Chapter 5 Roles in Groups

Introduction Roles – patterns of expected behaviors associated with parts that we play in groups Examples Professors/Students Nurses/Doctors Employers/Employees

Influence of Roles Role Status – what are the perceptions of your role? Importance, prestige, power Role Conflict Having to balance/choose How do we prioritize? Role Reversal Empathy

Types of Roles Formal roles Informal roles Task roles Position assigned or designated Informal roles Emergence Function, not position Task roles How do you contribute to getting things done?

Types of Roles Task Roles Maintenance Roles Disruptive Roles Contributing to task dimensions e.g. “Information seeker,” “Coordinator,” “Devil’s advocate” Maintenance Roles Striving to promote and maintain group cohesiveness e.g. “Harmonizer-Tension Reliever,” “Gatekeeper-Expediter” Disruptive Roles Me-oriented Diminishes productivity and cohesiveness e.g. “Clown,” “Cynic”

Role Adaptability Tensions during role assignments or formations Role flexibility “the capacity to recognize the current requirements of the group and then enact the role-specific behaviors most appropriate in the given context” Role fixation “acting out of a specific role and that role alone no matter what the situation might require” Why should group members exhibit role flexibility?

Role Emergence “Role emergence is a relevant concern primarily to small, informal, leaderless groups without a history.” Members bid for a desired role and seek endorsement from other members. Trial-and-error model Maintenance roles tend to be viewed as lower in status. Role specialization Settle into role, but not trapped

Newcomers Experiences of new members are influenced by: Hazing Level of group development Level of group performance Number of members Degree of turnover Group’s expectations that newcomers will adopt the norms, values, and practices of the group Hazing Group socialization