Ch.9 Foundations of Group Behavior Flashcards
formal group
A designated work group defined by an organization’s structure.
informal group
A group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally deter-mined; such a group appears in response to the need for social contact.
social identity theory
Perspective that considers when and why individuals consider themselves members of groups.
Ingroup favoritism
Perspective in which we see members of our ingroup as better than other people, and people not in our group as all the same
outgroup
The inverse of an ingroup, which can mean everyone outside the group but is more usually an identified other group.
punctuated-equilibrium model
A set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia and activity.
role
A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.
role perception
An individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation
role expectations
How others believe a person should act in a given situation
A U.S. federal judge is viewed as having propriety and dignity, while a football coach may be seen as aggressive, dynamic, and inspiring to the players.
psychological contract
An unwritten agreement that sets out what a manager expects from an employee, and vice versa.
Management is expected to treat employees justly, provide acceptable working conditions, clearly communicate what is a fair day’s work, and give feedback on how well employees are doing.
role conflict
A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations.
interrole conflict
A situation in which the expectations of an individual’s different, separate groups are in opposition.
norms
Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group’s members.
conformity
The adjustment of one’s behavior to align with the norms of the group.
reference groups
Important groups to which individuals belong or hope to belong and with whose norms individuals are likely to conform.
deviant workplace behavior
Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and, in so doing, threatens the well-being of the organization or its members. Also called antisocial behavior or workplace incivility.
status
A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.
status characteristics theory
A theory stating that differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups.
status characteristics theory- The power a person wields over others
Because they likely control the group’s resources, people who control group outcomes tend to be perceived as high status.
status characteristics theory- A person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals
People whose contributions are critical to the group’s success tend to have high status
status characteristics theory- An individual’s personal characteristics
Someone whose personal characteristics are positively valued by the group (good looks, intelligence, money, or a friendly personality) typically has higher status than someone with fewer valued attributes.
social loafing
The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually. Social loafing directly challenges the assumption that the productivity of the group as a whole should at least equal the sum of the productivity of the individuals in it, no matter what the group size.
cohesiveness
The degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.
diversity
extent to which members of a group are similar to, or different from, one another.
