What is a Group? History of Groups Outline  Class Exercise  What is a group? Members of groups interact Groups have structure Groups have goals Members identify themselves as a group Groups have two or more members  History of group dynamics Late 19 th Century & LeBon Psychological Perspective Sociological Perspective Today’s Group Dynamics  Dracula Exercise

Class Exercise  1) List everything you do in a typical day from the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep.  2) Write at least ten different answers to the following question: Who am I?  3) Count on your list all of the activities you perform with groups and those you perform alone. Calculate a percentage of group activities.  4) Count on your list descriptions that include information about the groups we belong to (and those that don’t). Calculate a percentage.

Members of Groups Interact  Groupness Size Interdependence Temporal pattern  Groups are ‘groupier’ when they are small, able to interact on a variety of issues, and have a past and envision a future

Groups Have Structure  Group structure Norms Roles Status Systems Communication structure Structure

Groups Have Goals  Goals Generating Choosing Negotiating Executing  Tension between 2 goals: Task accomplishment Socioemotional needs

Members Identify Themselves as a Group  If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.  “a group exists when two or more people define themselves as members of it and when its existence is recognized by at least one other” (Brown, 1988)

Groups Have Two or More Members  Dyad 2 person group  Group Two or more interacting, interdependent people

History of Group Dynamics: Late 19 th Century & LeBon  Study of groups began in late 1800s  Roots in psychology and sociology  Collective mind (LeBon) Contagion

Psychological Perspective  Social facilitation Triplett (1898)  Noticed bicyclists performed better when riding with others  Study with children performing simple task either alone or with others. Results:  Children performed better when in the presence of others compared to when alone  But groups aren’t real…

Kurt Lewin  “There is no more magic behind the fact that groups have properties of their own, which are different than the properties of their subgroups or their individual members, than behind the fact that molecules have properties which are different from the properties of the atoms or ions of which they are composed.” -Lewin  Groups could be studied scientifically  Field theory B = f (P, E) Lifespace  Research Center for Group Dynamics Adapted experimentation to the problems of group life

Lewin, Lippit & White  Groups of 10- and 11-year- old boys to meet after school to work on various hobbies.  Each group included a man who adopted one of three leadership styles  Autocratic, democratic, or laissez-faire  Results: Autocratic: worked more only when leader watched; more hostile Democratic: worked even when leader left Laissez-faire: Worked the least

‘There is nothing so practical as a good theory’  Lewin: Theoretical and applied research should go hand in hand Theory Practice

Rodney Dangerfield Era  Experimental model- trying to gain respect  Study of small groups, in the lab, with undergraduates, manipulating one factor Cause-effect  Research in the 60s and 70s  Conformity  Group polarization  Helping  Social facilitation  Group aggression

Research Example  Bystander Effect (Latane & Darley,1970)  Study in Beverage Center Staged robberies in stores When clerk went to back, 2 robbers stole merchandise  Conditions: Stole with only one other shopper Stole with a few other shoppers  Results: Alone shoppers more likely to report theft!

Limitations of Lab Experiments  Cannot mimic the complex environment  Cannot mimic ebb and flow of groups over time

Sociological Perspective  In 1950s sociologists looked at groups as miniature social systems  Forefathers of sociological thought: Durkheim Cooley Mead  New Measurement techniques: Sociometry Interaction Process Analysis

Today’s Group Dynamics  Today, research is conducted by a variety of disciplines Psychologists, communication researchers, social workers, sociologists…  Today group dynamics researchers use a variety of research methods Much research focuses on real world groups

Dracula Exercise  This problem solving exercise will be a good introduction to group dynamics.  TASKS: 1) Read situation sheet 2) Individually create a plan 3) Individually rank items from most important to least important 4) As a group, rank items again 5) Score your own and your groups ranking 1) Use answer sheet and compute absolute values 2) The lower the score the better!

Dracula Exercise  Answer the following questions. What is the group’s goal What were the patterns of communication? How did leadership emerge in the group? What determined how influential each member was? What method of decision making was used and how effective was it? Why/why didn’t members challenge each other? What conflict arose and how were they managed? What actions by the group members helped/hurt the team?