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Lectures Group Dynamics, Tilburg University
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Lectures Group Dynamics, given by Dong Ren at Tilburg University 2019/2020.
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Group dynamicsLecture summary, by Lizzy Scheltus
, Lecture 1 – Intro: introduction
Introduction
This course is designed to offer you a thorough understanding of group
dynamics. The aims of the course are 1) to gain knowledge of important
theories and findings in the literature of group dynamics, 2) to gain
knowledge on how to conduct group dynamic research, and 3) to apply
knowledge on group dynamics to practical issues in the real world.
To start this course, we are doing the O-train experiment. This is a role
play in which you are in a train and exclude the person in the middle (if
you are in the side seat) or being excluded (if you are in the central seat).
This experiment demonstrates the impact of ostracism (nl: verbanning)
and it demonstrates how social psychologists study group dynamics.
Course overview
The typical question that social psychologists are interested in are 1) do
you feel accepted and included? 2) How do we influence each other? Do
groups make good decisions? 3) How to identify team players? How to
build an effective team? And 4) Who makes an effective leader? How do
we interact with outgroups?
We have common sense and know how its work, but it is often more
complicated than we think. We look at a couple of statements and tell if
they are true or false.
- People become more helpful after being excluded.
True, but there are other responses possible in which you become 1)
nice, 2) aggressive or 3) move away from all social interactions.
- Students become more ‘group-seeking’ when under stress.
True, because people want to get support. This can be material
support when you need something or emotional support when you
need people around you.
- A group of factory workers with strong ties are more
productive than a group with weak ties.
True and false, but it really depends on the norm (or culture) of the
group and where you work. Sometimes strong ties work better (i.e.
firefighters) but sometimes they don’t.
- People perform better in simple and familiar tasks when
others are watching them.
True and false, but you only perform better when the task is well
learned/ automatic. The performance will be less when you are being
watched when doing a complicated task.
- Within-group conflict typically improves the performance of
a group.
True and false, but it depends on the type of conflict (personal/
relational). It usually decreases the performance of the group. When
it’s more task-related, than conflict could increase the performance
because people want to solve the puzzle together.
- Negative views of outgroup members will fade if people
interact more regularly with those outgroup members.
1
, True and false, but it is usually good to put people from different
groups together however it also depends on the context. There are
four conditions that you should meet: you need a collaborative
environment, norm that promotes collaboration, a leader and you
should also have equal status.
2
, What is a group, how to define?
A group is 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. You really need to pay attention to the meaningful
connection.
- At least two people
- Connection between the people
- Connection is socially meaningful (interdependence or shared
experience)
“Two people surfing on the internet on different websites” are not a group
because there is no connection at al. “Eleven people playing soccer” are a
group because it’s a team that works together. “Three people hanging out
together” are a group because there is inter-connectedness with
meaningful connection. “Inhabitants of Tilburg who like playing poker” are
not a group because they don’t know each other.
How can you describe a group?
You can describe a group by:
- Type of interaction: relational (emotional and personal bonds) or
task (general ideas, choosing solution, negotiating solution,
executing task) interaction.
- How members are interdependent: unilateral (layered with one
person above who gives orders), unequal reciprocal (layered with
one person above who gives orders, but the orders can also come
back from the lower ones), sequential (same level, but in one
direction), mutual reciprocal (same level, going back and forward),
unequal sequential (layered, going from the top to the bottom),
unequal sequential reciprocal (layered, but going back and forward -
complicated).
- Structure: roles (coherent set of behaviours expected of people
who occupy specific positions), norms (explicit or implicit on how we
have to behave).
- Unity: cohesiveness (qualities of a group that binds members
together; how do you feel connected to each other), entitativity (how
the outsider perceives the group; extent to which assemblage of
individuals are perceived to be a group).
Why should we care? All these things will largely determine the group
roles people have in the group. You can describe a group with these
determinants and predict the outcomes better.
What types of groups exist?
How are groups originated? We can categorize groups in:
1. Planned: goal, organized, clear boundaries. It’s clear what the
group wants to do (i.e. Football team).
2. Emergent: spontaneous, unwritten norms, unclear boundaries.
Sometimes groups just happened spontaneous (i.e. It’s snowing
outside, and you see people just random have a snow fight).
3
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