Effects of leadership style and anonymity on group potency and effectiveness in a group decision support system environment.

A longitudinal laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of leadership style (transactional vs transformational) and anonymity level (identified vs anonymous) on group potency and effectiveness of 36 undergraduate student work groups performing a creativity task using a Group Decision Support System (GDSS). GDSS are interactive networks of computers for generating solutions to unstructured problems. Results indicated that GDSS anonymity amplified the positive effect of transformational leadership on group potency relative to transactional leadership in the group writing session of the task. GDSS anonymity also increased the effect of transformational leadership relative to transactional leadership on group effectiveness. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of anonymity on student evaluations of faculty performance.

Studied the main and interactive effects of anonymity and professor on student ratings of faculty performance. Ratings of faculty performance were obtained from 244 undergraduates in 7 classes using a 20-item rating form with Positive Item Total (PIT) and Negative Item Total (NIT) subscales. Results show main effects for professor for both the scales. Hypothesized main effects for anonymity were insignificant for both the PIT and NIT scales. The Anonymity?×?Professor interaction was marginally significant for the PIT scale, but not for the NIT scale. Implications for practices associated with the collection of rating data from students are discussed. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of anonymity on return rate and response bias in a mail survey.

1 group of 22,750 officers and enlisted men to whom the Navy Personnel Survey 71-1 was mailed were instructed to record their service numbers on their answer sheets, while another group of 22,750 officers and enlisted men were instructed not to identify their answer sheets. Answer sheets were returned more frequently by officers asked to identify their answer sheets. Differences in answers to attitude questions were low in relative frequency and small in magnitude. Pro-Navy statements were endorsed by a higher proportion of the officers who identified their answer sheets; negative statements were endorsed by a higher proportion of the officers who did not identify their answer sheets. None of the anonymous-identified group differences for the enlisted men's questionnaire were large enough to be of practical importance. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of public and private self-awareness on deindividuation and aggression.

Tested the proposition, derived from the authors' (in press) differential self-awareness theory, that only 1 type of antecedent variable traditionally associated with deindividuation (attentional cues) and a single aspect of self-awareness (private) are involved in the deindividuation process. 48 male undergraduates were assigned to groups of 4 and were exposed to factorial combinations of attentional cues (internal vs external focus of attention) and accountability cues (potential accountability to authority figures and victims) and then allowed to aggress against a victim. As predicted, attentional cues affected private but not public self-awareness, whereas accountability cues altered public but not private self-attention. External attentional cues and low accountability cues disinhibited aggression relative to internal attentional cues and high accountability cues, respectively. Exposure to external attentional cues created an internal state of deindividuation, composed of reduced private self-awareness and altered experience, that mediated aggression. Two major types of collective aggression were identified: One category resulted from group members' assessments of the possibility of an authority figure's and the victim's surveillance of their attacks; the other category resulted from the decreased cognitive mediation of behavior evoked by the deindividuation process. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of deindividuating situational cues and aggressive models on subjective deindividuation and aggression.

Demonstrated that a subjective state of deindividuation mediates the effect of deindividuating situational cues on aggression displayed by small groups of coacting aggressors. 72 male university students were instructed to administer shocks to another person in what they thought were studies of biofeedback and behavior modification. The deindividuated state was composed of 2 factors, Self-Awareness and Altered Experiencing, both of which had a causal influence on aggressive behavior. These data are interpreted in terms of deindividuation theories that assume that certain input variables reduce self-awareness and concern about social evaluation and thereby weaken the restraints against expressing antisocial behavior. As predicted, compared with a no-model control condition, a high-aggressive model disinhibited overt displays of aggression, whereas a low-aggressive model inhibited aggression among both individuated and deindividuated group members. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bystander anonymity and reactions to emergencies.

Two experiments with 179 undergraduates investigated the impact of anonymity on bystander reactions to emergencies and on the timing of bystander decision making. The experiments differed in the nature of the emergency (violent assault vs seizure) and in the speed with which the emergency developed from relative ambiguity to unequivocal clarity concerning the victim's need for help. In both experiments, an additional bystander's awareness of the emergency and the S's anonymity were crossed in a 2?×?2 factorial design. Anonymity vis-à-vis the victim had no effects on helping. Anonymity vis-à-vis the other bystander did affect helping, apparently by reducing evaluation apprehension. Whether evaluation apprehension enhances or inhibits helping depends on the expectations attributed to other bystanders. The timing of effects suggests that when emergencies are ambiguous, anonymity (through reduced involvement) delays making the decision regarding whether help is appropriate. Once emergencies are clear, anonymity (through evaluation apprehension) influences the decision regarding one's own obligation to intervene. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facilitation of social interaction through deindividuation of the target.

