Chapter 11 Group Dynamics

1. Chapter 11: Group Dynamics

2. Nature of Group
A group can be described as a collection of two or more people who engage in
some interaction with each other, are dependent on each other and perceive themselves as
being part of the group. They may also share a common goal and have a comparatively stable
relationship.
Farnham (2005, p. 478) defined a group as 'made up of persons (more than two, which is a
dyad) who communicate regularly, share goals and interact with each other over time, so
building up affective bonds'.
Quick, Nelson and Khandelwal (2013, p. 320) defined group as 'two or more people with
common interests, objectives, and continuing interaction'.
Barrett (2017, p. 434) defined group as 'two or more individuals who perceive themselves as
part of a unit ad who influence each other and are independent'.
To understand further about groups, they have the following main components:

3. • A group consists of necessarily more than two individuals.
• The members also have an influence on each other and are interdependent. They also
develop a kind of relationship and are involved in social interactions.
• The members share a common goal and they strive together towards achieving that goal.
• The members communicate with each other, and this communication is both verbal and
non-verbal.
• Certain norms, customs and procedures are expected to be followed by the group
members, failing which the members may even loose the membership of the group.
• They may also engage in similar activities and the group also has some control over their
actions.
•The members perceive themselves as being part of the group.
Main Components of Group

4. 1. Primary groups
2. Secondary groups
3. In-group and out-group
4. Formal groups
5. Informal groups
6. Membership and reference groups
7. Part-time groups
8. Temporary groups
9. Co-acting group
10. Counter-acting groups
11. Common identity groups
12. Common bond groups
Types of Groups

5. 1. Certain important psychological as well as social needs of a person are satisfied by a group. For
example, the need to belong and also to receive attention or even recognition from others.
2. There are a number of goals that cannot be achieved by an individual by himself/ herself. Such goals
can be achieved when the individuals work in groups. For example, when an event (like a wedding)
is to be organised, participation of a number of people is required for its successful organisation.
3. Group membership may open avenues for sharing of certain information which otherwise would
have been out of reach of the individual. For example, a trade secret of a company will shared with
an employee only after he/she joins the company.
4. The need for security is also fulfilled by the group. Belonging to a groups also makes us feel secured.
For example, belonging to a family provides us with security and feeling of belongingness and of
being cared for.
5. A group also provides its members with a social identity, thus, also contributing to the self-concept of
the individuals. For example, an individual identifies himself/ herself as an employee of a particular
organisation. This not only provides him/her with an identity but also enhances his/her self concept.
Reason Why People Join Groups

6. • Roles and norms are often described as building blocks of a group.
• McKenna (2012, p. 328) defined roles as 'a set of expected patterns of behaviour attributable to a person
occupying a particular position'. Roles include activities that are both formal and informal in nature and are
carried out by each of the group members.
• A role can be described as having three different aspects: expected roles (the role that each members is expected
to play), perceived roles (these are the roles as perceived by the members of a group) and enacted roles (these
determine the actual behaviour of the member).
• Roles can also be categorised as:
– Task-oriented roles: Relate to the task at hand.
– Relationship-oriented roles: Relate to the interactions amongst the group members.
– Self-oriented roles: Played by the group members mainly to fulfil their own needs.
• Based on the above, four main roles that are played in a group.
1. Contributor
2. Collaborator
3. Communicator
4. Challenger
Roles and Norms

7. • Any group will have norms and standards of behaviour that the members have to follow.
• Norms are the common rules and expectations that the group members are expected to follow.
• Norms help guide the behaviours that expected from the group members and state how the members should
behave (termed as prescriptive norms) or not behave (termed as proscriptive norms) in a group.
• Norms could be written or non-verbal and can also be implicit (indirect and to be understood) or explicit
(clearly laid down).
• Norms to a greater extent are a reflection of the nature of the group and also display certain central values of
that group.
• They play an important role in guiding and regulating the behaviour of the members in the group, which is
important for the effective functioning of the group. Norms also deal with any deviations from the group
norms. Thus, they ensure continuity and survival of the group.
• Some of the characteristics of norms are discussed as follows:
Roles and Norms Cont…

8. Roles and Norms Cont…
1. Norms are acceptable to the large majority of the groups members.
2. The focus of norms is on the behaviour of the group members rather than their feelings and thoughts.
3. The most important aspect of the group are covered by the norms and they play an important role in the
functioning and management of the group.
4. A varying degree of tolerance is displayed with regard to nonconformity with the norms or any deviations
from them. This will depend on the norm as well as the status of the member in the group. Compliance with
norms may result in members being rewarded and non-compliance with the norms may result in members
being punished.
5. Norms develop over a period of time and may also be modified as the group matures.
6. More often than not, norms are difficult to change.

