FOUNDATIONS

OF GROUP
BEHAVIOR
DR. N. SRIVIDYA
GROUP
Group
Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent,
who have come together to achieve particular objectives.
Formal group
A designated work 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.
GROUP
Social identity theory
Perspective that considers when and why individuals
consider themselves members of groups.

In-group 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.
CHARACTERISTICS MAKE A SOCIAL
IDENTITY IMPORTANT TO A PERSON

• Similarity.
• Distinctiveness.
• Status.
• Uncertainty reduction.
THE FIVE-STAGE
MODEL
THE FIVE-STAGE
MODEL
Five-stage group-development model
The five distinct stages groups go through: forming,
storming, norming, performing, and adjourning
Forming stage
The first stage in group development, characterized by much
uncertainty

Storming stage
The second stage in group development, characterized by
intragroup conflict.
THE FIVE-STAGE
MODEL
Norming stage
The third stage in group development, characterized by close
relationships and cohesiveness.

Adjourning stage
The final stage in group development for temporary groups,
characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather
than task performance.
PUNCTUATED
EQUILIBRIUM MODEL
sequencing of actions (or inaction):
(1) their first meeting sets the group’s direction,
(2) this first phase of group activity is one of
inertia,
(3) a transition takes place exactly when the group
has used up half its allotted time,
(4) this transition initiates major changes,
(5) a second phase of inertia follows the transition,
and
(6) the group’s last meeting is characterized by
markedly accelerated activity.
GROUP PROPERTIES
Roles
A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone
occupying a given position in a social unit.

Role perception
An individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to act in a
given situation.
GROUP PROPERTIES
Role expectations
How others believe a person should act in a given situation.
Psychological contract
An unwritten agreement that sets out what management
expects from an employee and vice versa.

Role conflict
A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent
role expectations.
GROUP PROPERTIES
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.
GROUP PROPERTIES
Reference groups
Important groups to which individuals belong or hope to
belong and with whose norms individuals are likely to
conform.

Deviant workplace behavior

Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational
norms and, in so doing, threatens the well-being of the
organization or its members. Also called antisocial behavior
or workplace incivility.
GROUP PROPERTIES
Status
A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group
members by others.

Status characteristics theory

A theory that states that differences in status characteristics
create status hierarchies within groups.
WHAT DETERMINES
STATUS?
1. The power a person wields over others 2. A
person’s ability to contribute to a group’s goals. 3.
An individual’s personal characteristics.

Status and Norms

High-status individuals are often given more freedom to
deviate from norms than are other group members.
STATUS
Status and Group Interaction
High-status people tend to be more assertive group
members.

Status Inequity
It is important for group members to believe the status
hierarchy is equitable.
GROUP PROPERTIES
Size
Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than larger
ones, and individuals perform better in smaller groups.

Social loafing
The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively than when working individually.
WAYS TO PREVENT
SOCIAL LOAFING
(1) Set group goals, so the group has a common
purpose to strive toward
(2) increase intergroup competition, which again
focuses on the shared outcome
(3) engage in peer evaluation so each person
evaluates each other person’s
contribution
(4) select members who have high motivation and
prefer to work in groups, and
(5) if possible, base group rewards in part on each
member’s unique contributions.
GROUP PROPERTIES
Cohesiveness
The degree to which group members are attracted to each
other and are motivated to stay in the group
TO ENCOURAGE GROUP
COHESIVENESS?
(1) Make the group smaller,
(2) encourage agreement with group goals,
(3) increase the time members spend together,
(4) increase the group’s status and the perceived difficulty of
attaining membership,
(5) stimulate competition with other groups,
(6) give rewards to the group rather than to individual
members, and
(7) physically isolate the group

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

Groups versus the Individual

Strengths of Group Decision Making
• more complete information and knowledge •
increased diversity of views
• increased acceptance of a solution.
GROUP PROPERTIES
Weaknesses of Group Decision
Making • Conformity pressures
• Dominated by one or a few members •
Ambiguous responsibility

Effectiveness and Efficiency

• Accurate
• Speed,
• Creativity
• Acceptance

GROUPTHINK AND
GROUPSHIFT
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.
SYMPTOMS OF
GROUPTHINK
1. Group members rationalize any resistance to the
assumptions they’ve made.
2. Members apply direct pressures on those who
momentarily express doubts about any of the group’s shared
views, or who question the validity of arguments supporting
the alternative favored by the majority.
3. Members who have doubts or differing points of view
seek to avoid deviating from what appears to be group
consensus by keeping silent about misgivings and even
minimizing to themselves the importance of their doubts.
4. There is an illusion of unanimity.
GROUP SHIFT OR GROUP
POLARIZATION
Group polarization as a special case of groupthink
• The group’s decision reflects the dominant decision
making norm that develops during discussion.
• Whether the shift in the group’s decision is toward greater
caution or more risk depends on the dominant pre
discussion norm.
EXPLANATIONS FOR
POLARISATION
Discussion makes the members more comfortable with each
other and, thus, more willing to express extreme versions of
their original positions.
Another argument is that the group diffuses responsibility.
Group decisions free any single member from accountability for
the group’s final choice, so a more extreme position can be
taken.
It’s also likely that people take on extreme positions because
they want to demonstrate how different they are from the
outgroup.
People on the fringes of political or social movements take on
ever-more extreme positions just to prove they are really
committed to the cause, whereas those who are more cautious
tend to take exceptionally moderate positions to demonstrate
how reasonable they are.

USES OF FINDINGS
ON GROUPSHIFT
Recognize that group decisions exaggerate the initial
position of the individual members, that the shift has been
shown more often to be toward greater risk, and that which
way a group will shift is a function of the members’ pre
discussion inclinations
GROUP DECISION
MAKING TECHNIQUES
Interacting groups
Typical groups in which members interact with each other
face to face.

Brainstorming
An idea-generation process that specifically encourages any
and all alternatives while withholding any criticism of those
alternatives.
GROUP DECISION
MAKING TECHNIQUES
Nominal group technique
A group decision-making method in which individual
members meet face to face to pool their judgments in a
systematic but independent fashion.

Electronic meeting
A meeting in which members interact on computers, allowing
for anonymity of comments and aggregation of votes.
NOMINAL GROUP
TECHNIQUE
1. Before any discussion takes place, each member
independently writes down ideas on the problem.
2. After this silent period, each member presents one idea
to the group.
3. The group discusses the ideas for clarity and evaluates
them.
4. Each group member silently and independently rank
orders the ideas.

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