Group Process PDF

Group Process Fundamentals of Groups What is a Group? • A set of individuals who have at least one of the following characteristics: – Direct interactions with each other over a period of time – Joint membership in a social category based on sex, race, or other attributes – A shared common fate,...

Group Process Fundamentals of Groups What is a Group? • A set of individuals who have at least one of the following characteristics: – Direct interactions with each other over a period of time – Joint membership in a social category based on sex, race, or other attributes – A shared common fate, identity, or set of goals Group Roles • Two fundamental types of roles: – An instrumental role to help the group achieve its tasks – An expressive role to provide emotional support and maintain morale Group Norms • Groups establish norms or rules of conduct for members. • Norms may be either formal or informal. Group Cohesiveness • The forces exerted on a group that push its members closer together. • Group cohesiveness can be affected in different ways as a function of cultural differences. Individuals in Groups: Social Loafing Social Loafing: • A group-produced reduction in • individual output on easy tasks in which contributions are pooled. When Is Social Loafing Less Likely to Occur? • People believe that their own performances can be identified and thus evaluated, by themselves or by others. • The task is important or meaningful to those performing it. • People believe that their own efforts are necessary for a successful outcome. When Is Social Loafing Less Likely to Occur? (cont’d) • The group expects to be punished for poor performance. • The group is small. • The group is cohesive. Why Does Social Loafing Occur? • Collective Effort Model: Individuals try hard on a collective task when they think their efforts will help them achieve outcomes they personally value. Culture and Social Loafing • Research has found social loafing to be less prevalent among women than men, and less prevalent in collectivist cultures than in individualist cultures Group Performance: Problems and Solutions Brainstorming • A technique that attempts to increase the production of creative ideas by encouraging group members to speak freely without criticizing their own or others’ contributions. Brainstorming in Groups Factors That Reduce the Effectiveness of Group Brainstorming • • • • Production blocking. When people have to wait for their turn to speak, they may forget their ideas, maybe so busy trying to remember their ideas that they don't listen to others or generate additional ideas, or may simply lose interest. Free riding. As others contribute ideas, individuals may feel less motivated to work hard themselves. They see their own contributions as less necessary or less likely to have much impact. They therefore engage in social loafing. Evaluation apprehension. In the presence of others, people may be hesitant to suggest wild, off-the-wall ideas for fear of looking foolish and being criticized. Even if they are willing to suggest such ideas, they may spend time preparing to justify them that they otherwise could have spent coming up with more ideas. Performance matching. Group members work only as hard as they see others work. Once the other three factors have reduced the performance of a brainstorming group, performance matching can help maintain this relatively inferior performance. Preventing Groupthink • Avoid isolation by consulting widely with outsiders. • Leaders should reduce conformity pressures. • Establish a strong norm of critical review. Groupthink • Excessive tendency to seek concurrence among group members. • Emerges when the need for agreement takes priority over the motivation to obtain accurate information and make appropriate decisions. Consequences of Groupthink • Defective decision making – Incomplete survey of alternatives – Incomplete survey of objectives – Failure to reappraise initially rejected alternatives – Poor information search – Selective bias in processing information at hand – Failure to work out contingency plans • High probability of a bad decision • group polarization refers to the tendency for a group to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination of its members. .[ What Creates Group Polarization? • Persuasive arguments theory • Social comparison • To differentiate from other groups Goals and Plans in Groups • In many groups for which the goal was simply to “do your best,” the research clearly shows that they are not as effective as specific goals Conditions for Team Effectiveness Conflict: Cooperation and Competition Within and Between Groups Mixed Motives and Social Dilemmas • Situations in which a self-interested choice by everyone creates the worst outcome for everyone. – What is good for one is bad for all. The Prisoner’s Dilemma • Is a type of dilemma in which one party must make either cooperative or competitive moves in relation to another party. Culture and Social Dilemmas • Collectivistic cultures may cooperate more with friends or in group members, but compete more aggressively with outgroup members