Intro Flashcards
Actions, processes, and changes that occur within groups and between groups
Group dynamics
2 or more individuals who are connected by and within social relationships.
Group
The state of being a part of, or included
within, a social group.
Group are said to be linked by:
Membership.
A set of interconnected individuals or groups;
more generally, any set of social or nonsocial objects that are linked by relational ties
Network
Aspects of the self-concept that derive
from relationships and memberships in groups; in particular, those qualities that are held in common by two or more people who recognize that they are members of
the same group or social category.
Perception of themselves as members of the same group or social category that creates a sense of we and us, as well as a sense of they
Social identity
2 types of interaction
Relationship interaction (socioemotional interaction)
Task interaction
Actions performed by group members that relate to or influence the emotional and
interpersonal bonds within the group, including both positive actions (social support, consideration) and negative actions (criticism, conflict).
Pertains to the interpersonal, social
side of group life
Relationship interaction
Actions performed by group members that pertain to the group’s projects, plans, tasks, and goals.
Task interaction
A conceptual taxonomy developed by Joseph McGrath that orders group tasks in a circular pattern based on two continua: cooperative–competitive and conceptual–behavioral.
Circumplex model of group tasks
4 basic group goals of circumplex model of group tasks
Generating
Choosing
Negotiating
Executing (performing)
Goal of circumplex model of group tasks
Groups that concoct the strategies they will use to accomplish their goals (Type 1:
planning tasks) or to create altogether new ideas and approaches to their problems (Type 2: creativity tasks).
Generating
Goal of circumplex model of group tasks
Groups that make decisions about issues that have correct solutions (Type 3: intellective tasks) or questions that can be answered in many ways (Type 4: decision-making tasks).
Choosing
Goal of circumplex model of group tasks
Groups that must resolve differences of opinion among members regarding
their goals or decisions (Type 5: cognitive conflict tasks) or resolve competitive disputes among members (Type 6: mixed-motive tasks).
Negotiating
Goal of circumplex model of group tasks
Groups that do things, including taking part in competitions (Type 7: contests/ battles/competitive tasks) or working together
to create some product or carry out collective
actions (Type 8: Performances/psychomotor
tasks).
Executing
State of being dependent to some
degree on other people, as when one’s outcomes, actions, thoughts, feelings, and experiences are determined in whole or in part by others.
Interdependence
Underlying pattern of roles, norms, and relations among members that organizes groups
Group structure
Coherent set of behaviors expected of people who occupy specific positions within a group.
Role
Consensual and often implicit standard that
describes what behaviors should and should not be performed in a given context
Norms
Strength of the bonds linking individuals to and in the group
Group cohesion
Described by Donald Campbell as the extent to which an assemblage of individuals is perceived to be a group rather than an aggregation of independent, unrelated individuals; the quality of being an entity.
Entitativity
Entitativity, according to Campbell, is
substantially influenced by: (3)
Common fate
Similarity
Proximity
Entitativity
Do the individuals experience the
same or interrelated outcomes?
Common fate
Entitativity
Do the individuals perform similar
behaviors or resemble one another?
Similarity
Entitativity
How close together are the individuals in the aggregation?
Proximity
4 types of groups
Primary groups
Social groups
Collectives
Categories
Type of Group
Small, long-term group, such as families and friendship cliques, characterized by face-to-face interaction, solidarity, and high levels of member-to-group interdependence and identification
Primary groups
The theoretical premise, put forward
by W. I. Thomas, which maintains that an individual’s understanding of a social situation, even if incorrect, will determine how he or she will act in the situation
Thomas Theorem
Belief that all things, including individuals and groups, have a basic nature which makes them what they are and distinguishes them from others
Essentialism
Type of Group
Relatively small number of individuals
who interact with one another over an extended period of time, such as work groups, clubs, and congregations
Social Groups
Type of Group
Relatively large aggregation or group of individuals who display similarities in actions and outlook.
Collectives
Aggregation of people or things that share
some common attribute or are related in some way
Category
Scientists’ shared assumptions about the phenomena they study; also, a set of research procedures
Paradigm
Hypothetical unifying mental force linking group members together; the fusion of individual consciousness or mind into a
transcendent consciousness
Collective conscious (or groupmind)
Supra-individual level of consciousness
that links members in a psychic, telepathic connection.
Groupmind
Patterns of growth and change that emerge across the group’s life span.
Group development
Examining group behavior from several different levels of analysis, including individual level (micro), group level (meso), and organizational or societal level (macro).
Multilevel perspective
Term used by Kurt Lewin to describe scientific inquiry that both expands basic theoretical knowledge and identifies solutions to significant social problems.
Action research
