Group Communication

Communicator style

A communication trait that is the way an individual used verbal and nonverbal communicative behaviors to indicate how literally others should take a message

Diversity advantages

-brings options to the group -high degree of task cohesion

4 Advantages to Small groups

1. Access to resources+ 2. group work provides better understanding and retention of concepts 3. diversity of opinion 4. Creativity+

4 disadvantages to small groups

1. coordination, monitoring, and regulation efficiency 2. social loafing+ 3. conflict and destructive fighting 4. coping with member misbehavior

Norm considerations

1.Developed in 4 ways 2. group can impose sanctions 3. norms emerge from 2nd and 3rd group meeting

Small group communication

3 or more people working independently fo the purpose of accomplishing a task

Model of Small Group Socialization

5 phases that illustrate how communication influences socialization processes

Lonliness

A socialization outcome that is a powerlessness some members feel from not being able or allowed to participate in the group's process entered the group with negative experience and inability to communicate

Socilaization Outcomes

Describes how members and thr group as a whole feel about how they cooperated and succeeded in completing goals. there are 4 1.cohesion 2.consensus 3.communication satisfaction 4.lonlieness

Interpersonal Communication Motives

Explains why people communicate in various contexts, such as groups

Primary features of a group

Group size interdependence task

Learning Styles

Individuals preferences for accquiring information in a learning environment and influence how individuals listen to and present information

Time-Orientation

The dimension of culture that determines How quickly a culture assumed important aspects of life should develop

Exit Phase

The fifth phase of the Model of Small group socialization where members exit learning, work, and social groups, and the groups themselves may be ending

Antecedent Phase

The first phase of the Model of Small group socialization that includes the beleifs, attitudes, traits, experiences, and demographic characteristics that individuals bring to the socialization process in groups

Communication Apprehension

a communication trait that is an individuals's level of fear or anxiety associated with either real, or anticipated communication with another person or persons

Verbal Aggresiveness

a destructive communication trait. the tencency for an individual to attack the self-concept of another individual for the purpose of inflicting psychological harm. does not attack the topic or issue, but another person

Individualism-Collectivism

a dimension of culture that determines whether attention is focused on the group or the individual

Power Distance

a dimension of culture that is the inequality that exists between a less powerful person and a more powerful person

Uncertainty avoidance

a dimension of culture that is the the amount of stress that a culture associates with an unknown future

Context-based apprehension

a form of apprehension tied to a specific context

Trait Apprehension

a form of communication apprehension that refers to a relativley enduring level of apprehension across a variety of situations

Service Group

a group composed largely of volunteers who donate their time, energy and effort to help others in need of particular service or who lack something that would help them lead a functional life

Self-Help Group

a group comprised of individuals who share a common problem or life situation (going to improve on a certain concept WITH APPLICATION)

Social Group

a group comprised of memebrs who share a common interest or engage in a common activity that binds them (don't need them but want to interact with them)

Primary Group

a group that consists of members engaged in an intimate relationship (best friends, family, people you need)

Work Group

a group that occurs within an original contexts whose members complete and take collective responsibility for a common task on behalf of the organization

Public Group

a group whose members interact for the benefit of an audience (symposium or panel discussion)

Learning Group

a group whose purpose is to enhance member's skills, abilities, or cognitive process (improving on a certain concept WITHOUT APPLYING)

Diverger

a learning style where an individual learns though a combo of watching and feeling. prefer tasks that require imagination and brainstorming, tend to be emotional, and would rather work with other people. learn best by listening and sharing

Accomodator

a learning style where an individual learns through a combo of feeling and doing, task to require action, risktaking, trial-error method, like relying on and helping group members. impatient with unenthusiasm. learn the best by exploring

Converger

a learning style where the individual learns through a combo of thinking and doing. prefers problem solving tasks, deductive reasoning, and practical application. tend to be unemotional and would rather work alone. learn best by tinkering and experiments

Task Norm

a norm that enables the group to work towards an accomplisment. how we are addressing the task

social norm

a norm that governs how group members engage in interpersonal communication how the group's relationship worlds

procedural norm

a norm that indicates the procedures the group will follow. how the group will handle day to day matters

Self-Esteem

a person's overall self worth. looked at as leader

sanction

a punishment in response to norm violation

Role

a repeatable pattern of communicative behaviors that group members come to expect from eachother, based on perception of themselves and other members

Additive Task

a shared task that calls for group members to work individually on a task or one aspect of a task. add all pieces of indivual work together. interdependece comes later

Conjunctive task

a shared task that requires group members to coordinate their efforts (working at the same time). interdependence comes immediatley

Communication Satisfaction

a socialization outcome that describes members who walk away from group meetings or from the group feeling positively fulfilled from their experience dimensions of satisfaction being able and willing to communicate with a group

Cohesion

a socialization outcome that happens when a member reaches an acceptance level of desire to stay in the group

Consensus

a socialization outcome that means all group members agree and commit to the decision. as a group, coming up with ONE solution that represents the opinions of all group members, not a vote, trouble shooting for a solution

Task

an activity in which no externally correct decision exists and whose completion depends on member acceptance

personality trait

an individual's psychological makeup comprising attitudes, values, beliefs, experiences, and behavuors traits about who the person is

Communication trait

an individuals's consistencies and differences in message sending and recieveing behaviors (a subset of personality traits) your messages and how you create them

Mentoring

an interpersonal relationship between an experienced member and an inexperienced member whereby the experienced member facilitates the professional and social development of the new member

