Sandra Schruijer

The group-serving bias in evaluating and explaining harmful behavior

Group-serving biases in evaluating and explaining harmful behavior were investigated. Members of the Italian Communist party judged and explained an in-group or an out-group actors harmful behavior toward an in-group or an out-group victim. The results support the notion of an in-group bias: Out-group actors were perceived as more aggressive and intentional in their actions than in-group actors. An in-group bias was also observed with regard to predictions about whether the victim would attempt retaliation. Group-based explanations were used more often when the group identities of actor and victim were different than when they were the same.

Retaliation to personalistic attack

Jones and Daviss [1965. Advances in experimental social psychology. Academic Press] notion of “personalism” was experimentally tested in a situation in which behavior had negative hedonic relevance for the recipient. It was hypothesized that (1) if a person is attacked by another person, this victim will react more negatively than when no attack occurs and that (2) a victim who is singled out for attack will react more negatively compared with victims of an undistinctive attack (i.e., when the actor behaves similarly toward the victim and a third person). A 2 × 2 design was employed with “Victim of attack” as the first factor (no attack vs. attack) and “Behaviour toward a third person” as the second factor (no attack vs. attack). The main dependent variable was the number of attacks by the victim toward the attacker (retaliation). Thirty-two students took part in the experiment. Victims of attack retaliated more against the attacker than those who suffered from no attack. Victims of a personalistic attack retaliated more than victims of an undistinctive attack. The results, confirming both hypotheses, support an attributional view on harm-doing and contradict the notion of retaliation as pure behavioral reciprocity. Aggr. Behav. 25:91–96, 1999.

Working with group dynamics while teaching group dynamics in a traditional classroom setting: An illustration of a systems-psychodynamic point of view

Purpose Based on an experience, the paper aims to describe how group dynamics can play out in a traditional classroom setting and reflect on how the author worked with these dynamics from a systems psychodynamic perspective. Design/methodology/approach The experience involved teaching a two-day module on group dynamics to a class of 35 mature students enrolled in a business school. The author tried to create a space to understand and work with here-and-now dynamics as the module progressed. Findings Frustration grew among the students regarding the time spent on discussion and reflection. The group was split in two, with one subgroup opening up to experiencing and reflecting on the dynamics, whereas the other subgroup grew more frustrated and demanded that the author take up his authority. Apart from attempting to work with the dynamics, the author introduced relevant concepts and theories that could help to understand the dynamics. The group was characterized by an emotional climate of dependency while students projected hitherto unexplored frustrations onto the lecturer. Although the conditions for experiential learning were far from optimal, the group did experience group dynamics and did engage in reviewing their experiences. Learning did take place, although the depth varied among individuals. Originality/value Reflections are provided on the (im)possibilities of learning about group dynamics at business schools. Suggestions are given how to create conditions for experiential learning in management education.

Decision rules, escalation of commitment and sensitivity to framing in group decision-making

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of collaborative and consultative decision rules on groups’ sensitivity to framing effect (FE) and escalation of commitment (EOC). Design/methodology/approach – In an experimental study (using a sample of 233 professionals with project management experience), the authors test the effects of collaborative and consultative decision rules on groups’ sensitivity to EOC and FE. The authors use four group decision-making tasks to evaluate decision consistency across gain/loss framed decision situations and six decision tasks to evaluate EOC for money as well as time as resources previously invested in the initial decisions. Findings – The results show that the collaborative decision rule increases sensitivity to EOC when financial resources are involved and decreases sensitivity to EOC when time is of essence. Moreover, the authors show that the collaborative decision rule decreases sensitivity to FE in group decision making. Research limitations/impl...

Narcissistic group dynamics of multiparty systems

Purpose – This paper aims to introduce and illustrate the notion of narcissistic group dynamics. It is claimed that narcissism does not simply reside within individuals but can be characteristic of groups and social systems. In this case, the focus is on narcissistic dynamics in multiparty systems. Design/methodology/approach – Social psychological understandings of group narcissism are complemented with notions from psychoanalysis. A systems-psychodynamic perspective, informed by psychoanalysis and systems theory, is adopted. Findings – Narcissistic group dynamics in a multiparty context are illustrated by observations from a two-day simulation of interorganizational relationships that is called “The Yacht Club” (Vansina et al., 1998). Originality/value – In the social psychological literature, narcissism thus far has been largely understood as the prevalence of feelings of ingroup superiority vis-a-vis a particular outgroup. Sometimes the term narcissism is explicitly used, in other cases not, for examp...

Managers' life goals and their willingness to accept an international assignment

Abstract The relationship between life goals and willingness to accept an international assignment is investigated. 109 British managers responded to a questionnaire which tapped their willingness to accept an assignment in various countries and for a variety of different types of organizations. Also they had to indicate the importance of 11 life goals (Exercise Life Goals; Bass, 1976). Two life goals were consistently related to willingness to work abroad, namely: “independence”, which was positively related to willingness to accept an international assignment; and “security”, which was negatively related. Less consistent patterns were found for “self-realization”, “duty”, “pleasure”, and “affection”.