Group Interactions

Front 1

Identify, explain, and provide an example (for a topic given to you) of questions of fact, conjecture, value, and policy (pp. 136–141)

Back 1

Fact – Determining what is true and what has already happened
(e.g., jury decision making)
Conjecture – Determining what is probable under conditions that do not now exist
(e.g., team marketing decisions) – hypothetical – something in the future
Value – Determining what are acceptable ways of thinking and feeling
(e.g., right or wrong, good or bad, ethical or unethical) (e.g., societal decision about abortion)
Policy – Determining what course of action to take

Front 2

Force-field analysis (especially disparity relationships, driving/impelling and restraining/constraining forces; pp. 137–138)

Back 2

Force-field analysis- Systematic way to address and resolve a problem
1. Driving Force/Impelling forces: Push for change
2. Restraining/Constraining forces: Prevent change from occuring

Front 3

Definitions and examples of informational, analytical, and procedural problems (pp. 144–147)

Back 3

A.Informational Problems: Conditions that complicate the decision-making process because of deficiencies in the amount and quality of information to which groups have access

B.Analytic Problems: Conditions that arise when decision-making group members fail to utilize information properly or to recognize its implications for the task at hand

C.Procedural Problems: Difficulties that stem from the failure of groups to develop and follow an agenda in an order that makes sense in terms of the particular requirements of the task

Front 4

Functional theory of group decision making (especially the five functional requisites; pp. 163–169)

Back 4

Functional Theory: A set of organized and interrelated propositions that attempt to explain how groups make effective (and ineffective) decisions

Functional theory asserts that there are certain activities (called functional requisites) that must be preformed for groups to overcome task obstacles and make high-quality decisions.

Five functional requisites:
1.Understand the issue/question
2.Determine what minimal characteristics any acceptable alternative must have
3.Identify relevant and realistic alternatives
4.Carefully examine those alternatives against the previously determined characteristics necessary for an acceptable choice
5.Select the alternative that seems most likely to have the characteristics needed

Front 5

Structurational theory (especially rules and resources, and how structures are the medium and the outcome of interaction; pp. 168–169)

Back 5

Structuration Theory: A set of organized and interrelated propositions that attempt to explain how and why human action in social systems, such as groups, becomes structured
ST assumes that members draw on a group’s rules and resources when they communicate and make decisions

1.Rules are statements and expected communicative behavior in groups, as well as how the communicative behavior of other group members should be interpreted
2.Resources are materials, knowledge, and skills that a group draws on to accomplish its task
3.The rules and resources together make up a group’s structures
a)Structures enable group members to perform certain behavior; they also inhibit them from performing certain behaviors
b)Structures are both the medium and the outcome of interaction (called the duality of structures)

Front 6

Definitions/explanations for social influence, group argument, argument1 and argument2 (pp. 185–189), and Brockreide’s types of arguers (PowerPoint slides)

Back 6

A.Social influence: The process by which group members try to change one another’s opinions and ideas.
B.Group Argument: A form of discourse that is:
1.Is interactive
2.Is social
3.Emerges at points of disagreement
4.Involves giving and defending reasons
5.Leads to resolution seeking
E.Argument1: The act on communication in which an argument is made
F.Argument2: A communication process in which two or more people take part.

Front 7

Be able to construct an argument for a topic given to you that includes a claim, data, and warrant from the Toulmin model (pp. 193–195)

Back 7

A.Claim: A conclusion
B.Datum/Data: Evidence that support the claim
C.Warrant: An explicit statement that explains why the data logically lead to the claim
D.Example
Datum Claim
My father eats lots of red meat ---- My father will develop heart disease
Warrant
People who eat red meat are more likely to develop
heart disease than those who do not eat red meat

Front 8

Group leadership as a noun (leader) versus verb (leadership; p. 205)

Back 8

A. Distinction between
1.Leader: A noun that refers to the person who occupies a particular role in a group
2.Leadership: A verb that refers to the communication behaviors that help members to focus on their task.