Hypothesized that actors want their perception of a target to be consistent with the type of interaction they expect. It was predicted that Ss expecting to aggress would deindividuate their target through the selective recall of deindividuating information. Conversely, Ss expecting a prosocial interaction should individuate the target. Further, angry Ss should deindividuate the individual who angered them. 124 male undergraduates were either angered or not angered by an experimental confederate and then given the opportunity to either shock, reward, or have no interaction with him. Ss recalled information about the confederate either prior to or after the learning task. Ss expecting to aggress deindividuated the target, whereas Ss expecting a prosocial interaction individuated him. Angry Ss deindividuated the target; nonangry Ss did not. Since the selective recall of information occurred prior to the interaction, the deindividuation (individuation) was aimed at facilitating future behavior rather than justifying it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test between deindividuation and emergent norm theories of crowd aggression.

In groups of 6–8, 89 female undergraduates who were either anonymous or identifiable to each other acted as an audience to a pair of discussants. Ss were given the opportunity to administer loud noise to the discussants. The response displayed to each group as an alleged average was manipulated so that Ss were led to believe that either an aggressive or a lenient norm had developed. As predicted by deindividuation theory, anonymous Ss administered significantly higher levels of noise than identifiable Ss. Anonymous Ss used equally loud noise regardless of group norm. Self-ratings provided evidence that the effects of anonymity were mediated by a psychological state of deindividuation, in addition to freedom from accountability for individual acts. There was no support for the crucial emergent norm theory prediction that aggression will be greatest when Ss who are identifiable to each other are exposed to an aggressive norm. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

No right to protection of anonymity.

Comments on the article by Anonymous (see record 1995-33982-001) which presents the hidden benefits of managed care. The current author takes offense that the author's name was withheld, as this prevents assessment of the author's credentials and possible political agenda. The current author also contends that the views expressed by Anonymous are "demeaning and offensive" because of its provocative and self-satisfied tone in the face of the unchecked abuses and destructive effects of the managed mental health industry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personalization, respondent anonymity, and response distortion in mail surveys.

Investigated whether the level of personalization expressed in an advance notice and cover letter distorted the reporting of common demographic information in a mail survey. A factorial design with 2 levels of advance notice (telephone call, mimeographed form letter) and 2 levels of cover letter (personalized, form) was employed. Ss were 276 married females (representing a 42% response rate) for whom 7 items of demographic information were available from an independent source (credit application). Comparison of mail-survey and credit-application responses revealed that distortion in reporting family income and occupation of wife was related to the use of personalized cover letters. Implications of the findings for behavioral scientists who depend on mail surveys for data collection are considered. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of juror anonymity on jury verdicts

This study examined the effects of anonymity on jurors' verdicts and on jurors' feelings of accountability for their jury's verdicts. Twenty four-person anonymous juries and 20 four-person nonanonymous juries rendered individual and group verdicts for three student defendants charged with selling drugs on a school campus. When unanimous guilty verdicts were reached, juries imposed one of five punishments. Finally, jurors completed postdeliberation opinion and accountability questionnaires. As predicted, anonymous juries showed a higher rate of conviction (70%) than did nonanonymous juries (40%) when the evidence against the defendant was strong, supporting the hypothesis that anonymity would have a greater effect for situations in which there was relatively strong evidence of the defendant's guilt. Anonymous juries imposed the harshest punishment (expulsion) significantly more often than did nonanonymous juries. Contrary to predictions from differential self-awareness theory, anonymous juries did not report feeling less accountable than did nonanonymous juries. However, anonymous juries did see the process as significantly more fair than did identifiable juries.     

Effect of positive and negative self-disclosure and feedback on early group development.

Conducted a group treatment study on 64 female undergraduates that assessed the effects of 2 content domains of structure on early group development. The 2 dimensions were positive and negative valence, and the pretraining tasks were self-disclosure and interpersonal feedback. Both variables were important determinants of group development. Specifically, feedback exercises were consistently associated with more effective modes of interaction than were self-disclosure exercises. Positive tasks were superior to negative tasks, and intermember communication and cohesiveness were greater in sequences in which positive and negative exercises were mixed than in all-positive or all-negative sequences. Results demonstrate the importance of the level of psychological risk and the quality of the interpersonal orientation of structured group exercises. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of self-concept on group member reception of positive and negative feedback.

Examined the effects of valence and self-concept of the receiver on receiver ratings of feedback credibility, desirability, and impact. Data were collected during the 6th wk of counseling groups that met for 2 hrs each week. A total of 30 volunteers participated in the study. Results indicate that positive feedback was perceived as more desirable and impactful than negative feedback; however, no such difference was found for the credibility measure. The only significant difference found in relation to the self-concept variable (Tennessee Self-Concept Scale) was a more favorable desirability rating for negative feedback by high-level self-concept Ss than by medium-level self-concept Ss. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of group cohesiveness and training upon creative thinking.

In the formation of creative thinking groups, how well does brainstorming work? 48 Ss were divided into trained and untrained samples; and cohesive, noncohesive, and "nominal" subgroups of 2 persons each were formed, based on sociometric choice. Several hypothetical problems were discussed. An analysis of variance statistical technique was used to compare number of responses and number of unique responses between the groups. "Brainstorming by pairs of superior adults will produce more unique ideas when the groups are trained in the method and composed of people who like to brainstorm together. This is true, however, only when they are working on ego-involving problems." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group similarity, public self-awareness, and opinion extremity: A social projection explanation of deindividuation effects.

