Test 2: Chapter 5: Cohesion & Development

Can cohesion make a bad job good?

"Banana time" case study - Boring job, but great coworkers, with jokes and horseplay make it fun and a good time. All cohesive groups have their "banana times": interaction rituals that elevate the degree of social connection among members. E.g. Singing, joking, grace, traditions

How did the US Olympic Hockey Team beat the USSR in 1980?

They had more group cohesion.

What happens to a group when members only like one another, but not the group as a whole?

They will quit when their favorite member quits.

Relational cohesion theory

Assumes groups develop stronger ties to groups perceived to be sources of positive feelings, and weaker ties to those perceived to be sources of negative emotions.

What is the key element of cohesion?

Attraction (be it social, or personal)

How is cohesion a multilevel process?

Because it doesn't just rely on how much members like each other, but also how much they like the group itself

Which statement shows higher collective cohesion? "We got the job done" "I got the job done"

We got the job done.

What is collective cohesion?

When the group is unified and solidarity is high in the group. There is a sense of unity. High sense of entitativity.

Do bona fide groups have greater effects on performance than lab made groups?

Yes

Do theorists believe that cohesion is more important than interpersonal relationships?

Yes

Is group cohesion a multilevel process, with multiple influences?

Yes

Define equilibrium model

By Bales. A conceptual analysis of group development that assumes the focus of a group shifts back and forth between the group's tasks and the interpersonal relationships among group members. (E.g. Going between performing and norming - do the task, then strengthen relations).

What's the definition of Group Cohesion we'll be using in class?

By Carron, Brawley, and Widmeyer (1998): "dynamic process that is reflected in the tendency of a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member needs"

What are the 3 common elements of group cohesion?

Cohesion = Attraction Similarity principle Social attraction (depersonalized liking for our group) vs. personal attraction

How does cohesion relate to teamwork?

Cohesion = teamwork Collective efficacy OR group moral (esprit de corps) = teamwork = cohesion

How does unity relate to cohesion?

Cohesion = unity (belonging or group unity)

What does cohesion signal about performance or satisfaction?

Cohesion doesn't always mean greater performance. Cohesion predicts satisfaction.

What are some of the things group cohesion increases?

Cohesion influences productivity, satisfaction, morale, formation, stability, influence and conflict.

Can cohesive groups increase negative group processes? How?

Cohesive groups tend to have more hostility than non-cohesive groups, such as scapegoating, dominating subordinates, hostile jokes, negative comments.

Do cohesive groups outperform noncohesive groups when members are committed to the task? Especially when?

Yes Especially when the members must coordinate their tasks, cohesive groups are better.

Does collective movement build cohesion? How?

Yes. William McNeill's collective-movement hypothesis states that groups increase cohesion through unified movement, e.g. marching in an army, Greek phalanx formation.

What is collective efficacy?

a high level of belief (confidence) about success at the tasks the group accepts

Describe the performing stage.

Difficult to get to this stage Productivity is usually not instantaneous, thus productivity must wait until the group matures - there is fear of performing (E.g. Delayed tech launches) Many groups get sidetracked by the storming or norming phases More mature groups spend less time socializing less time in conflict and need less guidance than less mature teams.

Define the Group Environmental Questionnaire MUST KNOW FOR TEST (ACRONYMS)

Dimensions of perceived team cohesion: 1) Individual attraction to the group task (ATG-T) 2) Individual attraction to the group social (ATG-S) 3) Group integration task (GI-T): Member feelings about achieving the group task 4) Group integration social (GI-S): Members feelings about the group as a social unit. The GE-Q gives an amalgamation of all scores.

Give an example of unity?

E.g. Korean hockey team that never came close to winning. E.g. Jillian with brain cancer, and the Coach makes them yell "3, 2, 1, Jillian!"

What happens to your perception of being in a group when you're injured and can't participate?

E.g. Your friends going out without you while you work. You still identify with them, but don't perceive that you belong. You don't perceive that you belong.

Describe the adjourning stage.

Either planned or spontaneous Can be stressful for team members Increased independence & regret If dissolution is unplanned (i.e., premature), the final group sessions may be filled with animosity and apathy. Can have conflict.

Plot the dimensions of a conceptual model for cohesion.

Example used: physical activity. Top is individual level, bottom is group level. Left is task aspects, right is social aspects.

Time-dependent changes, like the waning of conflict, occurs in a discontinuous, step-like sequence. T or F?

False It's continuous

True or false: Group level emotions only emerge when people are with a group.

False. Group level emotions can emerge when people are isolated from groups they identify with. E.g. Nervous college freshman, prideful feelings in Olympic win

Describe the Forming stage.

First moments of a newly formed group's life - orientation stage Often marked by tension, guarded interchanges, and low levels of interaction (aka primary tension) People monitor their behaviour and are tentative when expressing opinions.

Describe the Norming stage.

Group becomes more unified and organized (e.g. a code of conduct) Mutual trust and support increases Rules, roles, and goals are established Communication increases between members Conflict still arises, but most decisions are made by the group, a consensus

Emotional cohesion

Group-based emotions, including pride, esprit de corps, and overall affective intensity.

