CAFS Module 2

types of groups

cultural

religious

other specific

sporting & leisure

study & work

family & friendship

describe cultural groups & give an example

• Based on geographical location

• Classification based on self-perceived group identification & sharing of social/cultural characteristics

• Lead to groups accessing familiar support structures

• E.g. Indigenous

describe the data from ABS census 2021 about cultural groups

• Australians came from over:

  • 3.2% Indigenous – up from 2.8% in 2016 & 2.5% in 2011

  • 27.6% born overseas – up from 26% in 2016

describe religious groups

• Formed around beliefs, traditions, values held by specific doctrine/faith

• Different groups hold differing philosophies, but all share mission to promote spiritual growth & nurture individual & community

describe the ABS 2016 data about religious groups

• Australian population religion:

  • 52% Christianity, dropped to 44% in 2021

  • 30% no religion

describe other specific groups & give examples

• For wellbeing to be adequately addressed, these groups must be created

• E.g. 

  • Support groups for sole parents, bushfire victims

  • Volunteer groups (Red Cross, St Vincent de Paul)

  • Gangs & mobs

sporting & leisure groups & give examples

• Long term or transitory

• Purpose is to provide fun/interactive ways to get fit/healthy to address personal wellbeing

• Members rely on each other for motivation

• May be:

  • Age specific (e.g. Little Athletics)

  • Location specific (e.g. Surf Life Saving clubs)

  • Competitive (e.g. triathlon clubs)

  • Creative (e.g. scrapbooking, art, photography clubs)

describe study & work groups & give examples

• When individuals feel connected, engaged, included in academic/active work, their degree of personal satisfaction & wellbeing heightens

• E.g. study in pairs, service work

describe family & friendship groups

• Family

  • Spend time & engage in activities together

  • Know each other well

  • High expectations amongst group

  • Based on kinship/ancestry, marriage, adoption

  • Most common

• Friendship

  • More likely to disband after short time

  • Secondary group type

  • At times have stronger influence on us

reasons for group formation

culture

locality/geography

other

religion

gender

shared interest/common goal

security

sexuality

specific need

social interaction

describe the cultural reason for group formation & give examples

• Opportunity to reflect & celebrate culture or traditional practices are major reasons for formation of groups

• Provide social interaction based on shared beliefs

• Leads to enhanced wellbeing

• E.g. food festivals, cultural dances

describe the locality/geography reason for group formation & give examples

• Formed due to living in specific area/region

• Tight knit, survive many generations, share hardships

• E.g.  

  • Bushwalking group in Blue Mountain

  • Friendship group among retirees in caravan village

describe other reasons for group formation & give examples

• Group involvement allow individuals to achieve self-actualisation & ultimately, self-transcendence (desire to connect to something beyond ego or help others find self-fullfillment) 

• E.g. volunteers in a group of impoverished regions, teaching English & establishing schools, may achieve self-transcendence

describe religious reasons for group formation & give examples

• Australia has large multicultural immigration of which individuals belong to

• Individuals & families seek spiritual fulfillment through worship

describe gender reasons for group formation

• Gender identification begins when individuals are born 

  • Also beginning of another social group

• Despite governing bodies lobbying for equality, it remains the most common factor in formation of specific groups

• Needs of LGBTQI often overlooked

describe shared interest/common goals reasons for group formation & give examples

• Individuals seek out others with common goal, value, interest

• E.g. interests in bike riding or cooking create group formation, weight loss groups

describe security reasons for group formation & give examples

• Individuals form groups by living in close proximity to others to realise need for safety & security

  • Community health, emergency, welfare services enhance this need

• E.g.  

  • Minority groups access support to heighten sense of security

  • Cultural groups live close to others of same culture (e.g. Sudanese migrants in Blacktown)

describe sexuality reasons for group formation

• LGBTQI orm groups in response to shared beliefs & experiences

• Current legislation provides greater acknowledgement of the legal formation of such groups & discrimination against sexuality

describe group formation due to specific needs & give examples

• Individuals have specific needs based on economic, physical, cultural, socioemotional, intellectual situations

• E.g. communities & welfare groups provide opportunities for reformed alcoholics, gamblers, drug addicts

describe group formation for social interaction & give examples

• Groups form to satisfy this need

• Share common standards, goals, values, beliefs

• Long term or transitory

• E.g.  