Suggests that when a person reacts to an opinion, he/she will project an identical reaction onto similar others—in effect, self-generating a consensus that serves to polarize the opinion. Public self-awareness is assumed to individuate and to moderate opinions only when projection is disrupted. Two experiments, with 169 undergraduates, tested derivations from this theory. Exp I varied self-confidence induced by ability feedback (positive vs negative) and self-awareness induced by being or not being observed by camera. Results show that heightened self-awareness moderated opinions regardless of the S's initial level of self-confidence. Exp II varied group similarity (similar, dissimilar, or no information) and level of self-awareness (heightened vs low) using a 3?×?2 design in which opinion extremity was measured. Results confirm the prediction that opinions fluctuate systematically (polarize and moderate) with level of self-awareness only when the person is in a similar group. Low self-awareness tended to polarize opinions, whereas heightened self-awareness moderated them. The assumed direct relation between opinion intensity and behavioral extremity is discussed within the context of projection-predicted intensification effects of prosocial behavior. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of subliminal stimulation of symbiotic fantasies on college student self-disclosure in group counseling.

36 female college students in 3 main groups of 12, with 6 experimental and 6 control Ss in each group, participated in 3 group-counseling sessions. Before each session the experimentals received the subliminal message, "Mommy and I are one," and the controls the neutral message, "People are walking." In the counseling session that followed, Ss in 1 main group (both experimentals and controls) were exposed to 8 counselor self-disclosures (CSDs); another group received 4 CSDs, and the 3rd received zero CSDs. The main hypothesis of the study, that the experimental "Mommy" message would produce more S self-disclosures (SSDs) than the neutral message, was supported, but 2 subsidiary hypotheses were not: (a) that a moderate number (4) of CSDs would elicit more SSDs than either zero or 8 CSDs; and (b) that SSDs would increase over time (between 1st and 3rd group-counseling sessions). These results with the "Mommy" stimulus, together with previous findings, indicate that the subliminal stimulation of symbiotic fantasies can enhance the effectiveness of therapeutic procedures of various kinds. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of an explicit group contract on self-disclosure and group cohesiveness.

Assigned 96 male undergraduates to small groups based on their scores on a 40-item self-report survey derived from the Self-Disclosure Questionnaire. Half the groups received an explicit self-disclosure contract while the other half received no contract. Findings show that (a) the contract served to increase significantly both the frequency and depth of self-disclosure but did not affect the level of intimacy of topics discussed; and (b) the contract significantly enhanced the cohesiveness of the groups (i.e., attraction to the group) but had the opposite effect on members' mutual liking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of subject liberalism, anonymity, and race of experimenter on subjects' ratings of oriental and white photographs.

Liberal and conservative subjects assigned adjective trait ratings to photographs of oriental and white persons. Ratings were made with either an oriental or white experimenter present and in conditions where ratings were made either anonymously or not. It was found that both liberal and conservative subjects rated oriental photographs more positively than white photographs. This tendency was more pronounced for liberal subjects. When ratings were made anonymously the oriental-white rating discrepancy diminished for liberal subjects and was reversed for conservative subjects. Liberals who responded anonymously increased their oriental-white rating discrepancy when the experimenter was oriental. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of weekend encounter group experience upon interpersonal orientations.

20 college students and 20 21-55 yr. old working adults completed the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientations-Behavior (FIRO-B) scale before, after, and 2 mo. following participation in a weekend encounter group. 20 control college students also completed the test 3 times but did not attend a group. Predictions were generally upheld in comparisons of experimental and control college students, but working adults did not show their predicted convergence of high and low scores. Analysis of change scores revealed that low-scoring Ss increased significantly on 3 of 4 inclusion and affection scales, but high-scoring Ss in each group did not change relative to controls. It is concluded that Ss preferring low rates of social interchange show greater change following a weekend encounter group than initially high participators, possibly because the behavior of the former is more discrepant from encounter group norms and thus is confronted more. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of automated reflection response training on the group assessment of interpersonal traits.

Assigned applicants for a paraprofessional counselor training program to 1 of 2 training conditions: brief, leaderless reflection training or a simultaneous control experience. 94 women and 17 men with an average age of 44 yrs participated. Ss then participated in Goodman's Group Assessment of Interpersonal Traits (GAIT), which produces a series of brief discloser-understander dyadic interactions. 2 group order conditions were created to test for modeling by drawing the 1st GAIT understander from either the reflection or the control condition. Verbal behavior on the GAIT was not affected by order. Reflection-trained Ss used more reflections but fewer questions and disclosures and received higher participant GAIT ratings than controls. A reflection preference pretest, subsequent reflection usage, and global GAIT ratings were all significantly intercorrelated. Implications for training and selecting nonprofessional counselors are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)