group dynamics chapter 1

group mind

(or collective consciousness) a hypothetical unifying mental force linking group members together, the fusion of individual consciousness or mind into a transcendent consciousness

primary groups

Farley small, have strong relationships amongst the people, tight social bonds, have frequent interactions amongst members, fairly long lived groups. "family"

need satisfaction

a collection of organisms in which the existence of all (in their given relationships) is necessary to the satisfaction of certain individual needs in each

interdependence

a dynamic whole based on interdependence rather than similarity, mutual dependence as when ones outcomes, actions, thoughts, feelings, and experiences are influenced to some degree, by other people.

level of analysis

a focus of study when examining a mulitlevel process or phenomenon, such as the micro-level( individuals in a group) meso-level (the group) or the macro level the (organization or society where the group is located)

social category

a perceptual grouping of people who are assumed to be similar to one another in some ways but different in some ways from individuals who are not members of that grouping

psychological significance

a psychological group is any number of people who interact with each other, are psychologically aware of each other, and perceive themselves to be in a group

network

a set of interconnected individiuals or groups, any set of social or non social objects that are linked by relational ties

structure

a social unit which consists of a number of individuals who stand in definite status and role relationships to one another and which possesses a set of values or norms of its own regulating the behavior of individual members, at least in matters of consequence to the group

roles

a socially shared set of behaviors, characteristics, and responsibilities expected of people who occupy a particular position or type of position within a group. specify the general behaviors expected of people who occupy different positions within the group, a coherent set of behaviors expected of people who occupy specific positions within the group

stereotype

a socially shared set of qualities characteristics, and behavioral expectations ascribed to a particular group or category of people

unity

a unit consisting of a plural number of separate organisms who have a collective perception of their unity and who have the ability to act and or are acting in a unitary manner toward their environment

interrelations

an aggregation of two or more people who are to some degree in dynamic interrelation with one another

systems

an intact social system, complete with boundaries, interdependence for some shared purpose, and differentiated member roles

face to face

any number of persons engaged in interaction with one another in a single face to face meeting or series of such meetings

structure( norming)

cohesiveness, agreement on procedures, standards, and roles, improved communication

norms

consensual standards that describe what behaviors should an should not be preformed in a given context

dissolution (adjourning)

departures, withdrawal, decreased dependence, regret.

conflict (storming)

dissatisfaction, disagreement, challenges to leader and procedures cliques form.

orientation (forming)

exchange of background personal information, uncertainty, tentative communication

group fallacy

explaining social phenomena in terms of the group as a whole instead of basing the explanation on the individual-level processes within the group; ascribing psychological qualities, such as will, intentionality, and mind, to a group rather than to the individuals within the group

performance (performing)

focus on the work of the group, task completion, decision making cooperation

generating:

groups that concoct the strategies they will use to accomplish their goals type 1: planing tasks type 2: creativity tasks producing new ideas, developing plans

executing

groups that do things, including taking part in competitions, or working together to create some product or carry out collective actions, taking action, carrying out a plan, making something, performing a task.

choosing

groups that make decisions about issues that have correct solution, selection between alternatives, making a choice, settling on a single option among many

negotiating

groups that must resolve differences of opinion among members regarding their goals or decisions

emotional cohesion

having emotional bonds with people, having people fun to be around. what happens in 9/11.

task interaction

includes all group behavior that is focused principally on the groups work, projects, plans, and goals. actions preformed by group members that pretain to the goups projects, tasks and goals

relations

individuals who stand in certain relations to each other, acting together, having a common interest

entitativity

is how unified the group appears to be to the perceiver, perceived unity rather than the group's actual unity. the apparent cohesiveness of unity of an assemblage of individuals, low(people reading a newspaper on a park bench) to high(a family, clique of friends) entitativity, the perception can be very wrong

group

is two or more individuals who are connected by and within social relationships

categories

large social groups, female, white, republicans. big broad, gender, race, religion, age, generations.

social groups

less stable than primary groups, more porous in their boundaries, might be characterized as work place groups, class mates.

interdependence

members depend on one another, their outcomes actions, thoughts, feelings and experiences are determine in part by others in the group. the sate of being dependent to some degree on other people.

group development

patterns of change in a group's structure and interactions that occur over the course of the groups existence orientation(forming), conflict(storming), structure (norming), performance( performing), dissolution( adjourning)

collectives

people in the same place at the same time, classmates, depends on how much interaction you have with your classmates. sit in a class with people and not interact with people as much as you would in a social group. people waiting for a bus,

relationship interaction

pretains to the interpersonal social side of group life. if group members falter and need support, others will buoy them with kind words, suggestions and other forms of help and vice versa. actions preformed by group members that relate to or influence the emotional and interpersonal bonds within the group, both positive and negative actions

on average, most groups tend to be relatively small in size

ranging from two to seven members

collective cohesion

same place at the same time, people at a bus stop.

action research

scientific inquiry that both expands basic theoretical knowledge and identifies solutions to significant social problems.

paradigm

scientists shared assumptions about the phenomena they study, also a set of research procedures.

social cohesion

social ties hold people together, love, friendship attachment

social identity

sum total of a persons social identifications, an individuals sense of self derived from relationships and memberships in groups, also those aspects of the self that are assumed to be common to most or all of the members of the same group or social category

group dynamics

the actions, processes, and changes that occur within groups and between groups for centuries, the influential actions, processes and changes that occur within and between groups over time, also the scientific study of those group processes

essentialism

the belief that all things, including individuals and groups, have a basic nature that makes them what they are and distinguishes them from other things; a things essence is usually inferred rather than directly observed and is generally assumed to be relatively unchanging

group structure

the complex of roles, norms, and inter member relations that organizes the group, the underlying pattern of roles, norms and relations that organizes groups.

B=F(P,E)

the law of interactionism that states each persons behavior =B is a function of his or her personal qualities =P the social environment = E, and the interaction of these personal qualities with factors present in the social setting.

n(n-1)/2

the maximum number of ties within a group in which everyone is linked to everyone else n is the number of people in the group

group cohesion

the quality of "groupness"or solidarity is determined, in party by the group cohesion, strength of the bonds linking individuals to and in the group.members value being a member of the group.

task cohesion

the task ties you together, having a relay team, very cohesive because everyone wants to win the race.

multilevel perspective

the view that recognizes that a complete explanation of a group processes and phenomena requires multiple levels of analysis, including individual, group, and organizational or societal level

triad

three members

communication

three or more people who think of themselves as a group, they are interdependent with regard to shared goals or behaviors that affect one another, and communicate with one another (face to face or technological means

dyad

two members

online group

two or more individuals who interact with each other solely or primarily through computer based information technologies, email, messaging, social networking, rather than face to face interaction

categorization

two or more individuals who perceive themselves to be members of the same social category

offline group

two or more individuals whose interaction with each other occur primarily or solely in conventional face to face situations, and not via computer based technologies.

size

two or more people

shared identity

two or more people possessing a common social identification and who's existence as a group is recognized by a third party

shared tasks and goals

two or more people who work together interdependently on an agreed-upon activity or goal

influence

two or more persons who are interacting with one another through social interaction

it takes two people to make one group

you cannot be a group until you join with another person, groups connect people to one another

structural cohesion

you have a role played in some of the groups you belong to. your work place, you feel bound by duty to that organization.