How does the impact of cohesiveness change over time?

It increases over time.

What is collective efferevscence

It is the result of shared emotional reactions in a group. Emotional cohesion E.g. Group loses, and you're all sad

What happens to a group's structural cohesion where there are a lot of subgroups?

It is undermined.

Define group affective tone

It pervades the group's day to day activities. Usually not noticeable.

Is it common for groups to be cohesive right from the beginning?

No,

Describe how the cohesion performance relationship is bi-directional.

Success increases a group's cohesion and cohesive groups tend to outperform less cohesive groups.

Name the 3 types of group development models, based on the 5 stages of group development. Name who made them.

Successive-stage theories: Tuckman Cyclical models: Bales' equilibrium model (balancing task vs. relationship focus) Punctuated equilibrium models: Groups have periods of accelerated change (E.g. Renorming, restorming), often triggered by a deadline/new challenges

Define group motivation.

Task cohesion depends on group-level motivation. Great cohesion levels also result in group motivation. E.g. A coach telling individuals they're useless if the team doesn't win.

Describe the Storming stage.

Tension increases in the storming phase - over goals, procedures, personality differences, authority, etc. (aka secondary tension = intragroup) Conflict often causes fight or flight responses Conflict is a required element for creating team cohesion - if it is not, there is something wrong. Leader emerges

The attraction-to-group theory does not take into consideration factors such as an _____

The attraction-to-group theory does not take into consideration factors such as an individual being dissatisfied with the team

Structural cohesion

The group's structural integrity, including normative coherence, clarity of roles, and strength/density of relationships linking members.

What is the concept of equifinality?

The idea that a final state can be reached from different paths. Applies to the idea that you can reach group cohesion through many different paths.

A group cannot be cohesive without ____. But a group cannot wholly base themselves off ____.

attraction attraction

If a group experiences frequent changes in membership, it's said to have low....

cohesion

What is group potency/esprit de corps?

feeling of unity commitment, confidence, and enthusiasm for the group shared by most of all the members.

Cohesion is a ___ and ___ process, so its measurement often requires the use of ___ procedures

multi-component multilevel multimethod procedures

Cohesive groups with low standards perform...

poorly

Cohesion signals the health of the group = _____.

satisfaction

Highly cohesive groups may become so self-contained that non-members ties are....

severed

When a group has more of an initiation, cognitive dissonance makes you feel like...

you value the group more.

What kind of score does the GE-Q give?

An amalgamation of all of the scores.

Describe Carron's general conceptual model of cohesion (4 general antecedents of cohesion).

1) Environmental (ex. social pressures), location 2) Personal: culture, gender, race, age 3) Leadership: leadership style 4) Team Factors: shared experiences of the group, stability, norms, roles

What is Tuckman's Five-Stage Model of Group Development? *must know these for the test

1) Orientation (forming) 2) Conflict (storming) 3) Structure development (norming) stage 4) Work (performing) 5) Dissolution (adjourning) stage, planned or unplanned

Identity fusion theory

A conceptual analysis explaining extreme self-sacrifice (e.g., heroism) that sometimes occurs when individual identity is fused w. group identity.

Define punctuated equilibrium model

A group development theory that assumes groups change gradually over time, but that the periods of slow growth are punctuated by brief periods of relatively rapid change. E.g. A barometric event that causes a significant shift, such as a major loss.

In terms of improving skill to improve cohesion & performance, which acronyms from the GE-Q are we changing?

ATG-T GI-T E.g. After learning a task, the group performs better and has increased cohesion.

Is there one definition of group cohesion? Give one.

No, there are multiple. - Festinger, Schacter, and Back (1950) introduced the first widely accepted definition of cohesion, which was the "the total field of forces which act on members to remain in the group." - Back's (1951) definition of cohesiveness was similar to Festinger's, as he defined cohesion as the "attraction which a group has for its members" - Libo (1953) defined cohesiveness as that "resultant forces acting on each member to remain in the group. Class definition: "dynamic process that is reflected in the tendency of a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member needs" - Carron, Brawley, and Widmeyer (1998)

Does cohesion develop over time in an unpredictable manner?

No. Cohesion develops over time in a relatively predictable pattern and go through patterns

Does cohesiveness guarantee better performance?

No. But it reduces the variability in productivity from member to member. Noncohesive groups had a higher variability of productivity from member to member.

Do all groups proceed through all 5 of tuckman's 5-stage model of group development?

Nope, some groups skip stages, or do a different order.

Describe the cohesion performance relationship in terms of which factors are most influential. (attraction, unity, task focus, cohesion, performance).

Performance has the greatest effect on cohesion, at .51. Cohesion has a small effect on performance, at .25. Task focus .25 > Cohesion Unity (group pride) .24 > Cohesion Attraction .17 > Cohesion

Is cohesiveness more influential in small groups vs. large groups?

Small groups

What are the 2 primary forms of Cohesion, and define them.

Social Cohesion: the attraction of members to one another and the group as a whole. Task Cohesion: the commitment among its members to achieve a goal and the capacity to perform successfully as a unit. An individual & group level concept.