause them to break under the pressure; and how you can change group dynamics to maximize the benefits and minimize the costs of being in a group. Being in groups is an integral part of our lives, and this course will help you learn how to do it as effectively as possible.
Learning objectives
- Describe the characteristics of social groups.
- Explain the process of social facilitation.
- Describe factors that influence social loafing.
- Explain how deindividuation alters group behavior.
- Summarize how conformity influences behaviors in groups.
- Describe the bystander effect.
- Explain how group polarization affects decision making.
- Describe the causes and consequences of groupthink.
This program does not offer CE credit.
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