Group dynamics

Question 1

What is a group?

Answer 1

Number of people who communicate with each other and work towards a common objective or goal

Question 2

What characteristics are required for a group to form a bond?

Answer 2

• 2 or more interacting individuals
• collective identity
• sense of shared purpose or goal
• clear structure of communication

Question 3

What are the 4 stages of group formation?

Answer 3

• forming
• storming
• norming
• performing

Question 4

What happens in the forming stage of group formation?

Answer 4

• group first meet
• members get to know each other
• high dependency on leader for guidance leader makes all decisions
• little or no agreement on goals
• individual roles are unclear
• members may be on their ‘best behaviour’ as to make a good impression

Question 5

What happens in the storming stage of group formation?

Answer 5

• group has difficulty making decisions
• conflict/hostility as team members jostle for positions
• members pull in different directions
• establish clear goal
• strong leader is needed to guide them through this stage
• cliques (sub groups) can form within the team

Question 6

What happens in the norming stage of group formation?

Answer 6

• conflict within group resolved
• team members work towards common goal
• roles now accepted within group
• stronger sense of unity
• respect towards the leader
• team are stronger socially

Question 7

How might a coach help a group move through the stages of development?

Answer 7

• give roles/responsibilities
• establish clear goals
• allow forum for discussing
• practice skills/tactics
• establish set players
• organise social activities building cohesion
• ensure captain is effective leader
• autocratic leadership

Question 7

What happens in the performing stage of group formation?

Answer 7

• maturation of group achieved and relationships established
• team makes significant progress towards goals
• commitment of team towards goal is high

Question 8

What is group cohesion?

Answer 8

Group stays together and remains united in order to achieve its goals

Question 9

What are the 2 models of group cohesion?

Answer 9

• Steiner
• Ringlemann

Question 10

What is Steiner’s model of group effectiveness?

Answer 10

Actual productivity = potential productivity – losses to faulty processes

Question 11

In Steiner’s model what is potential productivity?

Answer 11

Best possible performance of the group (resources available & ability of group members)

Question 12

In Steiner’s model what is losses to faulty processes?

Answer 12

Reason groups fall short of their potential

Coordination problems = team strategies therefore performance will suffer
Motivation problems = some want to socialise others want to win

Question 13

What is the Ringlemann affect?

Answer 13

Amount of effort exerted by individuals participating in tug of war events with increasingly large numbers of team members (up to 8 in a team)

as group/teams increased size = individual effort of each team deteriorated

Question 14

What did Ringlemann attribute the phenomenon too?

Answer 14

Co-ordination and decreased motivation

tendency for some individuals was to put in less than maximum effort when working as part of a group

Question 15

What is social loafing?

Answer 15

Performer attempts to hide when in a group situation often coasting through games and not performing to their maximum potential

occurs when their performance isn’t watched or appreciated

Question 16

How can social loafing be reduced?

Answer 16

• identifying situations which allow social loafing
• identifying individual’s contribution within team effort
• increase peer pressure
• give more responsibility/setting individual roles
• ensure individuals recognise roles of others
• use extrinsic motivation
• social support