Reference no: EM133910451

Assignment:

An individual can be pressured to make poor decisions or suppress critical thinking in situations where they prioritize conforming with others or choosing to agree with a strong leader or authority figure even when that leader poses a threat to the individual or group. Your ability to analyze group influence through a social psychology perspective will help you understand why groupthink can be effective and even appealing and determine strategies for anticipating and mitigating its effects.

In this assessment, you will demonstrate your learning by analyzing an example of individuals who conformed to both authority and groupthink, which resulted in unethical outcomes.

This needs to be submitted in PowerPoint as an attachment, no papers will be accepted in PDF or as document link.

Assessment Preparation

Review the following chapters of Social Psychology and Human Nature to recall key theories and concepts related to social cognition and group influences:

Ch. 5, "Social Cognition"

Ch. 14, "Groups"

Research a well-known psychological study or experiment related to group influence and conformity. Examples include:

• Milgram Experiment
• Asch Conformity Experiment
• Stanford Prison Experiment
• Other, with instructor approval

Read this scenario: You are a professional working in a human resources department for a midsize company. You have been asked to prepare a workshop for the executive leadership team in which you explain the risks and opportunities of conformity and influence in the workplace. The purpose of the presentation is to help the leadership team understand how to apply authority ethically and effectively and recognize and mitigate groupthink.

Assessment Deliverable

Create a 10- to 12-slide (title and references slides are not included in this slide count) professional quality presentation in which you interpret the role of conformity as it relates to authority and groupthink and propose strategies to enhance positive outcomes and mitigate negative effects of group influences in the workplace. In your presentation:

Summarize a published psychological experiment or study that illustrates risks related to power dynamics, conformity, and group influence.

Include details to explain:

• Purpose of the study
• Methodology
• Key findings

Explain the concept of groupthink and how it was relevant to the psychological experiment or study. How did it lead to poor decision-making and ethical lapses?

Explain the concept of conformity and how it was relevant to the psychological experiment or study. How did conformity influence individuals to align their behaviors or attitudes with group norms? What role did power dynamics play in the experiment or study?

Explain how 1 of the social psychology concepts below was evident in the psychological experiment or study. Support your response with specific details or examples of the chosen social psychology concept:

• Crowding
• Evaluation apprehension
• Social loafing
• Group polarization
• Social pressure
• Minority influence
• Obedience

Identify 2 key insights from the psychological experiment or study that leaders can use to prevent negative groupthink when leading others.

Identify 2 insights from the psychological experiment or study that leaders can use to promote a healthy balance between conformity and individuality when leading others.

Explain how the insights you provided can enhance workplace culture. Consider these topics:

• Trust and transparency
• Diverse perspectives
• Employee empowerment and retention
• Recognition and rewards
• Power dynamics
• Supervision and interventions

Describe some challenges and benefits leaders may face when addressing negative effects of groupthink and conformity.

Complete comprehensive speaker notes for each slide, they must be at least one paragraph long (6-8 sentences) per slide. This is a major portion of this assignment, narration can not be a substitute for speaker notes.

NOTE: speaker notes are needed for the introduction and conclusion slides as well. In addition, the quality of the work in terms of design and presentation will be a part of the grade as this should be an example of professional work.

Cite at least 2-3 academic sources (No papers will be accepted in this course without references and citations).

Include a slide with APA-formatted references.

Follow these requirements for formatting your slide presentation:

• Use brief bullet points on each slide to highlight the main ideas.
• Use correct spelling and grammar on your slides.
• Include detailed speaker notes with your presentation.
• In addition to your references slide, include in-text citations for all sources and images according to APA guidelines.