13 Terms to Remember

Adjourning: The final stage of group development where temporary groups complete their tasks or ongoing groups experience major membership changes.

Autokinetic phenomenon: The illusion that a stationary light appears to move when viewed in complete darkness.

Brainstorming: A technique designed to enhance creativity by encouraging free generation of ideas in a group without immediate criticism.

Cohesion: The strength of group members’ attraction to maintaining membership in the group and the strength of links developed among group members.

Collaborating: Seeking win-win solutions where everyone can achieve their important objectives through creative problem-solving.

Collective rationalization: Involves explaining away warnings or negative feedback that might cause the group to reconsider its assumptions.

Communication structure: Determines how information flows within a group.

Conflict: What happens when people perceive that others are keeping them from reaching a goal.

Conformity: The tendency for individuals to align their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with group norms.

Deindividuation: A psychological state where individuals lose their sense of personal identity and responsibility in a group, often leading to uninhibited behavior.

Descriptive norms: Define what most people do, feel, or think about a particular situation.

Diffusion of responsibility: The tendency for individuals to feel less personal responsibility when others are present.

Forming: The initial stage of group development where members get to know each other and understand expectations.

Free-riding: When employees do less than their share of work but share equally in rewards.

Group cohesiveness: How much group members like each other and want to stay together.

Group polarization: The tendency for groups to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclinations of their members.

Groupthink: A phenomenon where highly cohesive groups prioritize harmony and conformity over critical evaluation, leading to flawed decisions.

Informational social influence: Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality.

Norming: The third stage of group development when the group starts to gel and members develop shared expectations.

Norms: Unspoken rules that guide the behavior of group members.

Normative social influence: Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

Obedience: Compliance with direct commands from authority figures.

Performing: The fourth stage of group development where everything clicks and the group focuses energy on accomplishing goals.

Prescriptive norms: Suggest what people should do, feel, or think in a situation.

Process conflict: When group members disagree about how work should be accomplished.

Relationship conflict: Personal tension and friction between team members.

Role structure: Defines who does what within the group.

Social facilitation: The tendency for individuals to perform better on simple or well-learned tasks when in the presence of others.

Social influence: How other people change your behavior, thoughts, and feelings just by being around.

Social loafing: The tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working in a group compared to working alone.

Storming: The second stage of group development where conflicts emerge as people assert preferences and challenge assumptions.