9. Norms can be categories as central norms and peripheral norms.
Central norms: Central norms can be described as norms that are absolutely necessary to maintain the identity and
survival of the group. These are the basic norms and, hence, are also difficult to change as they are deeply rooted. Such
norms are also enforced in a stricter manner compared to the norms. An example of a central norm is involvement in
group activities.
Peripheral norms: When compared with central norms, these are not as important. They are also easy to change and
the enforcement of these norms also are not done in as stricter manner as with regard to central norms. Example of a
peripheral norm is being supportive to group members.
Guirdham in 1995 has discussed four norms that are found in a group (Fincham & Rhodes, 1999), they are discussed as
follows:
1.Fairness: This mainly has to do with equitability on the part of the group members mainly with regard to the group
activities.
2.Reciprocity: There should be reciprocity in the behaviours of the group members, and if a help is received by one
member, it should be reciprocated.
3.Reasonableness: The member should be rational in their behaviour and there should be no exploitation.
4.Role expectation: This has to do with the role that every member is expected to play.
Roles and Norms Cont…

10. • Group cohesiveness, in simple terms, can be described as the cement that binds the members together in
a group. The concept of group cohesion will be clear with the help of filling definitions:
• Cohesion is defined by Carron (1982) as a process that is dynamic in nature and is visible in how
groups tend remain together and united as they attempt to achieve the goals and objectives of the group.
• Group cohesions has been defined as 'the total field of forces causing members to remain in the group;
(Festinger, Schachter & Back, 1950, p. 164). These forces could be positive or negative.
• Nahavandi, Denhardt, Denhardt and Aristigueta (2015) described cohesion as 'the degree to which the
members of the group are attracted to the group and to one another'.
• Barrett (2017, p. 437) defined group cohesiveness as 'strength of the bonds that hold group members
together and keep them in the group'.
• Group cohesion is linked with performance of the group and the same has been denoted by various
researches.
Group Cohesiveness

11. On one hand when working in groups brings in varied perspectives and approaches, besides diverse knowledge and skills
and also helps satisfy the need to belong, there are a number of disadvantages as well especially when the group members
involve in interactions that are not related to the activity.
The performance of the individuals in groups and alone can be determined with the help of tasks that were stated by Steiner
(1972, 1976). these tasks can be categorised in to the following four categories:
- Additive tasks: In this the ultimate product or output results from the combination of the contributions by each and every
member of the group. For example, when four persons are moving a heavy piece of furniture, the output or movement of
furniture from one place to another is as a result of contributions by each member of the group.
- Compensatory tasks: In this the group output of product is as a result of average of the contributions by various members
of the group. For example, when a panel is taking an interview, the ultimate marks or grades given by them as a groupie
average of the marks given by each member of the panel.
- Disjunctive tasks: The best member of the group will determine the output or the final product of the group. For example,
in a workshop on statistics, if a group of participants are given statistical problem to be solved, then one of its members
may solve this problem that is accepted by rest of the members and the answer is then reported as that of the group.
- Conjunctive tasks: The weakest member of the group determines the outcome or the product of the group. For example, if
in a competition involving teams, each member of the team is given different activity that is to be completed by all, after
which they they can proceed to other activity and so on to win the competition. Then the performance of the team will be
determined by the weakest of its member.
Performance of Individuals in Groups

12. • The term social facilitation was introduced by Allport (1920).
• Social facilitation can be described as enhancement in performance in the
presence of others. Though it has also been argued that social facilitation
takes place with regard to tasks that the individual is well versed with or
tasks that are easy and that it may not occur when the task is difficult or
new to the individual (Barrett, 2017).
• Zajonc proposed a theory of social facilitation in which he stated that
presence of other leads to increased arousal, which in turn leads to
increase in likelihood of dominant response (the response most likely to
be made by an individual) and decreases the likelihood of non dominant
response (Barrett, 2017).
• If this dominant response is correct, then the performance gets enhanced,
and if this dominant response is not correct, then the performance may
suffer.
Social Facilitation

13. • In social loafing, one or more members of the group do not fully contribute to
the maximum of their capacity to the group activity. Such individuals may put
their best when working alone. This can not only have a negative impact on the
group performance but can impact the very morale and motivation of the group
• Social loafing also has a large scope and has been seen across genders, cultures
and conditions as well as tasks (whether cognitive or physical).
• In this context, there is also the concept of free riding, that occurs “ when group
members exert little or no effort because they believe that their contribution to
the group task is dispensable or not important to the overall group output”
(Barrett, 2017, p. 444).
• Social loafing has been found to be common while performing additive tasks
(Baron & Byrne, 1995).
Social Loafing

14. • Often, in the process of becoming a group member, the individual may loose his/her own self or
may loose their self-awareness as well as the sense of personal responsibility. This is termed as de-individuation
(Barrett, 2017).
• The behaviours observed during de-individuation range from behaviours that are inhibited, such as aggression, laziness,
emotional, destructive and even childlike behaviour (Kahn, 1984).
• Further, such individuals are least concerned about how their behaviour will be evaluated and its consequences. They
may also display inadequate planning and problem-solving besides poor memory
• De-individuation, also involves violent behaviour.
• There are various reasons why such a behaviour is displayed in groups. They are discussed as follows:
1. It may also occur as a result of temporary dissolution of boundary that exists between the individuals and the group,
and, thus ,the individuals loose their separate identity.
2. There is a sense of anonymity. That is, such individuals feel that they cannot be identified and thus they may not be
held accountable for their behaviour, thus, resulting in diffusion of responsibility.
3. It is also as a result of modelling, where when people see other involved in such behaviour they feel it appropriate and
safe to behave in the same manner.
4. There could also be physiological basis to this behaviour as there could be excitement and physiological arousal in
such setups (Kahn, 1984). They may also get emotionally charged up (as in case of angry group of people who attach
the doctors and nurses in the hospital, discussed above).
• Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effect
Deindividuation