MAGC 206

LESSON 4
 NORMS AND ROLES IN GROUPS
NORMS
- Group’s standards and shared expectations, both formal and
informal, about how group members ought to behave
Define what should be done/expected, clarifies identity
• Formal Norms – handbook published; guidelines
e.g. Discipline Guidelines for High School Learners
• Informal Norms – guidelines that need no explanation
e.g. listen when someone is speaking
 NORMS
- Contribute to group locomotion, provide predictability and
comfort, and contribute to groupness
- How groups are developed?
• Institutional Norms – determined by a group’s leader or
by external authorities
e.g. RA 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards
for Public Officials and Employees)
 NORMS
• Voluntary Norms – negotiated to contribute to
smooth functioning
e.g. at home --- who will wash the dishes
• Evolutionary Norms – develop when a member responds to a
situation in a particular way and other
members adopt the response as well
e.g. how discipline is handled by another group is adopted to
own group
 Why we are influenced
by group NORMS
• INFORMATIONAL PRESSURE – not knowing what to
think or what to do, we go along with the group on the
assumption that the group is right
--- more likely when a situation is ambiguous and members
are uncertain e.g. for 1st timers in a school or office
-conform to how other people are
doing things (way of dressing)
 Unfortunately, members may unwittingly conform to the wrong
informational cues as demonstrated by:

• PLURALISTIC IGNORANCE – not initiating an action because one

is clueless of what should be done
e.g. first day in job/school – one is clueless where to start

 To combat pluralistic ignorance

- give important points to new members
examples: Orientation of new employees
Freshmen Orientation (before enrolment)
 One extreme case of informational pressure gone awry is:
• MASS PSYCHOGENIC ILLNESS – the occurrence in a group
of people of similar physical symptoms with no apparent physical
cause
e.g. during SARS outbreak – one also claims that he has the
disease because of similar symptoms
• NORMATIVE PRESSURE – pressure to conform in order to be
socially accepted and avoid rejection
If conformity is important in the completion of task, ensure group
cohesiveness; to change maladaptive norms, ask the help of high
status members e.g. give a model/example proven to be effective
by another group (example: a barangay project)
• SOCIAL IMPACT THEORY – conformity depends on strength
(how important the group or people is to you) ; immediacy (how close
the group is to you in space and time); and number (how many
people are in the group); we are also more likely to conform when
the group is synonymous
• LOOSE CULTURES OR TIGHT CULTURES – conformity by
normative pressure is true in tight culture, not in individualistic culture
Tight cultures – there is more agreement about what is correct
behavior due to cultural homogeneity and isolation from other
cultures
Loose cultures – tend to have many cultural influences
• COLLECTIVISTIC CULTURES – value conformity for the
sake of group harmony and because their fate is seen as
interdependent with that of others; conformity tends to be higher
• INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURES – value independence of
judgment and see conformity negatively.
Research finds only small gender differences in conformity --- one
conforms to something which he’s not really aware of
Perception of competence
– who will be a follower and who won’t
 dissent
- to go against the majority
- to challenge the group norm / group decision
Research suggests that a small chorus of dissenting voices can significantly
sway the group, called MINORITY INFLUENCE ---one voice influencing
the majority
(1) THEORY OF IDIOSYNCRACY CREDITS (Hollander)
– most earn first a high status (“pogi” points), then try to
dissent though you’re only “one voice” (give strong impact
to majority)
(2) THEORY OF INNOVATION (Moscovici)
– by being persistent, consistent, credible, they (majority)
understand why change has to be made (explain merits of
the change) and even help you in the forefront to effect
the change; challenges the line of thinking of the majority
examples:
- persistent NGOs who want to effect change in the community
- advertisements --- starts long air time, then shortened
- drive against gambling
RULE FOR DISSENTERS
– if what one speaks of is truth or reality, go for it
Abilene paradox
– a situation in which members of a cohesive group falsely believe
that each of the others wants to pursue a course of action that in
fact none of them prefers
--- majority conformed to minority even when minority didn’t agree
of the idea in the first place (beaten by a “wrong” minority)