Why individuals join groups

attraction theory lack of volition interpersonal communication motives

High-uncertainty culture

avoid human error, not acceptiong of uncertainty, implement tech, insititute rigid rules, stress efficiency

Long-term oriented

believe in focusing work and thoughts on the future, value creativity as well as relationships and careers that build slowly over time

short-term oriented

believe in focusing work and thoughts on the present, value analytic thinking and quick solutions to problems that provide immediate results

situational apprehension

communicating with a given person in a particular situation

audience-based apprehension

communicating with a specific audience or person

Virtual Group

composed of memebers who workd interdependently on a task, but from a different physical location via technology

Homogeneous

comprising of members SIMILAR in culture, demographic, and cognitive backgrounds

Heterogeneous

comprising of members who DIFFER in cultural, demographic, and cognitive backgrounds

Socialization

compromises a two way process of influence and change whereby group members use verbal and nonverbal messages to create a new and unique group culture one action has an opposite and equal reaction

Symposium

each group member presents a speech on one aspect of a topic, whose theme unifies the group members in that each memeber is responsible for a subtopic

Trust

involves group member's willingness to "take a chance" on each other most important thing in order to optimize socialization

Traits

enduring behaviors that people tend to use consistently across their life span. play significant role in why and how people communicate

Problems associated with diversity

ethnocentrism unequal participation denying diversity exists

Attraction Theory

feeling liking to a particular group or group members

grouphate

feeling of dread that arise when faced with the possibility of having to work with a group because of bad experiences or assumptions with group work

Functional Approach to Small groups

focuses on the communicative behaviors used by group members during group meetings

Socialization Guidelines

ideas for the successful socialization of members to help ensure success from the perspective of both new members and the group

high-power distance culture

individuals with less power do not dispute the control others have on them

Self-Monitoring

is the extent to whihc a person pays attention to the social requirements of a situation and, striving for appropriateness and effectiveness reading the room, awareness of the audience around you and changing communicative behavior in order to change how you are being percieved

Assimilator

learns through combo of thinking and watching. prefer task that requires abstract thinking, inductive reasoning and logic, dont care about practical results, would rather work alone. learn best by critiquing ideas

Disadvantages of Diversity

members who believe they are the minority will participate less -members care less about eachother

Lack of Volition

membership of a group that is recquired for something. They have no choice but to join

low-uncretainty culture

more creative and relationally oriented. accepting of uncertainty. issues with punctuality and precision

Undifferentiated individuals

passes low levels of both masculine and feminine traits

Androgynous individuals

posses high levels of both masculine and feminine behaviors. communicate the most sufficiently

Dimensions of culture

power distance

social loafing

process by which individual member effort decreases as the number of group members increases

Identity

refers to the psychological and/or physical boundaries that distinguish a group member from a non group member

Ethical Responisibiluty

requirement for group members to act in a way that not only promotes caring for both themselves and eachother, but also requires members to share equally in assuming responsibillity for the consequences of their actions

low-power distance culture

stresses equality among individuals

Problem-solving Talk

talk that centers on accomplishing a group task. about the problem at hand

Consciousness-Raising Talk

talk that centers on group identification and pride and is essential to group development, morale, and identity how the group is doing and how they work together

Role talk

talk that centers on the specific role each member plays in the group

Encounter Talk

talk that consists of interpersonal communication purley social, such as self-disclosure and interpersonal relationships

Argumentativeness

the communication trait that is an individual's ability to defend his or her position on a controversial issue while simulatneously attempting to relate another person's position on the same issue. keeps argument fo on task

Assimilation Phase

the fourth phase of the Model of Small group socialization where new members accept the established group culture and begin to identify with the group and its members building of group norms or identity. cohesion happens during this phase

Diversity

the joining of individuals who differ in cultural, demographic, and cognitive backgrounds

Norms

the limits of allowable behaviors of individual members of the group. guidelines to regulation

Machiavellianism

the personality trait that is an individual's ability to manipulate a situation in order to influence and control it for his own purposes. to defeat other's persuasion. to manipulate so you come out as the winner (leaders)

Interdependence

the process by which a change in one part affects the other parts. how we need eachother

Creativity

the process by which group members engage in idea generation

Ethics

the process of making judgements about a person's behaviors or actions from what is right or wrong

Anticipatory Phase

the second phase of the Model of Small group socialization in which individuals decide what they expect from group membership as well as each group member

Cultural DIversity

the sum total of beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, perceptions, customs, practices, language, and other atrifcacts of social life that are shared, and passed by a group of people the various behaviors and perceptions perpetuated by a group of people

Encounter Phase

the third phase of the Model of Small group socialization, during which, individuals usually come together for the first time, either face to face or through other media, and begin the process of establishing group goals and norms when everybody meets

Fake It Mentoring

trying to pick it up as quickly as you can on your own

Collectivistic

values group over individual, want to remain in group for long time, so individuals become accustomed to group norms over time and have a better chance to establish harmony, individual achievement is embarresing

Individualistic

values individual over group, reward competitieiveness. industrial society. pressure members to perform under guise of guilt

Panel Discussion

when a group engages in a discussion about a topic, usually questions posed by a moderator who may or may not be a member

Grouptyping

when a nonmember makes assumptions (positive or negative) about a person based on the person's membership

Cluster

when an individual uses several attributes at the same time

Feedback Loop

you will fail until you are able to succeed. you will receive continual feedback of doing a bad job until you do a good job