  • Football on weekend

  • Sharing responsibility of taking children to sport

define specific roles individuals adopt in groups & give examples

norms, conformity & cohesiveness: define, describe, give examples

• Norm: dictate actions of group members (different to group roles as roles differ members from each other)

  • Groups benefit from having mutually accepted norms as they bring regularity & control to relationships

  • All groups have formal/informal norms that develop from interaction between members

  • E.g. more organised groups (e.g. classes) have formal norms about absence, lateness, completion of work

define & describe conformity & give examples

• Conformity: modification of individual behaviour resulting from group influences; actions in accordance with specified standards or authority

  • Conforming to group norms frequently improves group functioning & have positive impact on individual wellbeing

  • Members must conform to group norms to remain in group

  • E.g. when students conform to class norm of providing assistance to other students, both group & individuals benefit

define & describe cohesiveness

• Cohesiveness: unity; state of sticking together or having consistency

  • More conformity in group = greater group cohesiveness

  • Attracts & motivates members

  • In highly cohesive groups members interact with/influence each other more effectively than less cohesive groups

  • Group performs better, achieves goals, which in turn leads to greater cohesion

  • Highly cohesive groups may make bad decisions as they become so concerned with keeping harmony & making everyone happy that critical thinking is inhibited

identify personal factors that contribute to roles

culture

heredity

education

self-confidence

self-esteem

previous experience

sense of belonging

describe the personal factor cultural

• Culturally determined behaviour within groups misunderstood if not discussed

• Cultural immersion programs are valuable; enable understanding of norms, values, social cues within group

describe the personal factor heredity & give an example

• Physical appearance, intelligence, illness, physical disabilities passed down generations

  • May negatively impact development

• Temperament can be inherited & negatively impact ability to interact

• E.g. if goal is physical activity, those physically blessed will be more involved, experience & achieve more success

describe the personal factor education & give an example

• Academic qualification & work history shape role of individual in a group

• Members look to ‘more educated’ member for direction

• Assumed that higher level of education = better decision-making

• Life experience may be more beneficial than qualifications

  • E.g. school camp → outdoor skills not learned in education is valuable for survival

describe the personal factor self confidence & give an example

• More confidence = more likely to take on challenges

• Success boosts SC, failure lowers SC

• Changes based on context of group

  • E.g. increase for someone with experience/prior knowledge of how to achieve goal will change behaviour in group

describe the personal factor self esteem

• Individual’s self-perception, self-value, self-worth

• Lacking self-worth, suffer from low self-image leads to low self-esteem

  • Contribution likely minimal & more withdrawn

• High self-esteem individuals are more outgoing & self-assured & will project confidence

describe the personal factor previous experience & give an example

• Shape the way individual acts/interacts with groups

• Positive or negative

  • E.g. ineffective boss causes individuals to have difficulty respecting authority

• How we look at future opportunities & potential for change impacts most on roles

describe the personal factor sense of belonging

• When individuals feel they are ‘fitting in’ they feel they belong & their input is valued

  • More actively engaged & work well with peers to achieve goals

• If individual does not feel belonging, they may feel excluded & suffer from anxiety, depression, anger

  • May act to destroy group progress as defence mechanism

identify social factors that contribute to roles

gender expectations

relationship with group members

attitudes of group members

media

describe how gender expectations contribute to roles

• Individuals employ strategies that reinforce perceptions of masculinity/femininity

• Expectation that males will play leader & females will observe

• Changing stereotypes may cause conflict & group disharmony

  • Critical to notes: this change is acknowledged

describe how relationship with group members contribute to roles

• Group-cohesion: members connected by relationships with each other

• Strong ties = heightened solidarity, trust, support

• Once subgroups form, relationships may become strained

  • May encourage group members to take on roles in an effort to bring back group focus

describe how attitudes of group members contribute to roles

• Acceptance greatly modified by age groups

• Maslow’s hierarchy for acceptance: love & belonging

  • If individual does not accept this, self-esteem/self-confidence will be negatively affected (due to differing values & standards)

describe how media contribute to roles

• Motivates & influences thoughts & actions

• Used constructively to educate or destructively to mislead

• Information is filtered quickly & available to great numbers of people

• Alternate POV’s cause conflict & fractured relationships in groups due to observations in media

what are the types of observers in observation as a primary research method?