Front 9

Basic distinction between universal leadership theories versus situational leadership theories versus transformational leadership theories (pp. 209–210)

Back 9

A.Universal Leadership Theories: Argue that leaders can communicate using a single style that is universally appropriate, regardless of the task, the situation, or the characteristics of group members.
B.Situational Leadership Theories: Argue that leaders should adapt their communication to the unique characteristics of a situation.
C.Transformational Leadership Theories: Explain how leaders can help to transform people’s views of the group situation and overcome situational obstacles and constraints by creating new possibility and directions for their groups.

Front 10

Leadership theories:

Back 10

A. Trait theory (p. 210)
Trait Theory: Belief that people are born to be leaders and that certain people, with certain characteristics, are destined to be leaders
B. Style approach: autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire (pp. 210–211)
Style Approach: Leaders adopt one of three styles
1.Autocratic: Central authority leader
2.Democratic: Encourages group members to take part in decision making
3.Laissez-faire: Not involved with group decision making at all; sits back and allows group members to interact
C. Functional approach (especially the two dimensions of task and relational orientation, and the five leadership styles that result; pp. 212–216)
Functional Approach: Assumes that members must perform certain leadership behaviors to help their group accomplish its task
1)Two dimensions
a)Concern for production/task
b)Concern for people/relationship
2)Five styles
a)Impoverished Management: Low on task, low on people
b)Authority-Compliance: High on task, low on people
c)Country Club Management: Low on task, high on people
d)Middle-of-the-Road Management: Medium on task, medium on people
e)Team Management: High on task, high on people

D. Contingency theory (especially the notion that a task-oriented leader is needed most when a group is performing extremely well or extremely poorly and a relational-oriented leader is needed most when a group is performing in an average manner; pp. 217–219)
Contingency Theory: Argues that there should be a leadership match between people and situations
1.Task-oriented leader is needed most when a group is (a) performing extremely well or (b) performing extremely poorly
2.Relationship-oriented leader is needed most when a group is performing in an average manner.
E. Transformational leadership (especially the idea that leaders transform a situation by giving group members a new vision of the group’s future or by increasing the level of understanding and stimulation that people receive from the current situation; pp. 220–222)
Transformational: Describes leaders who rely on their persuasive skills to create a compelling vision of the future, which helps change followers’ beliefs, attitudes, and values

Front 11

Four roles for observing group interaction—complete participant, participant–observer, observer–participant, and complete observer (p. 239)—as well as consultant role (Chapter 11 PowerPoint slide)

Back 11

Four Researcher/Participant-Observational Roles
1.Complete Participant: Researcher becomes a full group member and observes group interaction without members knowing they are being observed
2.Participant-Observer: Researcher participates in a group to the extent possible and observes group interaction, with members knowing they are being observed
3.Observer-Participant: Researcher primarily observes a group but also participates to a limited extent
4.Complete Observer: Researcher observes a group without becoming a part of it in any way, with members knowing or not knowing they are being observed
Consultant: Person external to a group whose professional role is to observe, analyze, and provide feedback to the group to help the group complete its task more effectively.

Front 12

Bales’s Interaction Process Analysis: basic methodology, 12 categories (you do not need to memorize them but you must be able to use them to code data given to you), and what each of the 4 levels of analysis of coded data shows about the group or members (pp. 240–249)

Back 12

Methodology
1.Obtain a sample of group discussion
2.Bracket and code the communication acts: any verbal or nonverbal message—the equivalent of a simple sentence—that an observer can understand
3.Interpret the codes
4.Use the data to offer feedback to group members
Categories
1.Seems friendly
2.Dramatizes (Tension release)
3.Agrees
4.Gives suggestions
5.Gives opinions
6.Gives information
7.Asks for information
8.Asks or opinions
9.Asks for suggestions
10.Disagrees
11.Shows tension
12.Seems unfriendly
Levels of Analysis
Level 1: Participants share of interaction
Level 2: Percentage of Group Participation in
Categories Compared to Norms
Level 3: Percentage of Group Participation in
Each Category for Each Group
Member
Level 4: Individual Percentages Compared to
Norms

Front 13

Meeting functions: informing or instructing members, soliciting ideas, solving problems and making decisions, and creating unity and support (pp. 276–279)

Back 13

A.Informing or instructing members
B.Soliciting ideas
C.Solving problems and making decisions
D.Creating unity and support

