Group dynamics test 1 Flashcards
Define a group
Definition: Two or more individuals who are connected to one another by and within social relationships.
Definitions of groups vary, but they do have common characteristics.
What is a size of a typical group & who “discovered this”
2-7
Sociologist John James recorded the size of groups in Portland, Oregon (n = over 9000 from different settings – walking, shopping, playgrounds, etc.) and found that groups tend to gravitate to its smallest # = 2
who drew a distinction between primary groups & Secondary Groups?
define primary groups give an example
Cooley (1909)
Small, long-term groups characterized by face-to-face interaction & high levels of cohesiveness, solidarity, & member identification.
e.g: Families, close friends, tight-knit peer groups, gangs, elite military squads
Define a secondary group & give an example
A larger, less intimate, less commitment, more goal-focuses groups typical of more complex societies
e.g: Social groups such as congregations, workgroups, unions, professional associations
What is a planned group?
Deliberately formed by the members themselves or by an external authority, usually for some specific purpose or purposes
what is a concocted group? give an example
planned by individuals or authorities outside the group.
e.g?: production lines, military units, task forces, crews, professional sports teams
What is a founded group? - give an example
planned by individuals or authorities outside the group
e.g: study groups, small businesses, clubs, associations
Define Emergent groups
Groups that form spontaneously as individuals find themselves repeatedly interacting with the same subset of individuals over time and settings.
What is a circumstantial group? give an example
Emergent, unplanned groups arising when external, situational forces set the stage for people to join together, often only temporarily, in a unified group.
e.g.: waiting line, crowds, mobs, audiences, bystanders
what is a self-organizing group?
Emerge when interacting individuals gradually align their activities in a cooperative system of interdependence.
e.g: study groups, friendship cliques in a workplace, regular patrons at a bar.
Brian Lickel et al presented 40 scenarios - to determine what is least to most group like on a 1-9 likert scale(low entitativity -> high entitativity.
what were the types of groups he concluded?
- intimacy/ primary groups
- social / task groups
- weak associations/collectives
- categories
What are common characteristics?
- influence of size
- interaction: task and relation
interdependence: sequential, reciprocal, mutual
structure” roles, norms & relations
goals: generating, choosing, negotiating, executing
cohesion
What is the connection equation to determine the number of connections?
n(n-1)/2
N= Connections
e.g. a group of three would be: . 3(3-1)/2
What are the three types of goals
- process goals
- performance (task)
- intellectual (decision making)
What is McGarth’s circumplex model of group task?
2 dimensions & 4 quadrants
the dimensions:
1. conflict/ cooperation
2. conceptual / behaviour
4 Quadrants:
1. Generating - something that is created / produced
2. choosing - selecting (from alternatives
3. negotiation - group resolves conflict
4. Executing - requires action