Chapter 7:

Group Behavior

1
 Definition of Group
• In general, a number of people together at a given
place and given time can be considered as a group.
• The term group refers to two or more individuals
who bear an explicit psychological relationship to
one another.
• A collection of individuals who have regular contact
and frequent interaction, mutual influence,
common feeling of friendship, and who work
together to achieve a common set of goals.
• A group can be defined as two or more interacting
and interdependent individuals who have come
together to achieve particular objectives. 2
 Classification of Groups
There are two types of group: formal
groups and informal groups.
Formal Group: Formal groups are created
as per official authority, so as to fulfill the
desired objective.
i. Command Group: The groups that
consist of managers and their
subordinates.
ii. Task or Functional Group: The group
form to carry out a particular task. 3
 …Classification of Groups
Informal Group: Informal groups are formed by the employees as per
their likes, interests, and attitudes.
i. Interest Group: Individuals who may not be members of the same
organization, but they are united by their interest in a common issue.
Example: A group of university professors organize a seminar on ‘Law
and Order Problems in Bangladesh’.
ii. Friendship Group: Associations of people who like each other and who
like to be together.
iii. Reference Group: A reference group is a group to which an individual or
another group is compared, used by sociologists in reference to any
group that is used by an individual as a standard for evaluating
themselves and their own behavior. An example of a reference group
being used would be the determination of affluence. An individual in the
Bangladesh with an monthly income of Tk.1,00,000, may consider
themself affluent if they compare themself to those in the middle of the
income strata, who earn roughly Tk. 30,000 a year.
4
 Why Do People Form Groups?
1. Companionship
2. Survival and security
3. Affiliation and status
4. Power and control
5. Goal achievement
6. Interpersonal needs
7. Group synergy

5
 Social Identity Theory
• Social identity theory proposed by British social
psychologists Henri Tajfel and John Turner in 1979.
• Social identity theory proposes that a person’s sense of
who they are depends on the groups to which they
belong.
• One might define himself in terms of the organization
he/she works for, the city he/she lives in, his/her
profession, religious background, ethnicity, or gender.
• When a person perceives themselves as part of a group,
that is an in-group for them. Other comparable groups
that person does not identify with are called out-
groups. We have an “us” vs. “them” mentality when it
comes to our in-groups and their respective out-groups. 6
 When Do People Develop a Social Identity?
Several characteristics make a social identity important to a
person:
1. Similarity: People who have the same values or characteristics
as other members of their organization have higher levels of
group identification.
2. Distinctiveness: People are more likely to notice identities
that show how they are different from other groups.
3. Status: People are most interested in linking themselves to
high-status groups because they use identities to define
themselves and increase self-esteem.
4. Uncertainty reduction: Membership in a group also helps
some people understand who they are and how they fit into
the world. 7
The Five Stages of Group Development
In 1965, Bruce Wayne Tuckman proposed four
phases (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing)
of group development. In 1977, Tuckman, jointly
with Mary Ann Jensen, added a fifth phase-
Adjourning.

Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning

8
 …The Five Stages of Group Development
1. Forming stage: Group meeting and
getting to know each-other.
2. Storming stage: Dealing with tensions and
defining group tasks.
3. Norming stage: Building relationships and
working together.
4. Performing stage: Dealing with complex
tasks and handling disagreements.
5. Adjourning stage: Celebrating
accomplishments. 9
 Stages of Group Development
Forming:

Characterized by a great deal of

uncertainty about the group’s
purpose, structure, and leadership.

Members are trying to determine

what types of behavior are
acceptable.

Stage is complete when members

have begun to think of themselves as
part of a group.

8–10 10
 Stages of Group Development
(cont’d)
Storming:

One of intra-group conflict. Members accept the existence of the group,

but there is resistance to constraints on individuality.

Conflict over who will control the group.

When complete, there will be a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership

within the group.

8–11 11
 Stages of Group Development
(cont’d)
Norming:

One in which close relationships develop and the group demonstrates

cohesiveness.

There is now a strong sense of group identity and camaraderie.

