MidTerm Flashcards
Define Group Work (2 answers)
1 Goal-directed activity with small treatment
and task groups aimed at meeting
socioemotional and task needs
2 Activity directed at individual members, and
the group as a whole within a system of
service delivery
What is a goal directed activity with small treatment and task groups aimed at meeting socioemotional and task needs?
Group Work
What is an activity directed at individual members and the group as a whole within a system of service delivery.
Group Work
What are the Four Key Values of Group Work?
- Respect and dignity-for the worth of all group members
- Solidarity and mutual aid
- Empowerment
- Understanding, Respect, and Camaraderie
What does Respect and dignity, Empowerment, Solidarity and Mutual Aid, and Understanding, Respect, Camaraderie have in common?
They are the Four Key Values of Group work.
What are six examples of Values in Group Work (expanding from the 4 KEY VALUES)
- Participation of and positive relations in the group
among diverse populations - Cooperation and mutual decision making embodied
in the principles of a participatory democracy - Individual initiative within the group
- Freedom to participate
- The right to be involved in the decision making of the group
- High individualization so that each member’s unique concerns are addressed
What are the following examples of?
Participation, Cooperation, Individual Initiative, Freedom to Participate, Right to be Involved, and High Individualization.
Values in Group Work
What are key Group Ethics for Group Work? (7 examples)
- Members treated fairly and equitably
- Workers avoid exploiting members for their own
personal gain - Appropriate referrals when needs can’t be met in
the group - Ongoing assessment, evaluation and follow-up
- Screening group members
- Confidentiality
- Protecting group members
What does the following have in common?
Treated fairly and equitably, avoiding exploiting members, appropriate referrals, ongoing assessment, screening, confidentiality, and protection.
These are examples of Group Ethics
What is the difference between a natural versus a formed group?
Formed groups are those that come together through some outside influence or intervention. They usually have some sponsorship or affiliation and are convened for a particular purpose. Some examples of formed groups are therapy groups, educational groups, committees, social action groups, and teams
Natural groups come together spontaneously based on naturally occurring events, interpersonal attraction, or the mutually perceived needs of members. They often lack formal sponsorship.
What is an example of a formed group?
Some examples of formed groups are therapy groups, educational groups, committees, social action groups, and teams
What is an example of a Natural Group?
Natural groups include family groups, peer groups, friendship networks, street gangs, cliques, and groups created by peers within social media platforms.
What is the difference between a Treatment Group vs a Task Group
Treatment: focus on meeting members needs.
Task: a focus on task accomplishment that may affect members of the group but that primarily focus on those outside the group.
A Treatment Group is used to signify a group whose major purpose is to meet members’ socio-emotional needs. The purposes for forming treatment groups
might include meeting members’ needs for mutual aid, support, education, therapy, growth, and socialization.
A Task Group is used to signify any group in which the overriding purpose is to accomplish a goal that is neither intrinsically nor immediately linked to the needs of the members of the group. Although the work of a task group may ultimately affect the members of the group, the primary purpose of task groups is to accomplish a goal that will affect a broader constituency, not just the members of the group.
Give an example of a Treatment Group.
A grief group, PTSD support, new parent group, etc.
A Treatment group is usually convened to meet the personal needs of its members.
Give an example of a Task Group
A group working on day-care services, a group researching how to better support new immigrants, an environmental group.
The focus is task oriented, and the purpose is external to the personal needs of the members. Members are expected to reveal their personal viewpoints only to the extent that they contribute to the group’s task. Personal feelings are occasionally shared, but factual data are given greater weight. The group is publicized. It seeks out experts to contribute to its deliberations. Confidentiality is impractical because it would hinder the accomplishment of the group’s task.
What do Treatment Groups focus on? (6 options)
1 Support 2 Education 3 Growth 4 Therapy 5 Socialization 6 Self-help
What do the following have in common?
Support, Education, Growth, Therapy, Socialization, Self-help.
These can be goals or styles of Treatment Groups
What are 3 types of Task Groups?
1 Task groups to meet client needs
• Teams
• Treatment Conferences
• Staff Development Groups
2 Task groups to meet organizational needs
• Committees
• Cabinets
• Boards
3 Task groups to meet community needs
• Social Action Groups
• Coalitions
• Delegate Council
What are Teams, Treatment Conferences, and Staff Development Groups examples of?
Task Groups to meet client needs.
What are Committees, Cabinets, and Boards examples of?
Task Group to meet organizational needs.
What are Social Action Groups, Coalitions, and Delegation Councils examples of?
Task Groups to meet community needs.
What are dynamics in groups (4 parts)?
- Communication and interaction patterns
- Cohesion
- Social Integration and Influence
- Group Culture
What are the steps for Communication as a Process?
- Sender (encoding meaning)
- Transmission (distortions in message)
- Receiver (understanding/decoding)
What are some communication problems we can have while running a group?
Selective Perception
Non-verbal messages
Noise and Other distortions
What do Communication and Interaction patterns, Cohesion, Social Integration and Influence, and Group Culture have in common?
These are what form Group Dynamics.
What are patterns of Group Interaction?
- Maypole—when the leader is the central figure and communication occurs from the leader to the member and from the member to the leader
- Round robin—when members take turns talking
- Hot seat—when there is an extended back-and-forth between the leader and one member as the other members watch
- Free floating—when all members take responsibility for communicating, taking into consideration their ability to contribute meaningfully to the particular topic
What are Cues and Reinforcers?
