Group Behavior, Teams, and Conflict Flashcards
Gordon believes that for a collection of people to be called a _____, the following four criteria must be met: (a) The members of the _____ must see themselves as a unit; (b) the _____ must provide rewards to its members; (c) anything that happens to one member of the _____ affects every other member; and (d) the members of the _____ must share a common goal.
group
Usually we refer to two people as a dyad, to 3 people as a triad, and to 4 to 20 people as a _____.
small group
The second group criterion is that membership must be _____ for each individual in the group. People will join or form a group only if it provides some form of _____.
rewarding
Group _____ is the extent to which group members like and trust one another, are committed to accomplishing a team goal, and share a feeling of group pride
cohesiveness
The _____ of a group is the extent to which its members are similar
homogeneity
Aamodt, Kimbrough, and Alexander hypothesized that previous research yielded mixed results because the compositions of the best-performing groups were actually somewhere between completely homogeneous and completely heterogeneous. These authors labeled them slightly _____ groups.
heterogeneous
Groups that are pressured by outside forces also tend to become highly cohesive. To some degree, this response to outside pressure can be explained by the phenomenon of _____. When we believe that someone is trying to intentionally influence us to take some particular action, we often react by doing the opposite.
psychological reactance
Groups are most cohesive and perform best when group size is _____.
small
_____ tasks are those for which the group’s performance is equal to the sum of the performances by each group member.
Additive
_____ tasks are those for which the group’s performance depends on the least effective group member (a chain is only as strong as its weakest link). Examples of conjunctive tasks include an assembly line and friends going hiking (you can walk only as fast as the slowest hiker). Because success on a conjunctive task is limited by the least effective member, smaller groups are usually best.
Conjunctive
_____ tasks are those for which the group’s performance is based on the most talented group member. Examples of _____ tasks include problem solving, brainstorming, and a captain’s choice golf tournament (each person plays the best shot of the four golfers). As with additive tasks, larger groups are probably better at _____ tasks than are smaller groups.
Disjunctive
The addition of more members has its greatest effect when the group is small. Latane first investigated this idea when he formulated _____ theory. Imagine that a four-person committee is studying safety problems at work. If the group is stable and cohesive, adding a fifth person may be disruptive.
social impact
The higher the group’s status, the greater its _____.
cohesiveness
For a group to be successful, its members’ roles must fall into one of two categories: _____ oriented and _____ oriented.
task, social
_____-oriented roles involve behaviors such as offering new ideas, coordinating activities, and finding new information.
Task
_____-oriented roles involve encouraging cohesiveness and participation.
Social
A third category—the _____ role—includes blocking group activities, calling attention to oneself, and avoiding group interaction. _____ roles seldom result in higher group productivity.
individual
Social _____ involves the positive effects of the presence of others on an individual’s behavior;
facilitation
social _____ involves the negative effects of others’ presence.
inhibition
The phenomenon of _____ effects takes place when a group of people passively watch an individual. An example would be a sporting event held in an arena.
The strength of the effect of having an _____ present is a function of at least three factors. Latane hypothesized these factors to be an _____ size, its physical proximity to the person or group, and its status. Thus, groups are most likely to be affected by large _____ of experts who are physically close to them. Not surprisingly, the presence of an _____ increases performance in extraverts but not introverts.
audience
The effect on behavior when two or more people are performing the same task in the presence of one another is called _____. Examples would be two runners competing against each other without a crowd present, or two mail clerks sorting envelopes in the same room. Shalley found that _____ decreased creativity and productivity.
coaction
In some jobs, this comparison effect may increase competition and production quantity, whereas in other jobs, _____ effects may cause employees to slow down to be in line with the working norm.
comparison
The third explanation—evaluation _____—hypothesizes that judgment by others causes the differential effects of social facilitation. That is, individuals are aware that the presence of others can be rewarding (e.g., when a crowd cheers) or punishing (when a crowd boos).
apprehension
