(Small) Group Interactions Mediation & Conflict Resolution

Recap:  What is mediation and conflict resolution?  What are our personality types?  How do we identify and deal with others’ personality and communication types?  Developing empathy and sympathy towards others  Developing listening skills  Identifying and addressing stereotypes: gender, race, age, and classmates’ personal experiences

Small Group Communication  Group (Definition): collection of individuals who are connected to one another by some common purpose, are interdependent, have some degree of organization, and see themselves as a group  Collection of individuals  Common purpose  Interdependence  Organization  Self-perception

Small Group Communication - Stages  1. Opening: getting acquainted, introductions  2. Feed forward: identifying tasks and group roles  3. Business: working on task and problem solving  4. Feedback: reflect on work done, discuss remaining tasks  5. Closing: closing comments

Why do people join groups?  Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow, 1954)  Belongingness / social needs: sense of belonging to a group  Esteem: one’s self worth dependent on being a part of a group and being accepted by that group  Self-actualization: fulfilling one’s potential and becoming a better individual through group interaction and success  Theory of Interpersonal Needs (Schutz, 1966)  Inclusion: sense of belonging  Control: making the choice to join  Affection: relating to others’ choices, interests  Also: looking for shared interests and beliefs

Question: Is it better to have similar group members or diverse group members?

Similar Group Members:  Positive:  Better understanding of each other  Agree on more issues (less conflict)  Quicker decision making process  Negative:  Limited perspectives  Limited experiences  Inhibited creativity and production?

Diverse group members:  Positive:  Different approaches to problems  Access to different sources of information  Different experiences  Increased problem-solving and decision making abilities  Increased creativity and innovation  Negative:  Possible existence of prejudgment and stereotypes  Increased emotional tension and conflict

In-class activity: When does a collection of people become “a group”?  Class divides into 5-6 groups  Task: complete puzzle as fast as possible  One participant-observer per group (note task and social functions)

In-class activity: When does a collection of people become “a group”?  Questions for the Participant-Observer:  Talking within group?  Was the talk task-specific, or about other things? Did group members discover commonalities among themselves?  Did a leader emerge? How?  Did everyone participate, or did some appear withdrawn?  Was there any disruptive behavior?  Did the group work together as a team, or as individuals working on the task?

Group Interaction Process Analysis (Bales, 1950)  Understand how groups work by analyzing interactions occurring within them  12 categories that describe possible group interactions:  1. Shows solidarity  2. Shows antagonism, deflates other’s status  3. Shows tension release  4. Shows tension, withdraws from field  5. Agrees, concurs (passive)  6. Disagrees, shows passive rejection  7. Gives suggestions and directions  8. Asks for suggestions and directions  9. Gives opinion, evaluation, analysis  10. Asks for opinion, evaluation, analysis  11. Gives orientation, information  12. Asks for orientation, information

In-class activity: When does a collection of people become “a group”?  Reflect on YOUR behavior during the puzzle activity  Relate behavior to Bates’ Group Interaction Process Analysis  What are some benefits of working in groups?  What are some obstacles of working in groups?

For next class:  TOPIC: Small Group Communication (Continued), Power and Conflict  In-class activity  REMINDERS: please complete your weekly journals  REMINDER: No class on Monday 2/23 (I will be at a conference)