Introduction - What are groups? Flashcards
HC1
Group
Two or more people who are connected and are inter-dependent, in the sense that their needs and goals cause them to influence each other.
Two or more people who are connected and are inter-dependent, in the sense that their needs and goals cause them to influence each other.
Group
Varieties of groups - 4
Primary groups
Social/ Secondary groups
Collective groups
Categories groups
Primary groups
Social/ Secondary groups
Collective groups
Categories groups
Varieties of groups - 4
Categories groups
A relatively large group, only have common attribute but may not interact directly (people who live in NL, men/women).
A relatively large group, only have common attribute but may not interact directly (people who live in NL, men/women).
Categories groups
Collective groups
Large, similarities in actions & outlook with weaker ties (movie crowd, people in a line). A street crowd, a line of people (a queue), and a panicked group escaping a fire are examples of collectives, as are more widely dispersed groups (e.g., listeners who respond similarly to a public service announcement).
Large, similarities in actions & outlook with weaker ties (movie crowd, people in a line). A street crowd, a line of people (a queue), and a panicked group escaping a fire are examples of collectives, as are more widely dispersed groups (e.g., listeners who respond similarly to a public service announcement).
Collective groups
Social/ Secondary groups
A relatively small number of individuals, interacting over long time with less emotional connections (coworkers, study groups)
A relatively small number of individuals, interacting over long time with less emotional connections (coworkers, study groups)
Social/ Secondary groups
Primary groups
A small, long-term group with deep personal connections (families, close friends, combat squads) characterized by frequent interaction, solidarity, and high levels of inter dependence among members that substantially influences the attitudes, values, and social outcomes of its members.
A small, long-term group with deep personal connections (families, close friends, combat squads) characterized by frequent interaction, solidarity, and high levels of inter dependence among members that substantially influences the attitudes, values, and social outcomes of its members.
Primary groups
Forsyth further distinguishes groups based on their formation: expand on this distinction by introducing an additional dimension: whether a group is formed by internal or external forces. By combining these two dimensions—planned vs. emergent and internal vs. external—they identify four types of groups
Concocted groups
Founded groups
Circumstantial groups
Self-organizing groups
Which further distinguishes on groups makes Forsyth based on their formation? Expand on this distinction by introducing an additional dimension which one is that? : whether a group is formed by internal or external forces. By combining these two dimensions— ……… — they identify four types of groups
planned vs. emergent and internal vs. external—
Concocted groups
Deliberately created by external authorities (e.g., military units, sports teams). These are planned groups created by external authorities who are not members of the group. Examples include a flight crew, a military squad, or a group of laborers assigned to a task by an employer.
Deliberately created by external authorities (e.g., military units, sports teams). These are planned groups created by external authorities who are not members of the group. Examples include a flight crew, a military squad, or a group of laborers assigned to a task by an employer.
Concocted groups
Founded groups
Created voluntarily by members (e.g., clubs, startups). These are planned groups initiated by individuals who remain within the group, such as small startups, study groups, or grassroots community organizations.
Created voluntarily by members (e.g., clubs, startups). These are planned groups initiated by individuals who remain within the group, such as small startups, study groups, or grassroots community organizations.
Founded groups
Circumstantial groups
Formed by external events (e.g., survivors of a disaster). These are emergent groups that arise due to external situational factors, often temporarily. Examples include a group of travelers stranded due to a bus breakdown or a spontaneous mob reacting to an event.
Formed by external events (e.g., survivors of a disaster). These are emergent groups that arise due to external situational factors, often temporarily. Examples include a group of travelers stranded due to a bus breakdown or a spontaneous mob reacting to an event.
Circumstantial groups
Self-organizing groups
Develop organically over time (e.g., informal friend groups) (p. 12). These are emergent groups formed through the gradual alignment of individual activities into a cooperative system. Examples include parties, informal gatherings, or groups of friends who regularly spend time together.
Develop organically over time (e.g., informal friend groups) (p. 12). These are emergent groups formed through the gradual alignment of individual activities into a cooperative system. Examples include parties, informal gatherings, or groups of friends who regularly spend time together.
Self-organizing groups
What is the characteristics of a groups named composition?
who belongs to the group? the individual members and their traits influence group dynamics.
Boundaries: Who does not belong?
Size: How large is the group? How many ties are there?
What is the task interaction type of group interactions?
The conjointly adjusted actions of group members that pertain to the group’s projects, tasks, and goals. Includes all group behavior that is:
- focused on groups work / project / plan / goal
- coordination is needed
Which type of group interaction is this:
The conjointly adjusted actions of group members that pertain to the group’s projects, tasks, and goals. Includes all group behavior that is:
- focused on groups work / project / plan / goal
- coordination is needed
Task interaction
What is the relationship / socioemotional interaction type of group interactions?