Stage is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group has
assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct member
behavior.

8–12 12
 Stages of Group Development
(cont’d)
Performing:

The structure at this point is fully

functional and accepted.

Group energy has moved from

getting to know and understand
each other to performing.

For permanent work groups,

performing is the last stage in their
development.

8–13 13
 Stages of Group Development
(cont’d)
Adjourning:

For temporary committees, teams, task forces, and similar groups

that have a limited task to perform, there is an adjourning stage.

In this stage, the group prepares for its disbandment. Attention is

directed toward wrapping up activities.

8–14 14
 Punctuated-Equilibrium Model
Connie J.G. Gersick (1988), in her Punctuated-Equilibrium Model,
noted that temporary groups with deadlines don’t seem to follow
the usual five-stage model. [Temporary groups are usually formed
with the expectation of completing a task within a limited time
period and then disbanding (adjourning). Often these groups are
formed from representatives or experts from various parts of the
organization that bring particular skills to the project.] They have
their own unique sequencing of actions:
1. Setting group’s direction
2. First phase of inertia
3. Half-way point transition
15
4. Major changes
…Punctuated-Equilibrium Model

16
 …Punctuated-Equilibrium Model
1. Setting group’s direction: The general agreement of the project/team is
usually outlined at the very first meeting. At this initial meeting it is even
possible that a timetable, along with deadlines and responsibilities, is
allocated to various members of the group.
2. First phase of inertia: Because this is a temporary group, it is most likely
that the group’s tasks will be in addition to their usual workload. As a
consequence, the individual members will have a conflict of competing
priorities and, as a result, there is a tendency to delay action on the new
project.
3. Half-way point transition: Generally around halfway through the
project’s deadline, there will be a follow-up meeting for the temporary
group, in order to check-in on progress to date.
4. Major changes: The half-way point transition meeting will drive more
action and the progression/completion of key tasks, often in a short
period of time.
5. Second phase of inertia: However, once things are back on track, there is
a potential for a second period of inertia – as individual members tend to
17
relax having completed their own immediate priorities and tasks.
 Group Properties
Work group have properties that shape the behavior
of members and make it possible to explain and
predict a large portion of individual behavior within
the group as well as the performance of the group
itself. Some of these properties are -
1. Roles
2. Norms
3. Status
4. Size
5. Cohesiveness
6. Diversity
18
 Group Property- 1: Roles
All group members are actors, each playing a role.
• Role: 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. We get role perceptions
from stimuli all around us like friends, books, films, television.
• Role Expectations: How others believe a person should act in
a given situation. In the workplace, we look at role
expectations through the perspective of the Psychological
Contract - An unwritten agreement that sets out mutual
expectations of management and employees.
• Role Conflict: A situation in which an individual is confronted
by divergent role expectations. It include situations in which
two or more role expectations are mutually contradictory.
19
 Group Property- 2: Norms
Norms is acceptable standards of behavior within a group that
are shared by the group’s members. For example, employees
don’t criticize their bosses in public.
• The common classes of norms appearing in work groups:
1. Performance norms: How hard a person should work in a
given group. (e.g., how hard they should work, how to get the
job done, their level of output, appropriate levels of tardiness,
and the like).
2. Appearance norms: How we should look or what our
physical appearance should be. (e.g., appropriate dress,
loyalty to the work group or organization, when to look busy).
3. Social arrangement norms: How we should act in social
se ings. (e.g., with whom group members eat lunch, whether
to form friendship on and o the job).
4. Resource allocation norms: How to allocate resources like
pay or equipment. (e.g., assignment of di cult jobs,
distribution of pay or equipment) 20
 Norms & Conformity
• Conformity refers to an individual’s
tendency to follow the unspoken rules or
behaviors of the social group to which he or
she belongs. There is considerable
evidence that groups can place strong
pressures on individual members to change
their a itudes and behaviors to conform to
the group’s standard.

