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Group structure
- 1. Group Structure ✤ underlyingpattern of roles, norms, and networks of relations among members that define and organize the group
- 2. Group Structure ✤ Groupsare not unorganized, haphazard collections of individuals, but organized systems of interactions and relationships regulated by group structure. ✤ Three important elements of group structure: norms roles and networks of connections among the members.
- 3. Norms ✤ Norms developgradually overtime as members align their actions with those displayed by others Sherif’s autokinetic effect indicates that group members do not merely imitate others; rather, they often internalize consensual standards ✤ Since norms are transmitted to other group members, they tend to be consensual, implicit, self-generating, and stable. ✤ In some cases, individuals may engage in unhealthy behavior as a result of normative pressures Crandall’s study of eating disorders in groups pluralistic ignorance
- 4. Norms ✤ Norms areimplicit, self-generating, and stable standards for group behavior Prescriptive norms set the standards for expected group behavior Proscriptive norms identify behaviors that should not be performed Desscriptive norms define what most people do, feel, or think in the group. Injuctive norms differentiate between desirable and undesirable actions
- 5. Roles ✤ Roles specifythe types of behaviors expected of individuals who occupy particular positions within the group. ✤ As members interact withvone another, their role related activities become patterned (role differentiation) with Task roles pertaining to the work of the group, Relationship roles pertaining to maintaining relations among members
- 6. Roles ✤ The sameperson rarely holds both the task role and the relationship role in the group. ✤ Moreland and Levine’s theory of group socialization describes the ways roles are allocated to individuals and the ways in which members transition through the roles of prospective member, new member, full member, marginal member, and former member.
- 7. Roles ✤ The roledifferentiation and socialization processes often create stress and tension for groups and group members. Group ambiguity occurs when the behaviors associated with a role are poorly defined. Role conflict occurs when group members occupy two or more roles that call for incompatible behaviors (interrole conflict) or when the demands of a single role are contradictory (intrarole conflict) When role fit is low, members do not feel that they match the demands of their roles.
- 8. How can thesocial structure of a group be measured?
- 9. ✤ Social networkanalysis (SNA) - describe group’s structure both visually and quantitatively. Common indexes used include: density degree centrality indegree outdegree betweenness closeness ✤ Paxton and Moody’s study of a southern sorority suggested that those members with high centrality indexes for a clique within the overall group were less committed to the sorority as a whole
- 10. Status Networks ✤ Mostgroups develop a stable pattern of variations in authority and power (e.g. status networks, chains of command) through a status differential process. ✤ In some instances, people compete with one another for status in groups; the resulting pecking order determines who is dominant and who is submissive. ✤ Group member’s perception of one another also determine status. Berger’s expectation-states theory argues that group members allocate status by considering specific status characteristics and diffuse status characteristics.
- 11. Status Networks ✤ Whenstatus generalization occurs, group members unfairly allow irrelevant characteristics such as: age, race, or ethnic background to influence the allocation of prestige. status allocations are particularly unfair when individuals who are members of stereotyped minority societal groups are also under represented in the group itself, with the most extreme case being solo status (being the only individual of that category in the group) ✤ In many online groups the effects of status on participation are muted,resulting in a participation equalization effect.
- 12. Attraction Networks ✤ Sociometricstructure - a group’s attraction network develops through a sociometric differentiation process that orders group members from least liked to most liked. ✤ Attraction relations tend to be reciprocal and transitive, and clusters or coalitions often exist within the group that are higher in homophily than the group as a whole. ✤ Sociometric differentiation generally favors individuals who possess socially attractive qualities, such as cooperativeness or physical degree to which the individual’s attributes match the qualities valued by the group (person-group fit)
- 13. Communication Networks ✤ Agroup’s communication networks may parallel formally established paths, but most groups also have informal network that defines who speaks to whom most frequently. ✤ Centalized networks are most efficient Shaw’s concept of information saturation suggests not if tasks are too complex and require high levels of information exchange ✤ A group’s network, in addition to structuring communication, influences a variety in group and individual outcomes, including performance, effectiveness, and members level of satisfaction. Individuals who occupy more central positions in communication networks are often more influential than those located at the periphery. Since centralized networks have lower levels of closeness, the overall level ofmember satisfaction in such groups tend to be lower.
- 14. Communication Networks ✤ Moreinformation generally flows downward in hierarchical networks than flows upward, and the information that is sent upward is often unrealistically positive. ✤ Bale’s Systematic Multiple Level Observation of Groups (SYMLOG) - model of interaction and structure assumes that structure is based on three dimensions: dominance/submissiveness (Up/Down) friendliness/unfriendliness (Positive/Negative) acceptance of task-orientation of authority/non-acceptance of task-orientation of authority/(Forward/Backward)