Summary
Group Dynamics
Donelson Forsyth
7th edition
978-1337408851
English edition
From chapter 7 and onward the summary is made in screenshots, perfectly readable but
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+ 71 common test bank questions with answers
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, Summary Group Dynamics 7th Edition – Forsyth
Chapter 1 – Introduction to groupdynamics
Group dynamics: are the influential processes that take place in groups and also the
discipline devoted to the scientific analysis of those dynamics.
Group dynamics (summarized definition): the influential actions, processes, and changes that
occur within groups and between groups—for centuries.
Group: Some stress the importance of communication between members; others
highlight the key role played by mutual dependence. Still others suggest that a shared purpose
or goal is what turns a mere aggregate of individuals into a bona fide group. Most, however,
would agree that a group requires at least two people.
Group (summarized definition): is two or more individuals who are connected by and
within social relationships.
Very small collectives, such as dyads (two members) and triads (three members) are groups,
but so are very large collections of people, such as mobs (menigte), crowds, and
congregations. On average, however, most groups tend to be relatively small in size, ranging
from two to seven members.
• Although groups come in all shapes and sizes, they tend to “gravitate to the smallest
size, two’’
• The members of dyads are also sometimes linked by a unique and powerful type of
relationship— love—that makes their dynamics more intense than those found in other
groups.
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, The maximum number of ties within a group in which everyone is linked to everyone else is
given by the equation n(n-1)/2, where n is the number of people in the group. Only one
relationship is needed to create a dyad, but 10 ties would be needed to join each member of a
5-person group to every other member, 45 for a 10-person group, and 190 relationships for a
20-person group. Note, too, that twice as many ties are needed if they are directed relations;
rather than just A is linked to B, but A links to B and B links to A. Hence, many ties
between members within the boundaries of the group are indirect ones. Person A might, for
example, talk directly to B but B may talk only to C, so that A is linked to C only through B.
• But even in large groups, members often feel connected to the majority of the
group’s members and to the group as a whole.
Membership: the state of being a part of, or included within, a social group.
Network: a set of interconnected individuals or groups; more generally, any set of social
or non-social objects that are linked by relational ties no boundaries.
• Groups, in contrast, usually have stable but permeable boundaries—
sometimes unstated but also sometimes explicitly defined—that differentiate between
those who are within the group and those who are outside of the group.
Social identity: creates a sense of we and us, as well as a sense of they. Aspects of the self-
concept that derive from relationships and memberships in groups; in particular, those
qualities that are held in common by two or more people who recognize that they are
members of the same group or social category. ‘Sense of shared membership in a
group or category.’
Group’s easily detectable qualities:
Interaction
Bales, however, eventually concluded that the countless interactions he had witnessed were of
two basic types (Interaction Process Analysis (IPA):
1. Relationship interaction (also socioemotional interaction): Actions performed by
group members that relate to or influence the emotional and interpersonal bonds
within the group, including both positive actions (social support, consideration) and
negative actions (criticism, conflict).
2. Task interaction: actions performed by group members that pertain to the
group’s projects, tasks, and goals.
Goals
Groups usually exist for a reason. A team strives to outperform other teams in competitions.
A study group wants to help members get better grades etc. Put simply, groups make it easier
to attain our goals. For this reason, much of the world’s work is done by groups rather than
by individuals
McGrath’s (1984) circumplex model of group tasks: brings order to the many goal-related
activities that groups undertake. Conceptual taxonomy developed by Joseph McGrath that
orders group tasks in a circular pattern based on two continua: cooperative–competitive and
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