Front 14

Identify at least one problem that has been identified from the research literature when groups engage in “naturally occurring (free)” (unstructured) group interaction (see Chapter 11 PowerPoint slides and Sunwolf and Frey reading)

Back 14

A. “Naturally occurring” (“free”) group discussion refers to communication processes of task groups that have not been required or encouraged to use formal group process techniques.
B. Naturally occurring group discussion can leads groups to not:
1.Use time efficiently
2.Share relevant information
3.Encourage minority and alternative viewpoints
4.Manage conflict effectively
5.Develop high-quality member relationships
6.Balance social and task needs
7.Engage in planning and functional decision making

C. Naturally occurring group discussion can lead to group tendencies that include:
1.Premature idea evaluation, solution orientation, and decision making
2.Groupthink
3.“Social loafing,” (individuals reducing their effort when working in a group compared to the amount they would exert working alone)
4.“Free riding” (where individuals obtain the benefits of being in a group but do not put in their fair share of the effort), which often leads to the “sucker effect” of other members reducing their efforts

Front 15

Definition and one or two benefits of meeting procedures (pp. 284–285)

Back 15

A.Meeting Procedures: “Sets of rules or guidelines which specify how a group should organize its process to achieve a particular goal” (Poole, 1991, p. 55)
B.Procedures reduce the chances of engaging in faulty processes and harness the strengths of groups in at least nine way:
1.Coordinate members’ thinking
2.Provide a set of objective ground rules
3.Protect groups against their bad own habits
4.Capitalize on the strengths of groups
5.Balance member participation
6.Surface and manage conflicts
7.Give groups a sense of closure in their work
8.Make groups reflect on their meeting process
9.Empower groups

Front 16

Basic difference between analysis–ideation and ideation–analysis procedures (pp. 286 and 299) and be able to explain a specific facilitation technique for each type of procedure

Back 16

A.Analysis–ideation meeting procedures: Focus on a collective analysis of specific aspects of a problem, or of the problem as a whole, before idea-generation methods are employed
1.Reflective Thinking: Six preconstructed questions (What is the problem? What are its causes? What are the solution criteria? What are possible solutions? What is the best solution” and What is the method of implementation) are answered by a group using this rational decision process
2.Devil’s Advocacy: One member critiques a group’s plan, raising questions about its assumptions and consequences but not offering a counterplan.
3.Delphi Method: A group of experts works independently in rounds, where individual ideas are listed, reported to all, and individually ranked, followed by reconsideration of rankings.
4.Dialectical Inquiry: Two subgroups each develop a plan, then both groups meet together to develop those plans, reach consensus on the most important issues, and develop a single course of action
5.Flowchart: Graphical representation of a step-by-step process outlining basic underlying structures and using an agreed-on symbol system (rectangles, lines, circles, and arrows)
6.Problem Censes: Used at the beginning of a meeting to guide discussion, the procedure polls members to introduce, list, and rank problems for consideration at that or future meeting
7.Fishbone Diagram: A graphical technique used to uncover possible causes and effects of process problems, using a process of elimination to help a group focus on actual significant issues.
8.Force-field analysis
9.Praeto Analysis: Using graphical diagrams, charts frequencies and percentages of problem categories at different points in time to measure change and identify trends
10.Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT): A group develops a chart to structure which member should do what tasks at specified periods of time related to accomplishing a proposed plan.
B.Ideation–analysis meeting procedures: Promote idea generation
1.Brainstorming: Designed to generate ideas and promote creativity by reducing evaluation, using a facilitator to enforce four rules (no criticism, quantity is wanted, the wilder the ideas the better, and piggybacking on other ideas is encouraged)
2.Reverse Brainstorming: Using the same rules as brainstorming, group members generate ideas or solutions that would make the problem worse, and after generating a list, consider implications of doing the opposite
3.Idea Writing: Four-step prediscussion procedure for e3xploring the meaning of generated ideas in writing: divide into subgroups, each member writes ideas to a stimulus question, forms are shared for other members’ written reactions, and each member reads reaction to his or her initial response, followed by discussion
4.Buzz Groups: Members are divided into smaller groups for brief periods during a meeting to generate ideas on the same issue that subsequently are analyzed by the entire group
5.Role Storming: Each group members is asked to assume the role of a person who may be affected by or affect the problem, then brainstorm the problem from that person’s point of view in a group session
6.BrainWriting: Group members generate ideas silently and in writing on index cards, with each member writing down one idea per card and passing it on to stimulate new ideas for the next member, as all members write down on a separate card any new ideas suggested.
7.Collective Notebook: Members do not meet face-to-face but, instead, generate ideas over an extended period of time; a notebook with the problem statement is given to each member, who writes down one idea every week for a month, with a coordinator summarizing ideas
8.Lotus Blossom: A diagram method that functions as a visual brainstorming, in which each member is given a problem written in the center, and thinks of related ideas that are written in surrounding circles, generating new ideas to the original poblem until the diagram is complete

