Small Group Communication Chapter 1

Advantages of

Small Group Communication

1. Access to resources

2. Better understanding and retention of concepts

3. Diversity

4. Creativity

Disadvantages of

Small Group Communication

1. Task coordination difficulties

2. Social loafing

3. Conflict

4. Member misbehaviors

Definition of

Small Group Communication

Three or more people working

interdependently for the purpose

of accomplishing a task.

Primary Features

of Small Group

Communication

Size, Interdependence, & Task

Group Size

Minimum of 3 members and no

more than 15 members

The ideal small group size is 5-7

members

Interdependence

The process by which a change in one part

affects the other parts

Interdependence explains why a group can

accomplish something collectively that

individual members could not accomplish alone

Task

Is an activity in which no externally correct

decision exists and whose completion is

dependent on member acceptance

Can be an additive task or a conjunctive task

Considerations of tasks

All members must participate

Members may not comprehend task

Members might have vested interest

Group may terminate upon task completion

Secondary

Features of

Small Group

Communication

Norms, Identity, & Types of Talk

Norms

A guideline or rule designed to regulate the behaviors

of group members

Three types of norms

Task

Procedural

Social

Considerations of norms

Norms can be developed in four ways

Sanctions are punishments for norm

violations

Norms emerge after two or three meetings

Identity

The psychological and/or physical boundaries

that distinguish a group member from a

non-group member

Grouptyping

When a nonmember makes assumptions

about a person based on the person’s

group memberships

Types of talk

Problem-solving

Role talk

Consciousness-raising

Encounter

Types of

Small Groups 1

Primary - members who engage in an intimate

relationship

Social - members who share a common interest or

engage in a common activity

Self-help - members who share a common interest or

engage in a common activity

Types of Small Groups 2

Learning - members who want to enhance their

skills, abilities, or cognitive processes

Service - members who volunteer their time, energy,

and effort to help others in need of a

particular service

Public – members who interact for benefit of an

audience

Types of Small Groups 3

Work - members within an organizational context

who complete a common task on behalf of an

organization

Virtual - members who work interdependently on a

task but from different physical locations via

communication technology

Ethics

The process of making judgments about a

person’s behaviors or actions that surrounds the

communication process.

Guidelines to avoid communicating unethically

Members should not withhold information

Members should be truthful and accurate when

sharing information

Members should reveal all sources of information

Members should respect dissent by recognizing the

diversity of argument and opinion that can exist

Adopt a code of ethical responsibility

Requires group members to act in a way that

promotes caring and requires members to

assume responsibility for the consequences

of their actions

Grouphate

Feelings of dread that arise when

faced with the possibility of having to work in a

group

Remember

Knowing how to work effectively in a small group

has important ramifications