• Observers are either:

  • Participants: accepted as fully interactive member)

  • Non-participants: researcher watches & records dynamics of group without joining)

how to conduct & record observations

• To ensure full preparation, consider:

  • When & where observation will take place

  • How observation will take place

  • What evidence to collect

• Observation methods require researcher to collect non-verbal indicators of feelings, determine interaction patterns, check time given to specific tasks

• Observation is open to bias; wise for researcher to be diligent when recording data

• Recording sheets to be used (technology is invaluable)

• Recorded on:

  • Recording sheets to demonstrate graphic record (called sociogram), or observation/tally

  • Video recording/device (prior permission must be given)

describe sociograms

• In group situations (peers, workplace, family), observations allow researchers to collect information about group dynamics (e.g. characteristics & behaviour of people in circumstances)

• Useful for recording interrelationships between individuals as they allow researcher to summarise & analyse types of interactions within group

• Displays conflict, power, friendship, social isolation through diagram that maps communication using circles to represent individuals & arrowed lines to indicate flow of communication/contact

advantages & disadvantages of observation as a primary research method

• advantages

  • Provides opportunity for viewing or participating in unscheduled events

  • Allows for richly detailed description

  • Provides direct access to social phenomena under consideration

  • Provides permanent record

• disadvantages

  • Bias in recording of events viewed – requires conscious effort at objectivity as method is inherently subjective

  • Gender may restrict access to certain information

  • Lack of trust in observer by those being observed

  • Time consuming

  • Presence of observer may influence behaviour of those being observed

how to present research findings

• Make use of ‘field book’ to present findings & avoid bias

  • Less structured approach requires discipline by observer to make time to write notes immediately following observation session while memories are fresh

• Use of photographic observation with supporting comments adds validity

• Notes should include date, time, environment presented in tables, graphs, summary items

• Analyse by reviewing observed data & looking for patterns related to research question or hypothesis

• Report findings

  • Qualitative observations reported by showing ideas (supported by examples) that lead to major themes that subsequently lead to conclusions & implications

  • Quantitative observations used to represent statistical data from observation in graphic form

  • Researcher must discuss practical/theoretical suggestions identified from findings & recognise major weaknesses/limitations of research methodology used & how to avoid in future research

power bases within groups

coercive

expert

reward

referent/personal power/charismatic power/power of personality

legitimate

describe the power base coercive & give an example

• Leader pressures/intimidates members to complete tasks

• Group is characteristic by element of fear & feeling of being threatened

• Leaders will punish members for not following instructions/completing tasks

• Members dislike leaders using this power

• E.g. in peer groups, members fear being kicked out of group/disliked if not completing tasks delegated to them

describe the power base expert & give examples

• Power due to knowledge & capabilities

• Leader influences members by passing knowledge & experience to less knowledgeable/practised members

• E.g. teacher → student, doctor → patient (trust information passed to them)

describe the power base reward & give examples

• Leader in position of power give/take away individuals’ desires

• Rewards in forms of gifts, incentives, compensation

• Leaders are well-liked by members

• E.g. teacher allows early mark, employee getting bonus/raise if work is completed to standard

describe the power base referent/personal power/charismatic power/power of personality & give examples

• Leader tries to connect & build relationships with members, strives to be liked & earn respect

• Members have sense of familiarity with referent leader & will compete tasks to please leader

• Very influential as members want leaders to accept & praise them for actions & followers admire/copy behaviour, dress, etc.

• E.g. John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King

describe the power base legitimate & give examples

• Comes with designated position voted on by community or governing body

• Higher position = higher power

• E.g. CEO, principals are held in high esteem due to position

characteristics & tasks of self-leadership

• Characteristics: intelligence, achievement orientation, flexibility

• Leadership tasks: monitor group processes, change leadership style according to situation

define & describe leadership styles

• Autocratic (hierarchical): leader makes all decisions

  • Characteristics: being direct, firm, demanding

• Democratic (collaborative/shared): leader consults with members before making decision

  • Characteristics: being encouraging, encourage participation

• laissez faire (autonomous): non-direct leader allows members to decide on processes

  • Characteristics: minimal to no effort in group process, avoid decision-making & have chaotic workplace, groups more likely to fall apart, low levels of productivity

• Transformational: inspirational leader who encourages teamwork through re-thinking & convincing members

  • Characteristics: praise members for efforts, encourage greater responsibility

define & describe leadership adaptability & flexibility

• Level of one’s experience determines their effectiveness & flexibility

• Most important factor is ability to communicate (not limited to verbal communication)

• Leader should be knowledgeable of their brief, approachable, flexible

• Effective reader should be able to ‘read’ a group

factors influencing leadership

type of task

• Task-oriented leaders adopt autocratic style for giving instructions in emergency

• Ranges from high level/urgent to typical (e.g. leadership during crisis as opposed to leadership during social meeting)

knowledge & skills within group

• Internal factors, large teams have members of varying skills

• Leader may adopt directive style of leadership

attitudes of individuals within group

• Leader’s personal attitudes derived from personal view of themselves (self-concept)

• Huge impact in individual’s self-esteem & will impact culture, environment, mood of group

relationship between members

• Leader who believes in strong teamwork adopt democratic leadership style

  • Allows for group harmony but requires consistent feedback to ensure all members’ needs are met

