Small Group Comm (McGuire) Test #1 Review

Incremental reciprocity

"what you want, you must give away."

According to the reading, adding one person to a group of seven will reduce the effectiveness of that group's decision by what percentage?

10%

Majority rule

2/3 of the group agrees and popular method of decision making in the U.S. used when a quick decision is needed, issues aren't important, and when commitment of all members of answer is unimportant.

If one can't achieve a consensus, then trying for a supermajority is the next best thing. What constitutes a supermajority?

2/3 of the members agree

According to the text, what is the best size for a group if the task needs to be done quickly?

3-4

According to the reading, one notable factor as to why groups fail was the difficulty of scheduling meetings, particularly when groups grew to what size?

8 members

According to the reading, what is the "pizza rule" about group size?

A group is too large if two pizzas aren't enough to feed everybody.

"Dirty Dozen" roles

Aggressing, doormatting, eggheading, airheading, whining crybabies, self-confessing, help seeking, recognition seeking, special-interest pleading, playing the clown, blocking and foddering.

According to Hirokawa & Gouran, how could you help a group make good decisions even if you aren't the leader or have a lot of influence on other members?

Ask the group to find a few more alternative solutions, evaluate the logic and evidence used to support decisions, and raise good questions.

What are some intercultural issues in small groups?

Certain levels of competition corresponds with culture. Verbal participation varies from culture. Different cultures may handle conflict differently.

Substantive conflict

Conflict based on ideas and issues

According to your text, which of the following is true about Conformity in a group? Check all that apply.

Conformity is greater when the group is cohesive, when the importance of the task increases and in groups that expect to be together a long time.

Of the three types of communication in a group discussion which do Hirokawa & Gouran suggest is most important to effective group decision-making.

Counteractive

What are some brainstorming rules?

Criticism is forbidden, freewheeling encouraged, quantity and combine and expand.

Which of the following task roles is most often absent in groups?

Devil's Advocate

What are some disadvantages of majority rule in groups?

Discussion might be shortened, those in the minority are often less satisfied with the group, and there is less participation in the group.

T/F-According to studies, electronic brainstorming is just as effective as face-to-face brainstorming.

False

T/F-According to the reading, challenges and problems hurt group creativity.

False

What is Tuckman's Four Phases of Group Development?

Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing

What could the lack of Secondary Tensions signal, according to your text?

Group members get along well, and group members are bored or don't care.

What are the major critique(s) of the Functional Theory?

Groups have prior norms about how they make decisions and may be influenced by people in authority who are not in the group, focuses more on the tasks and isn't relevant to all types of group discussion.

performing

How groups follow through the norming process and fulfill their goals and needs.

What are some of the conflict management styles?

How you handle a conflict between your group members. Some ways are avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise and collaboration.

How do you decide to decide?

Identify problem, identify pros and cons, and find a solution.

According to the reading, which of the following is most important? Identifying only positives of each option Identifying only negatives of each option identifying postitives and negatives of each option

Identifying the positives AND negatives of each option.

What type of norm does the following scenario illustrate: Suzie: Hey guys, I don't think we should be updating our status on Facebook while we are discussion this issue. Bill: Oh, I was just texting my girlfriend to say I'd be a little late. Suzie: Ok. No problem.

Implicit Norm

Nominal group technique

Individuals work by themselves generating lists of ideas on a problem, then go back into the group where they record the ideas they came up with. They then select five of their favorite ideas, write them on a card and rank them most and least favorite. Generates more and better ideas than brainstorming.

What are some gender issues in small groups?

Men talk more than women in meetings and gender role expectations, in mixed sex groups men's speech consists of task-oriented things and women are more supportive. There is a bias against ethnic minorities and women. Men are typically more verbally dominant.

Hirokawa & Gouran suggest that communication in groups falls into one of three categories.

Promotive, disruptive and counteractive.

secondary roles

Silent observer, active listener and recorder.

Match the description with the role. socio-emotional leader Devil's Advocate Tension Reliever

Social-emotional leader (supports the task leader), devil's advocate (challenges the task leader) and tension reliever (tells the most humorous stories)

According to the reading on Canvas, which of the following was a finding of Bales' research on group interaction?

Some people in a group are focused on getting the job done, while other people are focused on the social interaction in a group.

group cohesion

The degree to which members feel a part of the group, wish to stay in the group, and are committed to each other and to the group's work.

