Small Group Study Guide

Defining Groups and Teams

Group

Team

a collection of three or more individuals who interact about some common problem or interdependent goal and can exert mutual influence over one another

is a special kind of group characterized by different and complimentary resources of members and by a strong sense of collective identity

size, goal orientation, and mutual influence

feel and exhibit a strong sense of belonging and commitment to one another

group size is often thought of in terms of 3-12 people

combining these specialized skills to achieve particular outcomes

requires motivation and effort

Characteristics of Groups

  • Interdependence
  • Interaction
  • Synergy
  • Common Goals
  • Shared Norms
  • Cohesiveness

Types of Groups

Primary

ones we form to help us realize our human needs like inclusion and affection; ones we form to help us realize our human needs like inclusion and affection

Secondary

ones we form to help us realize our human needs like inclusion and affection

Activity

purpose of participating in activities

Personal Growth

to come together to develop personal insights, overcome personal problems, and grow as individuals from the feedback and support of others

Learning

are concerned primarily with discovering and developing new ideas and ways of thinking

Problem-Solving

express purpose of solving a specific problem

  • Power influences how we interpret the messages of others and determines the extent to which we feel we have the right to speak up and voice our concerns and opinions to others
  • power-over associate power with control or dominance; enables one individual or group to make the decisions that affect others, and to enforce control”
  • Power-from-within refers to a more personal sense of strength or agency. Power-from-within manifests itself when we can stand, walk, and speak “words that convey our needs and thoughts”
  • power-with, which is “the power of a strong individual in a group of equals, the power not to command, but to suggest and be listened to, to begin something and see it happen”

Forming Groups

  • Forming
  • Storming
  • Norming
  • Performing
  • Terminating

Groups Roles

  • Task Roles– focuses on primary object and goal
  • Social-Emotional Roles– build and maintain relationships
  • Procedural Roles- maintain norms and rules
  • Individual Roles– focuses on individual not group goals

Leadership In Groups

  • Laissez-faire is a laid back or hands-off approach
  • Authoritarian leadership style is one in which a leader attempts to exert maximum control over a group.
  • Democratic style of leadership falls somewhere in the middle of laissez-faire and authoritarian styles. In these situations, the decision-making power is shared among group members, not exercised by one individual.

Group Norms

  • Norms influence the ways we communicate with other members, and ultimately, the outcome of group participation
  • General norms direct the behavior of the group as a whole
  • Role-specific norms concern individual members with particular roles, such as the designated leader

Groupthink happens when a group is so focused on agreement and consensus that they do not examine all of the potential solutions available to them.

  • can lead to incredibly flawed decision making and outcomes.
  • occurs when a group overestimates its power and morality, becomes closed-minded, and group members are pressured to conform and not raise serious objections to decisions being proposed

Key Terms

  • activity groups
  • aggressor
  • authoritarian
  • authority rule
  • blocker
  • cohesiveness
  • collectivist
  • common goals
  • compromise
  • consensus
  • democratic
  • devil’s advocate
  • drive reduction
  • encourager
  • energizer
  • facilitator
  • followers
  • forming
  • gatekeepers
  • general norms
  • group
  • individualistic
  • individual roles
  • information gatherers
  • interaction
  • interdependence
  • interests/attraction
  • joker/clown
  • laissez-faire
  • leadership
  • learning groups
  • norming
  • norms
  • opinion gatherers
  • performing
  • personal growth groups
  • playboy/playgirl
  • polarization
  • power
  • power-from-within
  • power-over
  • power-with
  • primary groups
  • problem solving groups
  • procedural roles
  • promulgation
  • recorder
  • reinforcement
  • role-specific norms
  • secondary groups
  • self-confessor
  • shared norms
  • social-emotional roles
  • social-emotional leader
  • solidification
  • storming
  • synergy
  • task leader
  • task roles
  • team
  • tension releasers
  • terminating
  • voting

 

A PDF of this Small Group Study Guide can be downloaded here.