• Groups with transformational leader: members are encouraged to self-manage & thus work towards own goals & goals of whole group

  • If not managed well, this leadership style allows members to become competitive

define & describe case study

• Case study: written summary of real-life case

  • Using case study as a secondary research method helps collect primary data

how to collect & record data from case studies

• Data collected from case study cannot be interpreted in relation to personal stance or bias on situation

• Aspects of privacy & ethics must be strictly adhered to; sociograms, interviews, analysis of secondary data should be used to support case study findings

advantages & disadvantages of using case studies as a primary research method

• advantages

  • A lot of detail collected

  • Researcher controls the situation

  • Hypothesis can be developed then tested

• disadvantages

  • Vital information missed

  • Time consuming & difficult to analyse

  • Hard to draw definite cause/effect from one case study

causes of conflict & give examples

multiple role expectations

individual differences/personality

limited resources

varying values

ineffective communication

incompatible goals

how does multiple role expectations cause conflict? give an example

• Individuals who have several tasks & functions with conflicting responsibilities

• If individual takes on multiple roles, they may have series of contradictory of incompatible tasks to perform

• E.g. working parent may experience conflict in juggling many roles & responsibilities at work & home

how do individual differences/personality cause conflict? give an example

• Differentiation in individuals’ characters which causes conflict

• Individuals clash due to personality traits & behaviours & may not understand what the individual means or why they are acting that way

• E.g. exuberant & loud individual may cause shy, withdrawn person to feel threatened

how does limited resouces cause conflict? give an example

• Lack of resources or supplies for group/individual to access

• If group cannot access required resources, conflict may arise out of frustration or aggravation

• E.g. a young single-income family may experience conflict when deciding on resource allocation

how do varying values cause conflict? give an example

• Different principles & standards individuals have

• Values are highly important to individuals, thus conflict may arise when values differ or vary, or alternatively when an individual’s values are challenged or questioned

• E.g. teenagers who value company of friends will experience conflict when grounded or have phone taken away

how does ineffective communication cause conflict? give an example

• Unproductive or damaging communication between individuals/groups

• Practices like avoiding eye contact, inappropriate body language, lack of encouragement can cause conflict

• E.g. person who sits & watches TV instead of communicating with partner may feel isolated

how do incompatable goals cause conflict? give an example

• Occurs when individuals in group are provided with a situation where they have differences; goals/aspirations collide

• E.g. individual may experience indecision relating to prioritising short- or long-term goals e.g. saving for new car vs going on family holiday

process of conflict resolution & give an example

1. negotiation

• Involved parties discuss conflict & cooperate to come to agreement or settlement regarding conflict

• Used to identify most effective alternatives to conflict & to implement within group

• Occurs between individuals/groups on personal & working lives

• E.g. child may negotiate computer time to spend on social media accounts

2. agreement

• Settlement of conflict/arrangement/deal the involved parties agreed upon to manage/minimise conflict

• Through negotiation & mediation, agreements made should be implemented to effectively deal with/eradicate conflict

• Mediation process helps the disputing design solution or positive agreement

3. resolution

• Outcome of implemented agreement

• If conflict has been managed/eradicated, then conflict has been resolved

• If conflict still apparent, alternative agreements need to be made, implemented, assessed

what is the role of support people

• Aim: work with individual/group to support/encourage to ensure rights are upheld

  • Listen

  • Ask questions to gain clarity

  • Provide strategies to resolve problems

  • Discuss consequences

  • support/act as advocate

  • Provide information & referrals to other agencies until matter is resolved

what are the outcomes of conflict resolution?

win-win

win-lose

lose-lose

describe the win-win outcome of conflict resolution

• Results in all members winning/having needs satisfied

• One person does not dominate or achieve at the expense of others

• Result of using strategy of compromise & collaboration

• Mutually acceptable solution is found through problem solving that relies on open communication

• Most desirable form of conflict resolution

• For this to be the outcome, both parties must agree on solution & solution must be acceptable by everyone, relying on both parties to make small sacrifices

describe the win-lose outcome of conflict resolution

• Least desirable outcome

• Some members’ needs are met at the expense of others’

• Resulted by competition & accommodation strategies by members

  • Competitors (with power) take advantage of others’ weaknesses, accommodators cooperate for the sake of group harmony & lose

describe the lose-lose outcome of conflict resolution

• Result when both parties cannot resolve conflict or external factors influence conflict

• May come about due to varying values & lack of compromise/resources & neither side can create solution

• All members lose or do not have needs met

• Caused by avoiding/ignoring conflict, competition, accommodation

• One member may benefit, but group will be fragmented & further problems will arise