Front 17

Agendas (e.g., definition of and rules for constructing effective agendas)

Back 17

Agenda: A written document that identifies the issues that are going to be considered during a meeting, outlines the order in which the issues will be discussed, classifies items according to the type of treatment they receive, and specifies the amount of time allotted to each issue
Constructing Effective Agendas
1.List the items in clauses or full sentences
2.When the rationale for an item on an agenda may not be clear to members, provide a reason for it.
3.Classify items according to what is expected of meeting participants:
a.FI (For Information): Items that simply are for the information of those present
b.FD (For Discussion): Items that require discussion
c.FA (For Action): Items that require making a decision
4.Distribute the agenda in advance of each meeting, as well as any other documents necessary to brief members about the items that are going to be addressed at the meeting
5.The most important items should be listed before the least important items, although sometimes it is best to begin by discussing or taking action on items that can be settled quickly. If key members are available for only part of the meeting, key items should be handled at that time. Consider ending on an item on which consensus can be reached, so that members leave the meeting feeling united.
6.Include in the margin next to each agenda item the time allotted for that item.

Front 18

Types of group presentations: panel discussion, symposium presentation, and forum discussion (Group Project Presentation PowerPoint slides)

Back 18

Panel Discussion: Small group representing varying perspectives discusses issues relevant to an important question/problem in front of a listening audience
Symposium Presentation: Discussants present an uninterrupted speech on a portion of a topic
Forum Discussion: The period of verbal interaction following a presentation(s) during which audience members interact in an organized way with presenters. (Also used to refer to a discussion held by a large gathering of people, such as a town hall meeting.)

Front 19

Nature and tensions of the adjournment phase (pp. 320–322)

Back 19

A.Adjournment Phase: Group members disengage gradually from task-related and socioemotional activities as they cope with the impending close of the group.
B.Tensions (see page 41 of textbook)
1.Individual: Disengaging (e.g., “I’m ready to leave the group, but I also want to stay”)
2.Group: Terminating (e.g., “We want to discuss our group experience, but some things are better left unsaid”)

Front 20

Two dimensions of group endings (decision to disband and control over procedures that govern a group’s ending) and four types of resulting ending: controlled, negotiated, officiated, and forced endings (pp. 323–327)

Back 20

A.Two Dimensions of Control
1.Control over the decision to disband
a.Decision made internally by group members
b.Decision made externally by outside individuals or groups
2.Control over procedures governing a group disbanding
a.Internal control by group members
b.External control by outside individuals or groups
B.Types
1.Controlled Ending: Group has internal control over both the decision to end and the procedures that govern its ending.
2.Negotiated Endings: Group members are told to disband but have control over the procedures that govern the group’s ending.
3.Officiated Ending: Group members make the decision to disband, but others control the way in which it is done.
4.Forced Endings: Both the decision to end a group and the procedures that govern the ending are determined externally.

Front 21

A communicative practice (such as an exit interview) that can make endings more positive for groups as a whole (pp. 330–331)

Back 21

A.For Individuals
1.If possible, help the group prepare for your exit (e.g., give notice)
2.Stay in touch with those remaining in the group
3.Leaving a group will affect you before, during, and after you leave, so be aware of your actions and emotions before and during your leaving.
B.For Groups
1.Understand why members are leaving (e.g., by conducting an exit interview with those who are leaving)
2.Address both task-related and relational issues
3.Early notification helps
4.Engage in leave-taking rituals, collective opportunities to say goodbye