Cues, such as words or gestures, can act as signals to group members to talk more or less frequently to one another or to the worker. Workers and members can also use selective attention and other reinforcements to encourage beneficial interactions.
For example, praise and other supportive comments, eye contact, and
smiles tend to elicit more communication, whereas inattention tends to elicit less communication.
Explain Emotional Bonds regarding Styles of Interaction for Groups.
Positive emotional bonds, such as interpersonal liking and attraction, increase interpersonal interaction, and negative emotional bonds reduce solidarity
between members and result in decreased interpersonal interaction. Attraction and interpersonal liking between two members may occur because they share common interests, similar values and ideologies, complementary personality characteristics, or similar demographic characteristics.
Explain the importance of Subgroups within Group Interactions
Subgroups also affect the interaction patterns in a group. Subgroups form from the emotional bonds and interest alliances among subsets of group members. They occur naturally in all groups. They help make the group attractive to its members because individuals look forward to interacting with those to whom they are particularly close.
The practitioner should not view subgroups as a threat to the integrity of the group unless the attraction of members within a subgroup becomes greater than their attraction to the group as a whole.
What can impact group interactions (5 parts)?
Cues and reinforces Emotional Bonds Subgroups Size and Physical Arrangements Power and Status
What does Size and Physical Arrangement have to do with Group Interactions?
As the size of the group increases, the possibilities for potential relationships increase exponentially.
With increased group size, there are also fewer opportunities and less time for members to communicate. In some groups, the lack of opportunity to participate might not be much of a problem. Members who are not actively participating may be actively listening and engaged in the group process.
It is the worker’s responsibility to assess whether all members are actively engaged in the group and to consider how to intervene when members appear not to be engaged.
How does Power and Status effect group interaction?
Initially, members are accorded power and status because of their position and prestige in the community, their physical attributes, and their position in the agency sponsoring the group. As a group develops, members’ status
and power change, depending on how important a member is in helping the group accomplish its tasks or in helping other members meet their socio-emotional needs.
When members carry out roles that are important to the group, their power and status increase.
Workers should continue to monitor how power and status are distributed within the group as it progresses and make interventions when necessary to ensure that each member feels like an important part of the group.
Why is there cohesion in groups (4 parts)?
1 The need for affiliation, recognition and security
2 The resources and prestige available through group participation
3 Expectations of the benefits of the group
4 Comparison of the group to other group experiences
What does the following have in common?
The Need for Affiliation, Resources and Prestige from Groups, Expected Benefits, Comparison of the group
Theses are reasons for group cohesion.
Name some of the effects of Group Cohesion (Steps in a Flow Chart, 9 examples)
A willingness to take responsibility for group functioning.
A Willingness to Listen and be Open to others.
Effective use of feedback and evaluations.
Greater members influence over each other.
Feelings of self confidence, self esteem and personal adjustment.
Greater Goal attainment and organizational commitment.
Higher levels of attendance, fewer dropout, longer length of participation.
Satisfaction with the group experience.
Perseverance towards goals.
What effects Social Integration, Influence, and Culture of Groups? (4 parts)
1 Norms
2 Roles
3 Status Hierarchies
4 Power
What does the following have in common?
Norms, Roles, Status Hierarchies, and Power
They are part of Social Integration, Influence and Culture.
What are the four Stages of Group Formation?
Beginning, Middle, Ending, Impact of open vs closed membership on group development
What are Norms?
Norms are shared expectations and beliefs about appropriate ways to act in a social situation, such as a group. They refer to specific member behaviors and to the overall pattern of behavior that is acceptable in a group. Norms stabilize and regulate behavior in
groups. By providing guidelines for acceptable and appropriate behavior, norms increase
predictability, stability, and security for members and help to encourage organized and
coordinated action to reach goals.
What are Roles?
Like norms, roles can also be an important influence on group members. Roles are closely related to norms. Whereas norms are shared expectations held, to some extent, by everyone in the group, roles are shared expectations about the functions of individuals in the group.
Unlike norms, which define behavior in a wide range of situations, roles define behavior in relation to a specific function or task that the group member is expected to perform. Roles continue to emerge and evolve as the work of the group changes over time
What is Status?
Status refers to an evaluation and ranking of each member’s position in the group relative to all other members. A person’s status within a group is partially determined by his or her prestige, position, and recognized expertise outside the group. To some
extent, however, status is also dependent on the situation. In one group, status may be determined by a member’s position in the agency sponsoring the group. In another group, status may be determined by how well a member is liked by other group members, how
much the group relies on the member’s expertise, or how much responsibility the member has in the group. It is also determined by how a person acts once he or she becomes a member of a group.
Regarding Dynamics, what is important to note when facilitating a group? (3 parts)
- IDENTIFY group Dynamics as they emerge during group interaction.
- ASSESS the impact of group dynamics on group members INDIVIDUALLY.
- ASSESS the impact of group dynamics on the group as a WHOLE.
What are important things to do and note regarding group communication? (Flow chart, 8 steps)
Members are always communicating so assessment should be ongoing.
Change communication patterns when they are not helpful.
Members communicate for a purpose.
Help members understand and appreciate the meaning of communications
Identify the intent, clarify, and seek feedback.
Educate members on how to give helpful feedback and model this yourself.
Clarify unclear or ambiguous messages to avoid distortion.
Encourage open group-centered communication.
How can we increase group Cohesion? (3 parts)
A higher level of interaction interaction promotes cohesion: use program activities and group discussion.
Help members meet individual and group needs.
Help members cooperate rather than compete.
