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Small Group Spring2006 Session18

Agenda

Attendence
Ten minute group meeting
Collect group assignments
Look at APA (ApaStyleGuide)
Lecture/Discussion
Reminder: No class on Thursday

Groups:

12:45pm section
1	The Mediators	Mediated Group Communication
2	Team Blue	Group Structure
3	The Developers	Stages in Group Development
4	The Helen Kellers	Non-verbal communication in Small Groups
2:20pm section
1	The Structurers	Group Structure
2	Team Too	Non-Verbal Communication in Small Groups
3	Team Formerly Known as I Heart IBM (I. Hart)	Group Formation and Process
4	Dirty Sanchez and the Donkey Punchers	Conflict and Motivation in Small Groups

Group assignment due Today: At least 15 "fresh" references (3 per group member), turned in as a single typewritten list. Try to get them into APA format, but I'll be somewhat flexible on that this time. A fresh reference is something no-one in the troup has read before. You can list the text for this course as a 17th and 18th reference, but they don't count as a part of this collection of 15. The same goes for texts you've read in your other communication courses. If its not new to you its not "fresh".

Building Relationships in Small Groups

It should already be evident.
- In talking about both the task and social dimensions of groups
- In describing social maintenance roles in groups
- In the nature of network linkages in groups
Groups aren't just
- a collection of individuals
- a set of goals
- a set of structures
They are a collection of relationships
- We structurate our relationships
- Much as we structurate groups
- And relationships are a key to group success
Dependence versus Interdependence
- Subservience versus negotiation
- Defined responsibilities versus shared responsibility
- Moving towards invisible management
  - and a healthier group
Communication climate
- Defensive
- Supportive
Approaches to climate
- Evaluation versus description
- Controlling behavior versus problem orientation
- Strategy versus spontaneity
- Neutrality versus empathy
- Superiority versus equality
- Certainty versus provisionalism
You can change a groups climate
- By adopting supportive behaviors that encourage interdependence
Group cohesiveness and Group Member satisfaction
- Developing a "we" climate
- Feeling a part of the group
- Both can be improved
  - Build a supportive climate
  - Celebrate success
  - Encourage participation
- But success entails challenges
  - Cohesive groups can fail
    - Favoring fun and social over task
  - Cohesive and satisfaction often grow together, but they need not
  - Creating satisfaction and cohesiveness is harder in larger groups
    - Strategies: group narratives
Trust
- Not automatic
- General falls to individuals rather than group
- Elements
  - Respect
  - Consistency
  - Openness
  - Honesty
Socialization
- One the group is structurated, how do we bring in new members
- The beset path is reciprocal change
  - A new members makes for a new group
  - Take the opportunity to restructure

Cultural Diversity

Diversity in Groups
- There are many ways in which groups can be insular or diverse
  - Beliefs
  - Ideas
  - Social Affiliations
  - Demographics
    - Age
    - Gender
    - Race
    - Religion
    - Nationality
    - Profession
    - Education
    - Socioeconomic status
    - Other readily identified and measurable differences
  - Such differences are often more a matter of perception than reality
- Diversity of any kind enriches a group with ideas
  - but also challenges groups with varying external group norms and expectations
- We refer to diverse groups as Heterogeneous groups
  - Heterogeneity is best thought of as a continuum in which Homogeneity (no real difference) is an end point.
  - People with similar demographic characteristics are more likely to share experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and values
- Successful heterogeneous groups generally need to negotiate/develop a group culture that allows members to work together with a minimum of conflict
- Perhaps the most important skill associated with working in heterogeneous groups is avoiding stereotypes
  - Stereotypical attitudes and expectations
  - Stereotypical behavior
Culture matters to both behavior and perception
- Its hard to overcome the bias of the social setting we grow up in
- People like the people we grow up with seem normal to us
- That's particularly true for our experiences before the age of 5, when we forget/substrate much of our experience
- The culture we learn has effects on
  - our behavior
  - our expectations
  - our perceptions
  - out attributions
Issues
- Ethnocentrism
- Exclusion
  - Unequal participation
  - Maintenance on Majority Styles
  - Segregation
Differences
- Cultural Orientation
  - A normative attribute of cultures
  - Individualist ("I") cultures versus Collectivist ("We") cultures
  - Important to note that this is a continuum
    - There is a measure of I and we in everything
  - Implications
    - Entry/exit behavior
      - "Prompt" Individualistic vs "Gradual" Collectivist behavior
    - Argument Style
      - "Direct" Individualistic vs indirect "Narrative" styles
    - Context
      - Both of these differences are about the amount of context we seek when working in groups
        High context cultures tend to be indirect in seeking a lot of information before rendering judgments
        lots of non-verbal communication
        and an expectation that it will be understood
        
        Low context cultures don't
- Self-construal
  - Perception of separation from or connection to other
  - Independent vs Interdependent
    - Independents are direct and task orientation
    - Interdependents stress maintaining harmony, belonging, and fitting in
  - Again, this is a continuum
- Cultural Distance
  - Differences on such things as
    - Language
    - Religion
    - Politics
    - Socioeconomic status
    - Education
    - Basic assumptions about reality
    - And other things (position, experience, expertise)
  - A general description of individual differences
    - Some have task implications
    - Others have relationship implications
  - Conflict may be more likely as cultural distance increases
- Power distance
  - The level of attention and respect paid to power relationships
- Uncertainty avoidance
  - More a matter of tolerance for relationship uncertainty
  - One implication is that low uncertainty avoidance cultures may seek to create certainty in other ways (detailed rules/contracts)
- Preserving face
- Perception and Attribution
  - Problems, including conflict, may really occur because of cultural diversity
  - But they are as or more likely to happen for other reasons
    - But these kinds of differences are obvious, and that makes them an easy excuse
  - Be careful of labeling problems as cultural that are really a function of personal or relationship issues
What about Gender
- Gender differences were once commonly observed in small group research
- Those differences have been rapidly disappearing since the 1960's
  - A result of changing expectations for what constitutes appropriate behavior
  - And, at least in part, of a shift to gender neutral language
    - Chair or Chairperson rather than Chairman
- Both males and females are likely to emerge as group leaders
  - Males are more likely to favor autocratic/directive styles
- Information sourced from males is more likely to be used in groups than the same information sourced from females
- But these differences tend to disappear over time
- Bottom line: Gender is generally overrated as a way to differentiate the contributions that people make to groups
  - everybody has goals
  - ambition is not a function of gender
  - men and women both seek leadership roles
  - men and women are both capable of being both assertive and deferential
  - almost everybody values supportive relationships
- Over 99% of the genetic programming that determines who we are is the same, and that has implications.
- Some differences are real
  - Women are somewhat more likely to be expressive
  - Men are somewhat more likely to be instrumental
  - Men are somewhat more likely to focus on the task
  - Women are somewhat more likely to focus on relationships
  - Women are somewhat less likely to focus on individual goals.
  - Men are somewhat less likely to focus on group goals.
Recommendations
- Observe others carefully
  - Don't assume they will tell you everything
  - Many cultures assume you will pick up on subtlety
- Suspend evaluations
- Encourage participation
- Be aware of the possibility of difference.

-- Last edited August 27, 2008

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Unless otherwise noted, the contents of this page were written by participants on the Media Space Wiki, operated by Davis Foulger, and should be cited accordingly. For example (APA):
Foulger, D. and other participants. (August 27, 2008). Small Group Spring2006 Session18. MediaSpaceWiki. Retrieved on from http://evolutionarymedia.com/wiki.htm?SmallGroupSpring2006Session18.