Group Dynamics

Flashcards on Group Behavior

Group

Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.

Formal Group

A group defined by an organization's structure.

Informal Group

A group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined; such a group appears in response to the need for social contact.

Social Identity Theory

Perspective that considers when and why individuals consider themselves members of groups.

Ingroup Favoritism

Perspective in which we see members of our ingroup as better than other people, and people not in our group as all the same.

Outgroup

The inverse of an ingroup, which can mean everyone outside the group but is more usually an identified other group.

Punctuated-Equilibrium Model

A set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia and activity.

Role

A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.

Norms

Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group's members.

Conformity

The adjustment of one's behavior to align with the norms of the group.

Reference Groups

Important groups to which individuals belong or hope to belong and with whose norms individuals are likely to conform.

Status

A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.

Status Characteristics Theory

A theory stating that differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups.

Social Loafing

The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually.

Cohesiveness

The degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.

Diversity

The extent to which members of a group are similar to, or different from, one another.

Faultlines

The perceived divisions that split groups into two or more subgroups based on individual differences such as sex, race, age, work experience, and education.

Groupthink

A phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.

Groupshift

A change between a group's decision and an individual decision that a member within the group would make; the shift can be toward either conservatism or greater risk but it generally is toward a more extreme version of the group's original position.