21
 Norms & Deviant Workplace Behavior
Deviant workplace behavior, also called anti-
social behavior or workplace incivility, is
voluntary behavior that violates significant
organizational norms and, in doing so, threatens
the well-being of the organization or its
members.
• Group norms can influence the presence of
deviant behavior. Being part of a group can
increase an individual’s deviant behavior.
Someone who ordinarily would not engage in
deviant behavior might be more likely to do so22
Typology of Deviant Workplace Behavior

23
 Group Property- 3: Status
Status is a socially de ned position or rank given to
groups or group members by others.
• Status characteristics theory states that di erences in
status characteristics create status hierarchies within
groups.
Group Norms

Group Member
Status Equity
Status

Group
Interaction
24
 Effects of Status
• On Norms and Conformity: Status has interesting e ects on the power
of norms and pressures to conform.
• High-status members are able to resist norms and conformity
pressures than low status peers.
• On Group Interaction: Group interaction is in uenced by status.
• High-status members are more assertive. They speak out more
often, criticize more, state more commands, interrupt others more
often.
• Low status members are less active participants in group
discussions.
• If low status members possess ideas, creativity, expertise and
insights, are not likely to be fully utilized and hence reducing the
group’s overall performance.
• On Equity: It is important for group members to believe that the status
hierarchy is equitable. 25
 Status Characteristics Theory
What determines status?
According to status characteristics theory,
Status derived from one of three sources:

1. People who control the outcomes of a

group through their power tend to be
perceived as high status. (Power a person
has over others)

2. People whose contributions are critical to

the group’s success tend to be high status.
(Ability to contribute to group goals)
3. Someone whose personal characteristics
(good looks, intelligence, money or a
friendly personality) are positively valued
by the group has higher status. (Personal
characteristics) 8–26 26
 Group Property- 4: Size
Size:
Twelve or more members is a “large” group
Seven or fewer is a “small” group

Attribute Small Large

Speed X
Individual Performance X
Problem Solving X
Diverse Input X
Fact-Finding Goals X
Overall Performance X

8–27 27
 Group Property 4: Size
Social loafing is the tendency for
individuals to expend less effort when
working collectively than when
working individually.

Performance A common stereotype about groups is

that team spirit spurs individual effort
and enhances overall productivity. But
that stereotype may be wrong.

g)
ed

fin
ct

a
lo
pe

to
Ex

ue
l (d
a
ctu
A

Group Size 8–28 28

 Group Property 4: Size
Causes of social loafing:

A belief that others in the group are not carrying their fair share.

The dispersion of responsibility and the relationship between an

individual’s input and the group’s output is clouded.

There will be a reduction in efficiency where individuals think that

their contribution cannot be measured.

Prevention of social loafing

1. Set group goals

2. Increase intergroup competition
3. Use peer evaluation
4. Distribute group rewards based on individual effort.
8–29 29
 Group Property- 5: Cohesiveness
Cohesiveness is the degree to which group
members are attracted to each other and are
motivated to stay in the group.
• Cohesiveness affects group productivity and
productivity depends on the group’s performance-
related norms.
• How to increase cohesiveness?
1. Make the group smaller.
2. Encourage agreement with group goals.
3. Increasing the time that members spend together.
4. Increase group status.
5. Stimulate competition with other groups.
6. Give rewards to the group, not individuals.
7. Physically isolate the group.
30
How does Cohesiveness affect group
productivity?

31
 Group Property- 6: Diversity
Diversity in the group’s membership is the
degree to which members of the group are
similar to, or different from, one another.
• Benefits of group diversity:
– Enhance better decision making
– Ensure greater creativity and innovation
– Improve the way of problem solving.
• Costs of group diversity:
– Increase group conflict which often lowers
group morale and raises dropout rates.
32
 Group Decision Making
• Strengths of Group Decision Making:
1. Generate more complete information and knowledge.
2. Bring more input by aggregating individual resources.
3. Offer increased diversity of views and greater creativity.
4. Opens up opportunity for more alternatives.
5. Increased acceptance of decisions or solutions.
• Weaknesses of Group Decision Making:
1. Take more time to reach a solution.
2. There are conformity pressures in the group.
3. Discussions can be dominated by a few members.
4. If dominant coalition include low and medium ability
33
Groupthink and Groupshift

