6: Sustaining Small Groups
6.1: Cultivating a Supportive Group Climate
Cohesion: the degree to which group members identify with and like the group’s task and other group members; the stick-tuitiveness of a group; helps establish an overall group climate
Defensive communication: communication behavior which occurs when an individual perceives threat or anticipates threat in the group
Group climate: the relatively enduring tone and quality of group interactions that is experienced similarly by group members
Group fantasies: non-task related communication such as inside jokes or stories
Social cohesion: the attraction and liking among group members
Symbolic convergence: a theory developed by Bormann that our sense of group identity or group consciousness is developed over time through what he called fantasies, or non-task related communication such as inside jokes or stories
Task cohesion: the commitment of group members to the purpose and activities of the group
6.2: Navigating Group Conflict
Accommodating: a conflict management style characterized by low levels of assertiveness and cooperation; a lose-lose orientation; putting the other party’s needs before your own and allowing them to win
Avoiding: a conflict management style characterized by low levels of assertiveness and cooperation; a lose-lose orientation; ignoring or withdrawing from the conflict and not addressing it
Collaborating: a conflict management style characterized by high levels of assertiveness and high levels of cooperation; a win-win orientation; working together to find a solution that fully satisfies both parties
Competing: a conflict management style characterized by high levels of assertiveness and low levels of cooperation; a win-lose orientation; pursuing one’s own interests and goals at the expense of others
Compromising: a conflict management style characterized by medium levels of assertiveness and cooperation; thought of as a lose-lose orientation because both parties have to give up something in order to resolve the conflict; finding a middle ground that partially satisfies both parties
Conflict: an expressed struggle between interdependent parties over goals which they perceive as incompatible or resources which they perceive to be insufficient
Conflicts of misperceived differences: conflicts that occur when people erroneously interpret each other’s actions or emotions
Conflicts of process: conflicts that arise when people differ over how to reach goals or pursue values which they share
Conflicts of substance: conflicts that relate to questions about what choices to make in a given situation; rest on differing view of the facts
Conflicts of value: conflicts in which various parties either hold totally different values or rank the same values in a significantly different order
Gunnysacking: the imaginary bag we all carry into which we place unresolved conflicts of grievances over time; leads to frustration and influences how we interpret actions
Relationship conflicts: conflicts that involve people’s egos and sense of self-worth; often referred to as personality clashes
6.3: Confronting and Preventing Social Loafing
Circumvention: a method of confronting a social loafer characterized by reorganizing tasks and responsibilities that will result in a desired outcome whether or not the social loafer contributes
Collectivistic values: placing importance on the needs and goals of the group, family, community or nation
Equitable contribution: a cause of social loafing that occurs when group members believe others are not putting forth as much effort, so they lessen their efforts in the group so their contribution is more equitable; they believe that others in the group are slacking
Exclusion: a method of confronting a social loafer characterized by dismissing the social loafer from the group; sometimes not feasible
Group discussion: a method of confronting a social loafer characterized by the entire group addressing the problem with the dissenting team member and specifically addressing the problem(s) they have observed
Individualistic values: placing importance on individual freedom and personal independence
Lack of evaluation: a cause of social loafing that occurs in the absence of an individual evaluation structure imposed by the environment
Lessened contingency between input and outcome: a cause of social loafing that occurs when group members feel they can hide in the crowd and avoid the consequences of not contributing
Non-cohesive group: a cause of social loafing that occurs when a group does not develop social cohesion and members do not feel a sense of obligation to each other
Private consultation: a method of confronting a social loafer characterized by a team leader confronting the social loafer individually
Ringlemann effect: refers to the tendency of individual productivity to decrease as the size of a group increases; individuals tend to exert less effort when they are in a group than they would as individuals
Social loafing: a phenomenon characterized by members of a group who contribute less to the group than other members or less than they would if working alone; social loafers expect that no one will notice their behaviors or that others will pick up their slack
Submaximal goal setting: a cause of social loafing that occurs when team members perceive that a well-defined goal with several people working toward it doesn’t require them to work as hard
Superior assistance: a method of confronting a social loafer characterized by seeking the advice of a superior such as a teacher, boss, or other authority figure
Unequal distribution of compensation: a cause of social loafing that occurs when individuals believe compensation has not been allotted equally among group members, so they will withdraw individual efforts
Non-cohesive group: A cause of social loafing that occurs when the group is not cohesive because members are not concerned about letting down their teammates
6.4: Making Decisions in Groups
Consensus: a decision-making method in which group members engage in discussion and reach a decision that all group members can support; does not mean that a decision is unanimous
Decision by expert: a decision-making method in which the group defers to the member who has the most expertise or experience or to someone outside the group with the authority to make decisions
Groupthink: group pressure where members remain silent and seek to avoid conflict and decisions are based on the faulty assumption that the group is in agreement
Majority vote: a decision-making method in which the decision is made by more than half of the group members agreeing
Plop: a discussion in which group members express views and identify alternatives but then reach no decision and take no action
Unanimity: the notion that all group members involved in making a decision agree on the same outcome or judgment
