Minority Influence in Virtual Groups

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalya N. Bazarova ◽  
Joseph B. Walther ◽  
Poppy L. McLeod
Keyword(s):  
Online Groups ◽  
Minority Influence ◽  
Black Sheep ◽  
Virtual Groups ◽  
Black Sheep Effect ◽  
Geographically Distributed ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Hidden Profile ◽  
Congruity Theory ◽  
Double Minority

This study examined minority influence within virtual groups and how members’ geographic dispersion and argument consistency affect group decisions. Competing predictions were derived from several theories that were applicable but untested in the domain of online interaction: a double minority effect, the black sheep effect, congruity theory applied to groups, and the minority leniency contract framework. Online groups were created that had 4 collocated members or 4 geographically distributed members, or 2 collocated and 2 isolated members. Group members were provided biased distributions of information resembling a hidden profile to facilitate majority and minority positions resulting in 24 groups with a minority opinion holder geographically isolated or in proximity with one or more other members. The patterns of minority members’ influence on majority members’ decisions lent greatest support to the black sheep effect, congruity, and minority leniency approaches, depending on the respective location of the minority opinion holders and the consistency with which they argued their positions.

scholarly journals (Im)moral Symbols and (Im)moral Deeds: Defensive Strategies for Coping with Historical Transgressions of Group Heroes and Villains

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 183449092199143
Author(s):  
Jovan Ivanović ◽  
Iris Žeželj ◽  
Charis Psaltis
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Moral Disengagement ◽  
Educational Communication ◽  
Social Identification ◽  
Black Sheep ◽  
Defensive Strategies ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Greek Cypriot ◽  
Black Sheep Effect ◽  
Group Members

In two post-conflict societies (Serbia and Cyprus), the authors investigated how people cope with in-group historical transgression when heroes and villains relevant for their collective identity are made salient in it. The authors set the events in foundational periods for Serbian (Experiment 1) and Greek Cypriot (Experiment 2) ethnic identity—that is, historical representations of the Battle of Kosovo (1389) and the Liberation Struggle (1955–1959), respectively. In both experiments, a between-subjects design was used to manipulate group membership (in-group or out-group) and representation of the salient character (hero, villain, or neutral) in fictitious but historically plausible accounts of transgressions. In Experiment 1 ( N = 225), the participants showed more moral disengagement in the case of in-group historical transgressions than in the case of identical transgressions by an out-group, while the in-group hero was rejected less than all the other historical characters. Social identification based on in-group superiority moderated both observed effects in such a manner that they were more pronounced for participants perceiving their ethnic group as superior. In Experiment 2 ( N = 136), historical transgression involving the in-group hero provoked the most moral disengagement and the least rejection of the group deviant. In-group superiority and in-group importance as distinct modes of social identification moderated these effects in such a way that they were more pronounced for high-identifying individuals. Taken together, the experiments show that the in-group hero, as a highly valued ethnic symbol, is exempt from the black sheep effect and the sanctions of critically attached group members. The authors discuss the implications of in-group heroes for political and educational communication.

Perceived Behaviors of Emergent and Assigned Leaders in Virtual Groups

2008 ◽  
pp. 1096-1110
Author(s):  
Kathryn R. Wickham ◽  
Joseph B. Walther
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Behaviors ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Leadership Theories ◽  
Online Groups ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Virtual Groups ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Impact

While considerable research has explored perceptions of groups and members in computer-mediated communication (CMC), and leadership behaviors in face-to-face groups, little research has examined how leadership is identified in CMC groups. Contemporary CMC theories alternatively stress the impact of salient, stereotyped roles on CMC groups’ perceptions, or the accretion of exaggerated impressions based on behavioral cues. These perspectives, in turn, coincide with predictions about the predominance of alternative forms of leadership: Assigned versus emergent. This study draws on traditional leadership theories from face-to-face group research and applies them to CMC to examine dynamics related to assigned and emergent leaders in online groups. The results of the study demonstrate that CMC groups may identify more than one leader. When identifying emergent leaders, regardless of whether a leader was assigned or not, group members consider perceived amounts of communication, intelligence, and encouraging and authoritarian behaviors.