The conjointly adjusted actions of group members that relate to or influence the nature and strength of the emo tional and interpersonal bonds within the group, including both sustaining (social support, consideration) and undermining actions (criticism, conflict). Includes all group behavior that is:
- emotional & personal bonds
- sustaining or undermining actions (social support but also criticism)
Which type of group interaction is this:
The conjointly adjusted actions of group members that relate to or influence the nature and strength of the emo tional and interpersonal bonds within the group, including both sustaining (social support, consideration) and undermining actions (criticism, conflict). Includes all group behavior that is:
- emotional & personal bonds
- sustaining or undermining actions (social support but also criticism)
Relationship / socioemotional interaction
Wat is interdependency?
Mutual dependence, as when one’s outcomes, actions, thoughts, feelings, and experiences are influenced, to some degree, by other people.
The way in which group members are interdependent: members rely on each other for task completion, emotional support, or shared identity.
What is group unity?
How cohesive is the group?
What is Cohesiveness?
Solidarity and unity of a group. The strength of ties in a group which is influenced by commitment to a shared goal rather than personal liking.
- little turn over, as cohesive groups retain their members
- little intragroup conflict due to strong integration and shared purpose
- often based on commitment to the groups purpose (group members don’t have to like each other very much to be very cohesive)
- Cohesive groups create a strong sense of belonging, with members identifying closely with the group.
- Without a basic level of cohesiveness, a group risks disintegrating over time.
- Cohesion can generate a powerful sense of unity even among individuals who do not have strong personal bonds.
- Just as cohesive matter resists external forces in physics, cohesive groups maintain stability and resist fragmentation.
Why is social cohesion crucial?
In essence, group cohesion is crucial for maintaining the integrity, structure, and effectiveness of a group, regardless of whether its members share strong personal relationships.
Wat is Entitativity?
The perceived cohesiveness of a group affected by similarity, proximity, common fate. The apparent cohesiveness or unity of an assemblage of individuals; the quality of being a single entity rather than a set of independent, unrelated individuals (coined in Campbell, 1958a).
What are the Key factors from Cambell that influence entitativity?
o Similarity: Individuals who share physical traits, clothing or goals are more likely to be seen as a group
o Proximity: the closer individuals are to each other, the more likely they are perceived as a group
o Common fate: if individuals move or act in coordination, their entitativity increases.
o Emotional similarity: similar emotions, such as happy, they are more likely to be seen as a unified group.
Brain Lickel expanded the theory of Cambell, finding that people classify groups into four categories based on entitativily, what are these groups?
o Intimacy groups like families
o Task groups like work teams
o Social categories by demographic characteristics
o Collectives are temporary gatherings
The findings suggest that groups with strong relationships and frequent interaction are perceived as …….. entitative, while temporary and loosely connected groups are seen as ……. unified. Social categories, despite their vastness, can sometimes be viewed as more “group-like” than loosely associated collectives.
highly
less
What are the two ways of group origin of Donald Campbell?
Planned and Emergent
What is a planned group origin?
Deliberately formed by the members or an external authority for specific purpose.
- organized
- task-focused
- formal
- clear boundary (who belongs to the group)
What is a emergent group origin?
Comes into existence spontaneously (e.g. people find themselves in the same location or gradually over time interact with one another repeatedly)
- not explicitly organized
- unclear boundaries
- unwritten norms
What is a group structure?
The organization of a group, including the members, their interrelations, and their interactions.
What are the three ways that a group is organized?
- Social networks: Who talks to whom? Who likes / dislikes whom? Whom People look to for help?
- Roles: A socially shared set of behaviors, characteristics, and responsibilities expected of people who occupy a particular position or type of position within a group; by enacting roles, individuals establish regular patterns of exchange with one another that increase predictability and social coordination.
o leader, follower, information seekers, information giver, compromiser - Norms: A consensual and often implicit standard that describes what behaviors should and should not be per formed in a given context.
o rules that evolve within the group and are renegotiated over time. Conflicts often emerge as members violate the norms.
Goals: what is the groups purpose?
each of these basic categories can be further subdivided, yielding a total of eight goal-related activities.
What are the four categories and the eight types of group purpose?
Generating: Groups concoct the strategies they will use to accomplish their goals (Type 1: planning tasks) or create altogether new ideas and approaches to their problems (Type 2: creativity tasks)
Choosing: Groups 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)
Negotiating: Groups resolve differences of opinion among members regarding their goals or decisions (Type 5: cognitive conflict tasks) or settle competitive disputes among members (Type 6: mixed-motive tasks)
Executing: Groups do things, including taking part in competitions (Type 7: contests/battles/ competitive tasks) or creating some product or carrying out collective actions (Type 8: performances/psychomotor tasks
McGrath’s task circumplex model also distinguishes between which tasks?
