Communication in Small Groups Chapter 2

Groups Fundamental to Civilization Evolutionary downsides –Parasites and disease –“Free riders” exploiting the group Evolutionary upsides –Defense against enemies –Team hunting/foraging strategies –Labor specialization Indirect results –Development of language, brain –Cultural development Responsiveness to moral persuasion Attunement to group identity

The Concept of a Group Archetype Key features –Image or model of a particular group type –Idealized as following routine patterns, having regularized behavior –Has a common name in the vernacular Socially situated –Product of a particular society –Exists in a well-suited institutional/cultural niche

Group Archetypes #Group archetypesDistinctive contextual featuresTheoretical foci 2self-managing work team quasi-independent group in complex organization seeking efficiency group competence and task effectiveness 3deliberative jury zero-history groups seeking unanimity on specific legal questions social influence and decision making 4 groupthink (in committee), consensual democracy, and parliamentary council committees/councils with ongoing decision-making responsibility effective discussion procedures 5 task force, heist team, and X-team ad hoc groups subject to external forces demanding innovation diversity, creativity, and information flows 6athletic team teams with well-established role conventions pursuing narrow goals teamwork, leadership, roles, and status 7 harmonious/acrimonious family, band, gang intimate and relationally charged entities with unity pressure relational communication, cohesion, and interpersonal conflict 8 consciousness-raising and activist groups countercultural sites of identity invention and/or affirmation norms, socialization, symbolic convergence, and social identity 9 support, play, therapeutic, and collaborative learning groups safe, exploratory spaces promoting personal growth unconscious behavior, individual learning, and group development

Inventory of Journal Groups (Optional: TurningPoint Assessment of Journal Groups)

Empirical Theory vs. Framework Empirical theory –Falsifiable hypotheses –Varying degrees of validity Theoretical framework –Core claims closer to axioms –Provides solid foundation –Foregrounds key connections –Juxtaposes or integrates theories

Group interaction Cognitive/ emotional processing Group decisions and records Subjective member assessments Tasks and/or purpose Group structure Member characteristics and beliefs INPUTPROCESSOUTPUT Input-Process-Output Linear Model

PROCESS OUTPUTINPUT Group outcomes reshape future inputs (e.g., procedural rules) Group process immediately resets input variables (e.g., attitudes, roles) Groups As Simple Systems

Beliefs, Motivations, and Goals Local context Individuals’ actions reinforce or challenge local organizational or group understandings, power relations, and norms Individuals’ actions each feed back into the larger social system, serving to reproduce or gradually alter it over time. Social structures and institutions Individual behavioral choices Structuration Theory (Simplified)

Group interaction Cognitive and emotional processing Group decisions and records Subjective member assessments Tasks and/or purpose Group structure Member goals, beliefs, and characteristics Local context Social system Embedded System Framework

Information transfer Discussion quality Group effort Effective delivery of health care Respect/ cohesion Clarity of group roles Knowledge, skills, and motivation Administrative support Consumer pressure Legal environment Application of the Embedded System Framework to Self-Managed Work Teams