Theories In Group Dynamics Flashcards
A field of inquiry dedicated to the advancing knowledge about the nature of groups, the laws of their development and their interrelations with individuals, other groups and larger institutions.
Group Dynamics
Group dynamics have common perceptions which the group members form from _.
Interactive psychological relationship
Group dynamics within social groups.
Intragroup dynamics
Group dynamics between social groups.
Intergroup dynamics
A social psychologist who coined the term “Group Dynamics” to describe the way group and individuals act and react to changing circumstances.
Kurt Lewin
A social unit of 2 or more individuals who have in common a set of beliefs and values, follow the same norm and work for an established common aim.
Group
The flow of coherent activities which as envisaged, may lead the group towards the establishment of set goals.
Dynamics
The history of group dynamics has a consistent underlying premise which is _.
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”
Group formation starts with a psychological bond between individuals or what we called_.
Interpersonal attraction
Individuals perceive that they share some social category.
Social Identity Approach
Arise from a relatively spontaneous process of group formation.
Emergent Groups
Suggests that individuals have a desire to be similar to others but also a desire to differentiate themselves, ultimately seeking some balance of these 2 desires to obtain optimal distinctiveness.
Optimal distinctiveness theory
Based on how individuals in the group see their other members.
Black Sheep Effect
Individuals work harder and faster when the others are present.
Group influence on individual behavior
Is the internal framework that defines members’ relations to one another overtime.
Group Structure
He believes that for a group of people to be called a group, they must see themselves as a unit, reward each member, affect one another and share a common goal.
Gordon
The person whose role in the group is to provide useful and valid information. He or she intends on helping with task accomplishment and values sharing technical expertise with team members.
Knowledge Contributor
The person occupying this role forces members to look at how the group functions. Might also point to excellent team progress.
Process Observer
The person whose role is to provide emotional support to teammates and resolve conflicts. He or she serves as a model of active listening while others make presentations.
People Supporter
The person whose role is to confront and challenges bad ideas. This will prevent complacency and non critical thinking. He will criticize any decision or preliminary thinking that is deficient in any way.
Challenger
The person in the group who listens to whatever ideas and proposals presented by any member of the group.
Listener
This role is important to assume to avoid disputes between the group members.
Mediator
The role who provides the opportunity for every member to express his or her opinion.
Gatekeeper
This role should be assumed by a team member so that the group can then move forward by defining its mission and determining its objectives.
Take-charge Leader
The most common reason for joining groups.
Assignment
People tend to form groups with people who either live or work nearby.
Physical Proximity
One reason people join groups is to be near and talk to other people.
Affiliation
Desire for _ with some group or cause is another reason we join a group.
Identification
Alcoholic Anonymous is one example of this reason to join group.
Emotional Support
Students having problems with a particular subject might form a study group.
Assistance or Help
The extent to which the members of group are similar.
Group homogeneity
Group that contains members who are mere different than alike.
Heterogenous
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.
Group Cohesiveness
What happens when employees become too cohesive?
They often lose sight of organizational goals.
The greater the stability of the group, the greater the _.
Cohesiveness
Groups that are isolated or located away from other groups tend to be _.
Highly cohesive
Groups that are pressured by _ tend to become highly cohesive.
Outside forces
Outside pressure can be explained by the phenomenon of _. (Brehm, 1966)
Psychological reactance
Groups are more cohesive and perform best when the group size is _. Studies have shown that _ groups have lower productivity.
Small
Large
The higher the group’s status, the _ it’s cohesiveness.
Greater
Meta analysis indicates that in general, groups whose members have task-related experience and score high in the personality dimensions of _ and _ will perform better than groups whose members do not have these characteristics.
Openness to Experience
Emotional stability
The extent to which group members assume different roles.
Group Roles
Roles that involve behavior such as offering new ideas, coordinating activities and finding new information. They are also the people high in conscientiousness.
Task-oriented roles
Roles involving encouraging cohesiveness and participation. Also score high in agreeableness.
Social oriented roles
What are the 3 categories of Group roles?
Task oriented
Social oriented
Individual role
He noticed that cyclists rode faster when competing against other cyclists when competing against clocks.
Norman Triplett
It involves the positive effects of the presence of others on an individual’s behavior.
Social Facilitation
It involves the negative effects of others’ presence.
Social Inhibition
It takes place when a group of people passively watch an individual. The presence of an audience increases performance in extraverts but not introverts.
Audience Effects
Groups are most likely to be affected by large audiences of experts who are _.
Physically close to them
The effect on behavior when 2 or more people are performing the same task in the presence of one another.
Co-action
The mere presence of others naturally produces _, which helps an individual perform.
Arousal
Arousal in social facilitation helps an individual perform _ tasks but hinders him in performing _ tasks.
Well-learned tasks .
Poorly learned and unpracticed tasks
A co-acting audience provides a means of _.
Comparison
Hypothesized that judgment by others causes the different effects of social facilitation. That is individuals are aware that the presence of others can be rewarding or punishing.
Evaluation Apprehension
Considers the effect on individuals performance when people work together on a task. It occurs especially in poor performers.
Social Loafing
Postulates that when things are going well, a group member realizes that their individual efforts will not be noticed and thus does not work as hard as he would if he were alone.
Free-rider theory
Hypothesizes that social loafing occurs when a group member notices that other group members are not working hard and thus are “playing him for a sucker”. To avoid this situation, the individual lowers his work performance to match those of other members.
Sucker Effect
What characteristic of an effective work group includes strong task significance and task identity? Group members perceive their work as having high intrinsic motivation.
Job Design
What characteristic of an effective work group includes clearly defined goals?
Interdependence
What characteristic of an effective work group that refers to a team’s belief that it can successfully perform a specific task?
Team Efficacy
What is the right mix and size of an effective work group?
Large enough to accomplish the work but not too large
What happens when groups become too large?
Confusion and poor coordination may result
What characteristic of an effective work group includes building relationships both inside and outside the team?
Emotional Intelligence
What are the key support factors that an effective work group should have?
Information giving
Coaching
Right technology
Receiving recognition and other rewards
The characteristic of an effective work group that takes place when members work closely with each other, in a unified, cooperative manner.
Group Cohesiveness
What characteristic of an effective work group refers to the specific knowledge group members have of their jobs, coworkers and the environment?
Familiarity with Jobs, Coworkers and Environment
What are the 4 potential problems within groups?
Changing membership
Social loafing
Group polarization
Group think
Groups tend to make decisions that are most extreme compared to original thoughts.
Group Polarization