8–34 34
 Groupthink
Have you ever thought about speaking up in a meeting and
then decided against it because you did not want to appear
unsupportive of the group’s efforts?
• Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs
within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or
conformity in the group results in an irrational or
dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Group members try
to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without
critical evaluation of alternative viewpoints by actively
suppressing dissenting viewpoints, and by isolating
themselves from outside influences.
• Ways to minimize Groupthink:
1. Monitor group size as people grow more scared and
hesitant as group size increases.
2. Encourage group leaders to play an impartial role. 35
 Groupshift
Groupshift is a phenomenon in which the initial
positions of individual members of a group are
exaggerated toward a more extreme position. This
denotes that the individual would adopt a riskier
decision in his group although in reality this is di erent
to his initial position.
• When people are in groups, they make decisions about
risk di erently from when they are alone. In the group,
they are likely to make riskier decisions, as the shared
risk makes the individual risk less.
• There are members who are conservative and also
others who are aggressive. In group shift what happens
is that the conservative members become even more
cautious than before while the aggressive becomes
even more risk takers. This is why psychologists point 36
 What is the Difference Between
Groupthink and Group Shift?
• Definitions of Groupthink and Group Shift:
– Groupthink: Groupthink refers to a psychological phenomenon in which
members of a group make decisions based on the pressure that they get
from the group.
– Group Shift: Group shift refers to a condition where the position of an
individual in the group changes to adopt a more extreme position due
to the influence of the group.
• Personal view:
– Groupthink: Personal view can be put aside in favor of the popular view.
– Group Shift: Personal view becomes much stronger due to group
influence.
• Pressure:
– Groupthink: The group has an immense pressure on the individual.
– Group Shift: Similar to Groupthink, the group, has an immense pressure
on the individual.
37
 Types of Group
Based on Decision Making Techniques
1. Interacting: Typical groups in which members meet face to face
and rely on both verbal and nonverbal interaction to
communicate.
2. Brainstorming: An idea-generation process that specifically
encourages any and all alternatives while withholding any
criticism of those alternatives.
3. Nominal Group Technique (NGT): A group decision-making
method in which individual members meet face to face to pool
their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion. The
nominal group technique restricts discussion or interpersonal
communication during the decision-making process.
4. Electronic Meeting: The most recent approach to group
decision making blends the nominal group technique with 38
 Brainstorming
It is meant to overcome pressures for conformity in the interacting
group that retard the development of creative alternatives.

In a typical brainstorming session, a half dozen to a dozen people sit

around a table.

The process:

a. The group leader states the problem clearly.

b. Members then “free-wheel” as many alternatives as they can in a
given length of time.
c. No criticism is allowed, and all the alternatives are recorded for later
discussion and analysis.
d. One idea stimulates others, and group members are encouraged to
“think the unusual.”

8–39 39
 The nominal group technique
Restricts discussion or interpersonal communication during the decision-
making process. Group members are all physically present, but members
operate independently.

Specifically, a problem is presented, and then the following steps take place:

a. Members meet as a group but, before any discussion takes place, each
member independently writes down his or her ideas on the problem.
b. After this silent period, each member presents one idea to the group. Each
member takes his or her turn.
c. The group now discusses the ideas for clarity and evaluates them.
d. Each group member silently and independently rank-orders the ideas.
e. The idea with the highest aggregate ranking determines the final decision.

The chief advantage of the nominal group technique is that it permits the group
to meet formally but does not restrict independent thinking, as does
the interacting group.

8–40 40
 Electronic meeting
The computer-assisted group or electronic meeting blends the nominal
group technique with sophisticated computer technology.

▪ Up to 50 people sit around a horseshoe-shaped table, empty except

for a series of computer terminals.

• Issues are presented to participants, and they type their responses

onto their computer screen.

• Individual comments, as well as aggregate votes, are displayed on a

projection screen.

• The major advantages of electronic meetings are anonymity, honesty,

and speed.

8–41 41
Evaluating Group Effectiveness

EXHIBIT 8-10

8–42 42
THE END

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