In-group and Out-group
Examples of ingroup and outgroup ranges from genders to football teams. Our ability to form in-groups and out-groups happens from childhood. Bullying is an example of an in-group undermining an out-group. The concept of in-group and out-group is centered on the work of Tajfel and his team carried out in the 1970s. They emphasized not only the idea that in-groups try to make themselves superior to others, but also that they will work together to raise their status if they feel undermined. There are multitude of groups that an individual can belong.
The tendency of the group to take more extreme decisions than individuals alone is called:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Group Polarisation
Option (1) Group Polarisation — Correct. Groups are more likely to take extreme decisions than individuals alone. Whatever the initial position in the group, it becomes much stronger as a result of discussion; this strengthening of the group’s initial position is group polarisation.
Option (2) Social Loafing — Incorrect. Social loafing is a reduction in individual effort when people work together on a task whose outputs are pooled. It is about effort, not about how extreme a decision is.
Option (3) Bandwagon effect — Incorrect. When people find others also favouring their view, they feel the view is validated by the public; this bandwagon effect is one of the reasons why polarisation occurs, not the tendency itself.
Option (4) Groupthink — Incorrect. Groupthink is a tendency of a highly cohesive group to show the appearance of consensus: no one voices dissent for fear of breaking the group’s unity, and decisions become irrational and uncritical. Its mark is false agreement, not a shift to an extreme position.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2025 on 16-05-2025 (Slot 1).
NCERT (2025-26): “Group Polarisation … 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 s/ he 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 s/ he 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.…” |