**Workshop 3 - Team composition

Question 1

What are surface level characteristics?

Answer 1

Characteristics that can be easily observed upon first meeting or after brief exposure e.g. age, gender

Question 2

What are deep level characteristics?

Answer 2

Characteristics that are not easily observable e.g. psychological attributes such as personality traits, values

Question 3

What are functional characteristics?

Answer 3

Those attributes that fall in between the two extremes of transparency e.g. education, training

Question 4

Models relating to deep level characteristics?

Answer 4

Big 5 personality model, McClelland’s psychological needs, core values

Question 5

Models relating to surface level characteristics?

Answer 5

Society identity theory, Self-categorisation theory

Question 6

What are personality traits?

Answer 6

Enduring characteristics that describe an individuals tendency to behave in a certain way

Question 7

What are the 5 traits shown in the Big 5 personality model?

Answer 7

Extraversion (sociable, active), Agreeableness (cooperative, trusting), Conscientiousness (hard working, organised), Emotional stability (calm, self-confident) and Openness to experience (creative, adventurous)

Question 8

What are McClleland’s 3 psychological needs?

Answer 8

• Need for achievement - the desire to excel and achieve excellence
• Need for power - the desire to influence others and exert control over their surrounding environment
• Need for affiliation - the desire for belongingness and close interpersonal relationships

Question 9

What are core values?

Answer 9

Enduring beliefs that a certain way of doing things or a certain outcome is preferable to an opposite way of doing things or an opposite outcome

Question 10

What are instrumental values?

Answer 10

Preferred way of doing things e.g. autonomy and self-reliance

Question 11

What are terminal values?

Answer 11

Preferred outcomes e.g. health and wellbeing

Question 12

What is diversity?

Answer 12

The distribution of personal characteristics among interdependent members of a work unit

Question 13

What are some benefits of diversity?

Answer 13

Team processes improved due to multiple perspectives and skill sets, produce higher quality solutions, enhances divergent thinking

Question 14

What are some of the challenges of diversity?

Answer 14

Increased diversity in surface level characteristics can have a negative effect on social integration and communication, people may classify themselves into groups (social identity theory), they may create judgements about particular groups (self-categorisation theory)

Question 15

What is similarity attraction?

Answer 15

The tendency to the attracted to those they perceive to be similar

Question 16

What are fundamental attribution errors?

Answer 16

The tendency to assume that the behaviour of someone is due to their internal traits rather than the environment or situation

Question 17

What are confirmation biases?

Answer 17

The tendency to look for and then interpret information that is consistent with their pre-existing viewpoints

Question 18

What is divergent thinking?

Answer 18

Multiple perspectives that expand the thinking of the whole group and team

Question 19

What is social identity theory?

Answer 19

When members of a team classify themselves and others into social categories, such as gender and age

Question 20

What is self-categorisation theory?

Answer 20

Once people have been arranged into groups, people make judgements about particular groups as a result and tend to prefer members they have been grouped with and make a judgement towards the outgroup.