Which of the following are potential challenges for a group with diverse members? Check all that apply.

There may be more difficulties achieving agreement, satisfaction may be more difficult to obtain and there is more potential for conflict.

According to the reading, what is a potential problems with using emoticons to replace nonverbal cues?

They can interrupt the flow of the message and they can perceived as unprofessional.

Check the reason(s) that most people conform in a group (according to your text).

We conform so that we will be accepted by the group and so that we won't be embarrassed or harassed by the group.

Forming

When a group comes together for a similar goal, to feel belonging, for fun, to have meaning or identity and to feel fulfillment

interdependence

When all group members work together to achieve a desirable goal.

According to the reading, when should the group confront the person directly about his/her disruptive behavior?

When all of the other members are upset by the behavior.

Which of the following can heighten Secondary Tensions according to your text?

When the group faces tight deadlines of time pressures.

According to the text, when is it important to use Majority Rule? Check all that apply.

When the issue isn't that important and when decisions must be made quickly.

According to the reading, when is it important for the moderator to discourage silly ideas?

When those ideas are off the topic.

What is nonverbal communication?

When using face gestures, body language, and noises to depict your mood. Kinesics, Haptics, Proxemics, Chronemics, Vocalics and micro-environments.

norming

When you regulate the group and form rules to follow.

According to the reading, when contacting participants about a meeting, what should be included in the notice?

Where the meeting will be held, how long the meeting will be, what materials each participant should bring to the meeting, and the agenda of the meeting.

Which of the following is true about how group norms form (according to your text)?

a single person can influence the group.

According to your text, which of the following factors help groups build cohesiveness? Check all that apply.

all group members want to succeed, group members like each other and group members share equally in accomplishing tasks.

One of the methods your text mentioned for dealing with tensions is to "be a good listener." What, specifically, does that mean? Check all that apply.

ask other group members what their options are and clarify points that the group seems to be confused about.

According to your text, which of the following are clues that social loafing is occurring?

being late to meetings, skipping meetings, not doing assigned tasks.

Which are the major roles that must be established in a group (according to Role Emergence Theory)? Check all that apply.

central negative, information provider, social-emotional leader, task leader and tension releaser.

Procedural conflict

conflict based on methods used

Affective conflict

conflict based on personal group members

Bale's Theoretical contribution theory

defining the problem, assessing the problem, and struggling for status and roles while trying to accomplish a task.

systems theory and small groups

depending on how open or closed a group boundaries is will determine how successful a group may become.

It is especially important to appear friendly, open, and interested in the Forming stage of a group. How, specifically, can you do that according to the text? Check all that apply.

establish eye contact with group members and be the one to start the conversation.

Your text suggested that it is important for group members to establish a clear code of conduct for all group members. After reading that section, should these norms be explicit or implicit? You may need to go back and re-read the section in the text about norming if you are unsure.

explicit.

stand aside

expressing one's reservations, but agreeing to move forward with the group's decisions.

The first step in the Functional Theory is to Analyze the Problem. According to Hirokawa, what are the types of dimensions that must be considered when analyzing the problem? (check all that apply)

failure to recognize a threat when it exists, failure to include all members in the discussion of the problem.

T/F-A true consensus happens whenever the decision is unanimous.

false

T/F-According to Systems Theory, most a person who disrupts a group with inappropriate remarks/behavior will stop if the group starts to treat him/her with the same type of inappropriate behavior.

false

T/F-According to the Canvas reading about Stage Three, groups that make decisions by starting with possible SOLUTIONS are more successful, on average, than groups that start with analyzing the problem.

false

T/F-According to the Canvas reading, groups who eliminate identional conflict as much as possible are more likely to make better decisions.

false

T/F-Consensus is the best decision-making strategy for large groups

false

T/F-Hirokawa suggests that effective group decision making is more dependent on the quality of Functional comments (i.e. Analyzing the Problem, Setting Goals, etc.) rather than the quality of utterances.

false

T/F-In the group development process, the Norming process usually takes a fair amount of time to develop.

false

T/F-It is important to hold meetings that are regularly scheduled, even if it is only to give information to the group.

false

T/F-Nonverbal language is interpreted relatively similarly across cultures.

