Group Roles In 12 Angry Men

Every member in a group takes on a specific role, whether it be positive or negative, that provides a special function in the group dynamic. In 1948, Benne and Sheats, in their acclaimed essay, listed various group roles that may occur during group communication and sorted them into three categories; group task roles, group maintenance roles, and self-centered roles. These roles each have a different motive that help to either lead or derail the group from their common goal. In the classic movie 12 Angry Men, the conflicting dynamics of a jury team creates difficulty as they work together on making a decision about the fate of a young boy accused of murder. The jury members, all extremely different and diverse from one another, each play a pivotal role in the movie that worked to either create group discussion or conflict. Group task roles are positions that group members partake in in order to “get the job done”. These roles benefit the group by increasing productivity, discussion, and critically thought ideas. Many of the jurors in 12 Angry Men focused on these roles in order to start off the group discussion, provide substantial evidence for or against the guilt of the alleged murderer, and lead the group in the right direction. The initiator-contributor in a group task role functions in order to …show more content…
Juror 11, an immigrant with an admiration for the U.S. government, brought up the importance of the discussion at hand; to decide a boy’s fate. He stated, during one of the many group arguments, that group conflicts shouldn’t occur as all members of the group had the responsibility to make a well thought out and critical decision that wasn’t motivated by personal reasons. His attempts to bring order in the group interactions helped to remind the members of the importance of the task presented to them and of their capability to get along with one