On the first day of class, Mr. Simpson divides his class into four competing groups. On the fifth day of school, Jody is sent to the principal for kicking members of the other groups. Mr. Simpson can be faulted for encouraging the creation of

(C) out-group bias.

By dividing his students into groups, Mr. Simpson fostered the development of in-group and out-group bias, the belief that members of one’s own group are superior to members of other groups. While Jody’s aggressive behavior cannot be fully explained by Mr. Simpson’s grouping, the fact that he attacks only members of other groups suggests that out-group bias may play a role. Group polarization is the tendency of groups to take more extreme positions than those taken by their individual members. Since Jody acts alone and not as part of a group, his aggression cannot be seen as an example of deindividuation. Superordinate goals are helpful in reducing conflict between groups by making their success contingent upon their cooperation. Groupthink is the idea that because group members often avoid expressing opinions different from those of the majority, some groups fall prey to poor decisions.