1_Intro to Group Communication Flashcards
Types of groups: purpose & membership pg.7
Primary-to provide members with affection and support and a sense of belonging
-Family members , best friends
Social - to share common interest in a friendly setting or participate in social activities
-Athletic team members, hobbyist, sorority and fraternity members
Self- help -to support and encourage members who want or need help with personal problems
-Therapy group members, participants in the program such as weight watchers or AA
Learning- to help members gain knowledge and develop skills
Service - to assist worthy causes that help other people outside the group
- police athletic league, charity groups
Civic – to support where the causes that help people within the group
- PTA, labor unions, veterans groups
Work- to achieve specific goals on the half of a business or organization
- management teams, committee, task force members
Public- to discuss important issues in front of or for the benefit of the public
- Forums, and governance groups
Definition of group communication
“The interaction of 3 or more interdependent members working to achieve a common goal.” pg3
Pros of working in a groups
Pros- superior resources:members bring a wide variety of resources
Member satisfaction – social benefit just important as task achievement
learning – groups can enhance learning by sharing collected information stimulating critical thinking and challenging assumption
Cultural understanding – understand respect and adapt to differences in members skill experiences opinion and behaviors as well as differences in gender ,age ,race ,nationality ,religion ,status
creativity – generate more innovative ideas and creative solutions
Civic engagement – connecting students to the community in which they live and work
The group communication process (be able to identify all of its parts) pg. 13
Members – people with knowledge, experiences, personality traits, attitudes, skills who are recognized as belonging to the group
Messages – the expression of ideas, information, opinions and / or feelings that generate meaning
Context – the physical and psychological environment in which the group communicate, including factors such as group size, working conditions, and the relationships among group members
Channel – the media through which group members share messages using one or more of their five senses in face to face or mediated settings
Feedback – verbal or nonverbal responses or reactions to a message that help members assess how well others receive and interpret their messages
noise – an external or internal factor that interferes with how well members express themselves or interpret the messages of others
Each type of group dialects pg15
Contradictory tensions groups experience
Individual vs. group goals
Conflict vs. cohesion
Conforming vs. non-conforming
Task dimensions vs. social dimensions
homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous
Leadership vs followership
Structure vs spontaneity
engaged vs disengaged
Open system vs. closed system
Cons of working in groups
More time energy and resources
Conflict – there is always the potential for disagreement
People problems – individual members can create problems they can be stubborn and lazy and even mean