Conceptual–behavioral tasks and Cooperation–conflict tasks.
McGrath’s task circumplex model also distinguishes between conceptual–behavioral tasks and cooperation–conflict tasks. Explain the type of tasks?
Groups dealing with conceptual tasks (Types 2–5) generally exhibit high levels of information exchange, social influence, and process-oriented activity
Groups dealing with behavioral tasks (Types 1, 6, 7, 8) are those that produce things or perform services. Members of these groups perform a series of motor tasks that range from the simple and relatively individualistic through to the complex and highly interdependent.
Conflict tasks (Types 4–7) pit individuals and groups against each other,
whereas cooperative tasks require collaboration (Types 1–3, and 8).
Can groups perform tasks from multiple categories of the McGrath’s categories?
Some groups perform tasks from nearly all of McGrath’s categories, whereas others concentrate on only one subset of goals.
What are group dynamics?
Group dynamics are the interpersonal processes that occur in and between groups over time, including the following:
Which 5 interpersonal processen of group dynamics are there?
Formative processes, such as the need to belong to and affiliate in groups, contextual factors that promote the formation of groups, and the development of group cohesion (Chapters 3–5)
Influence processes, including aspects of group structure (norms, roles, relation ships), conformity and dissent, social power, obedience to group authority, and leadership (Chapters 6–9)
Performance processes, such as group productivity, social motivation, working in teams, and collaborative decision making (Chapters 10–12)
Conflict processes within groups— intragroup conflict—and between groups—intergroup conflict (Chapters 13 and 14)
Contextual processes that are dependent on the group’s physical setting and specific pur pose, including change-promoting groups and large collectives (Chapters 15–17
What assumes the Tuckman’s theory of group development?
Assumes that over time most groups move through five stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
Why should we care about group dynamics?
Knowing about these (and other) dimensions allow us to predict outcomes.
How group members feel in a group?
Membership affects self-esteem, belonging, and social identity.
How well a group work together?
Interpersonal relationships, structure, and cohesion influence group performance.
What are the outcomes for a group?
Groups impact decision-making, leadership effectiveness, and conflict resolution.
Applications to practical problems
Group dynamics research is applied in workplaces, therapy settings, education, and conflict management
Lewin (1951) first used the phrase group dynamics to describe what?
The powerful processes that take place in groups, but group dynamics also refers to the scientific study of groups (Cartwright & Zander, 1968).
Due to the …………., the influence of groups on individuals is often underestimated, particularly by individuals raised in more individualistic, Western cultures
Fundamental attribution error
Groups alter their members’ …………….. Triplett’s (1898) study of group performance demonstrated……
attitudes, values, and perceptions.
the impact of one person on another, but some groups (primary groups, cults, etc.) influence members in substantial and enduring ways.
A review of 25,000 studies indicated that hypotheses about groups yielded ….. findings than studies of other social psychological topics.
Clearer
How do groups influence society?
Groups mediate the connection between individuals and society at large (Fine, 2012).
Hofstede’s theory of national cultures identifies the key dimensions of variation that influence groups and their members, including….
……… power distance, individualism, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance (Hofstede et al., 2010).
Which theorie identifies the key dimensions of variation that influence groups and their members, including power distance, individualism, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance?
Hofstede’s theory of national cultures
Social Capital
The degree to which individuals, groups, or larger aggregates of people are linked in social relation ships that yield positive, productive benefits; analogous to economic capital (fiscal prosperity), but determined by extensiveness of social connectedness.
Social Category
A perceptual grouping of people who are assumed to be similar to one another in someways but different in one or more ways, such as all women, the elderly, college students, or all the citizens of a specific country.
Social Identity
An individual’s sense of self derived from relationships and memberships in groups; also, those aspects of the self that are assumed to be common to most or all of the members of the same group or social category.
Stereotype
A socially shared set of qualities, characteristics, and behavioral expectations ascribed to a particular group or category of people.
Group Cohesion
The solidarity or unity of a group resulting from the development of strong and mutual interpersonal bonds among members and group-level forces that unify the group, such as shared commitment to group goals and esprit de corps.
Thomas theorem
The theoretical premise, put forward by W.I. Thomas, which maintains that people’s conception of a social situation, even if in correct, will determine their reactions in the situation; “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences”
Essentialism
The belief that all things, including individuals and groups, have a basic nature that makes them what they are and distinguishes them from other things; a thing’s essence is usually inferred rather than directly observed and is generally assumed to be relatively unchanging.