false

T/F-Of all the steps in the Functional Theory (Hirokawa & Gouran), the Evaluation of Positive and Negative Characteristics comes the most naturally to groups.

false

T/F-Small talks and off-task conversations hurt a group in the Forming stage.

false

T/F-The Nominal Group Technique is better than Brainstorming according to your text.

false

T/F-The concept of "deep diversity" refers primarily to having group members from different cultural backgrounds.

false

T/F-The role of Harmonizer-Tension Reliever is to eliminate all conflict and disagreements among group members.

false

T/F-According to the reading, leaders of a meeting should call for a vote when the designated time limit for a discussion item has been reached even if some members have not had a chance to voice their opinion.

false.

storming

feeling tension and stress throughout the groups project.

What are some advantages of small groups?

group performance, member satisfaction and learning.

primary tensions

initial uneasiness of a group meeting for the first time.

What is a central negative and why is it important and difficult to fill?

it is a person who challenges ideas and processes. It is critical to the group to think of pro's and con's and it's difficult because they don't like conflict.

According to some studies, how much can one "bad apple" in a group affect its performance (if the group does not address the problem)?

lowers performance 30-40%

Y/N-Based on the reading in the text, should your group in this class use parliamentary procedure?

no

which of the four Stages of Role Emergence has the least social tension? (see reading on Canvas)

no answer text provided.

Minority Rule

one person as an expert and makes decision for the group.

What is the Functional Theory

problem analysis, what's wrong, alternative solutions, pros and cons of solutions.

match the following terms with their output. productivity social dimension choesiveness task dimension

productivity (task dimension) and cohesiveness (social dimension)

satisficing

settling

secondary tensions

stress and strain that occur within the group later in its development

What are types of conflict in small groups?

substantive, procedural, and affective.

The "Standard Agenda" is what type of discussion procedure?

systematic

What are some disadvantages of small groups?

takes time and energy, potential for conflict and people can be social loafers or not committed.

According to the reading on Canvas, Bales looked at actual communication in groups. He found that the actions of people in those groups fits into which of the following categories? (check all that apply)

task communication and socio-emotional communication.

What are the major group roles?

task leader, socio-emotional leader, central negative, information provider and tension reliever.

Read carefully about the work of Ernest Borman (canvas reading_. His work relied on that of Robert Bales, so be sure you understand Bales' theory on how small groups work first. Borman developed the Role Emergence Theory. What was his primary finding?

that groups have to deal with two kinds of tension, primary and secondary.

According to Hirokawa and Gouran, what is the likely outcome if a group fails to clearly set criteria for judging solutions?

the decision will be based on politics more than by good reasoning.

group polarization

the group tendency to make a decision after discussion that is more extreme, either riskier or more cautious, than the initial preferences of group members.

According to Borman (see reading on Canvas). "Primary Tensions" refer to which of the following.

the initial uneasiness when groups first form

Which of the following carries the responsibility for conducting efficient meetings?

the leader of the group and group members

Unanimous rule or consensus

the state of mutual agreement where all legitimate concerns have been addressed to the satisfaction of the group.

According to Borman (see reading on Canvas). "Secondary Tensions" refer to which of the following?

the struggle which group member will take which role (especially leadership).

social loafing

the tendency of group members to exert less effort on a task when working in a group than when working individually.

According to the Role Formation process explained in the reading on Canvas, why is Stage Two more often the most complex and difficult in a group's existence? Check all that apply.

this is the stage where ideas are accepted or rejected and this is the stage where Secondary tensions are likely to occur.

T/F -A disadvantage of having a designated authority who makes the decision for the group is that the quality of the decision is based more on the capability of the one person rather than the quality of the group discussion.

true

T/F-A "stand aside" refers to instances when group members decide to go along with the group decision even though they don't entirely agree with that decision.

true

T/F-According to Hirokawa & Gouran, some circumstances may make one of the four steps in Functional Theory less important than it usually is.

true

T/F-Research shows that groups with gender diversity are more likely to have increased group performance.

true

T/F-The role of the leader can be BOTH formal and informal.

true

T/F-Too much analysis can hurt effective decision-making.

true

T/F-When making an agenda for what is to be discussed in a meeting, you should indicate a suggested time allotment for discussion of that item

true

power in small groups

who is in charge, who opposes significant change, and who defines whom, powerful/powerless language, verbal dominance, space, posture and gestural communication.