Attitude And Social Cognition — Psychology STD 12 Humanities — Question

Groups show another tendency referred to as ‘group polarisation’. It has been found that groups are more likely to take extreme decisions than individuals alone. Suppose there is 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 he/ she should be given. They may let her/ him go scot-free or decide to terminate her/ his services instead of imposing a punishment which may be commensurate with the unethical act he/ she had engaged in. Whatever the initial position in the group, this position becomes much 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. This may sometimes have dangerous repercussions as groups may take extreme positions, i.e. from very weak to very strong decisions.
This firm conviction is because of the following three reasons:

• 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.