Summary Group Dynamics
LECTURES, LEARNING GOALS, PAPERS AND MOCK EXAM
2019/2020
Content:
1: Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………….… 1
2: Methods …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
3: Inclusion (and exclusion) ………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
4: Affiliation (and solitude) ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
5: Motivation ..……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
6: Influence …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
7: Leadership …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 16
8: Conflict ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18
9: Group decision making ………………………………………………………………………………………… 20
10: Intergroup relations ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22
11: Guest lecture dyads (1) ……………………………………………………………………………………… 24
12: Guest lecture dyads (2)………………………………………………………………………………………. 26
13: Exam questions …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 28
, Lecture 1: introduction
- People become more helpful after being excluded = False
- Students become more ‘group-seeking’ when under stress = True
- A group of factory workers with strong ties are more productive than a group with weak ties = False
- people perform better in simple and familiar tasks when others are watching them = True
- Within-group conflict typically improves the performance of a group = False (but exceptions)
- Emotional stability is an important factor in predicting who will be a good ‘team player’ = False
- Negative views of outgroup members will fade if people interact more regularly with those
outgroup members =False
- The dynamics of large groups (crowds) are, at their core, comparable to the dynamics of smaller
groups = True
Group: 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
Group dynamics: the influential actions, processes and changes
that occur within and between group; also, the scientific study of
those processes
How can you describe a group:
• Type of interaction
Relationships → focus on emotional and personal bonds
(e.g. social support)
Task → generate ideas, choose solutions, negotiations,
executing task, focus on group’s work, project, plans and
goals
• How members are interdependent → when outcomes,
actions, thoughts, feelings and experiences are partially
determined by others
Unilateral: hierarchical interdependence, no
reciprocity, one leader that influences others but not vice
versa. Other forms of interdependence:
o Unequal reciprocal →
o Sequential interdependence (without reciprocity)
o Mutual reciprocal interdependence
o Unequal sequential
o Unequal sequential reciprocal
• Structure: the persistent and interrelated features of a
group, such as roles and norms that influence the functioning of the group as a whole and
create regularities in the interactions of its members
o Roles: Coherent set of behaviors expected of people who occupy specific positions.
o Norms: Consensual standards that describe what behaviors should (or should not) be
performed in certain contexts.
• Unity/cohesiveness: a group is an entity that forms when interpersonal forces bind the
members together in a unit with boundaries that mark who is in the group and who is
outside of it.
o Group cohesion: solidarity/unity of a group resulting from the development of strong
and mutual interpersonal bonds among members and group-level forces that unify
the group
o Cohesiveness: qualities of a group that binds members together
o Entitativity: extent to which assemblage of individuals are perceived to be a group
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, Campbell: entitativity = the quality of being a single entity rather than loosely associated,
independent individuals. Influenced by:
(1) Common fate: having the same ideas about achieving goals
(2) Similarity: do the individual express similar sorts of behaviors?
(3) Proximity: how close are the individuals to each other within the group?
Group level analysis instead of individual level analysis:
Allport: objected group-level concepts, because they are examples of group fallacy = explaining social
phenomena in terms of the group as a whole instead of basing the explanation on the individual-level
processes within the group.
Sherif: Group mind does exist: group members adapt their opinions to the group norms.
How can you define a group:
Planned (goal, organized, clear boundaries) vs emergent (spontaneous, unwritten norms)
Primary: small, long-term, characterized by frequent interactions, solidarity and high levels of
interdependence among members that substantially influences the attitudes, values and social
outcomes of its members e.g. friends or family
Secondary/social: relatively small number of individuals who interact with one another over an
extended period of time e.g. work groups, clubs, congregations
Collective: relatively large aggregation or group of individuals who display similarities in actions and
outlook. A street crowd, a line of people (a queue), a panicked group escaping a fire are examples of
collectives, as are more widely dispersed groups
(Social) category: perceptual grouping of people who are assumed to be similar to one another in
some ways but different in some ways from individuals who are not members of that grouping
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