Black Sheep versus In-Group Favoritism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Willem van Prooijen
Keyword(s):  
Social Groups ◽  
Group Norms ◽  
Group Function ◽  
Group Relations ◽  
Black Sheep ◽  
Black Sheep Effect ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Group Member

Sometimes people punish offenders from their own group more severely than offenders from a different group (the “black sheep effect”). At other times, however, people punish offenders from a different group more severely than offenders from their own group (the “in-group favorability effect”). Punishment regulates social groups in two complementary ways: (1) punishment stimulates and stabilizes cooperative within-group relations (within-group function); and (2) punishment protects the group from outside threats (between-group function). The chapter then examines the within-group function of punishment. “In-group morality” implies that group members enjoy more procedural protections from the group. Following an unambiguous offense that harms the group, however, in-group morality also implies that in-group offenders are punished more severely than out-group offenders. Betrayal of in-group norms is considered worse when committed by a fellow in-group member.

Perceived Behaviors of Emergent and Assigned Leaders in Virtual Groups

2009 ◽  
pp. 50-64
Author(s):  
Kathryn R. Wickham ◽  
Joseph B. Walther
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Behaviors ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Leadership Theories ◽  
Online Groups ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Virtual Groups ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Impact

While considerable research has explored perceptions of groups and members in computer-mediated communication (CMC), and leadership behaviors in face-to-face groups, little research has examined how leadership is identified in CMC groups. Contemporary CMC theories alternatively stress the impact of salient, stereotyped roles on CMC groups’ perceptions, or the accretion of exaggerated impressions based on behavioral cues. These perspectives, in turn, coincide with predictions about the predominance of alternative forms of leadership: Assigned versus emergent. This study draws on traditional leadership theories from face-to-face group research and applies them to CMC to examine dynamics related to assigned and emergent leaders in online groups. The results of the study demonstrate that CMC groups may identify more than one leader. When identifying emergent leaders, regardless of whether a leader was assigned or not, group members consider perceived amounts of communication, intelligence, and encouraging and authoritarian behaviors.

Network Autocorrelation of Task Performance via Informal Communication Within a Virtual World

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleb T. Carr ◽  
Paul Zube
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Informal Communication ◽  
Online Groups ◽  
Network Autocorrelation ◽  
Virtual Group ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Individual Achievement

Network autocorrelation occurs when individuals receive assistance from others which regulates their own behavior, and it can be used to explain how group members may improve their task performance. This study explored how network autocorrelation, via informal communication within a virtual group, affected an individual’s task achievement in the online game World of Warcraft. Informal interactions between guild members during a 4-year period were collected and analyzed to assess how informal interactions with other group members affected an individual’s in-game achievement. Findings indicate informal communication from other group members (specifically the experience and helpfulness of the other members) positively predict an individual’s task performance, while tenure with the group negatively predict individual achievement. Findings are discussed with respect to network analysis and influence in online groups.

In search of the black sheep effect in African Americans

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliott Hammer ◽  
Anthony Sharp ◽  
Charity Dixon ◽  
Kristin Matthews ◽  
Erin Threatt
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
Black Sheep ◽  
Black Sheep Effect

Perceived entitativity and the black-sheep effect

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy C. Lewis ◽  
Steven J. Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Black Sheep ◽  
Black Sheep Effect

Equal Performance, Different Grade: Women’s Performance in Discussion Perceived Worse Than Men’s

2021 ◽  
pp. 014616722199221
Author(s):  
Angela R. Dorrough ◽  
Monika Leszczyńska ◽  
Sandra Werner ◽  
Lovis Schaeffer ◽  
Anna-Sophie Galley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Group Discussion ◽  
Selection Procedure ◽  
Similar Degree ◽  
Female Group ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Female Performance ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Hidden Profile ◽  
Perceived Helpfulness

We investigate how men and women are evaluated in group discussions. In five studies ( N = 761) using a variant of a Hidden Profile Task, we find that, when experimentally and/or statistically controlling for actual gender differences in behavior, the female performance in a group discussion is devalued in comparison to male performance. This was observed for fellow group members (Study 1) and outside observers (Studies 2–5), in both primarily student (Studies 1, 4, and 5) and mixed samples (Studies 2 and 3), for different measures of performance (perceived helpfulness of the contribution, for work-related competence), across different discussion formats (preformulated chat messages, open chat), and when controlling for the number of female group members (Study 5). In contrast to our hypothesis, we did not find a moderating effect of selection procedure in that women were devalued to a similar degree in both situations with a women’s quota and without.

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