Group Cohesiveness

6 Key excerpts on "Group Cohesiveness"

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  eBook - PDF

  Encyclopedia of Social Psychology

  • Roy F. Baumeister, Kathleen D. Vohs, Roy Baumeister, Kathleen D. Vohs(Authors)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications, Inc

    (Publisher)

  This is why alumni of prestigious universities tend to keep in touch for many years after they graduate. Group Success Group success, like exclusive entry, increases the value of group membership to its members and influ-ences members to identify more strongly with the team and to want to be actively associated with it. Think how it feels to be part of a winning basketball team! External Competition and Threats When members perceive active competition with another group, they become more aware of members’ similarity within their group and see their group as a means to overcome the external threat or competition they are facing. Both these factors increase Group Cohesiveness; leaders throughout human history have been aware of this and have focused the attention of their followers on conflicts with external enemies when internal cohesion was threatened. Similar effects can be brought about by facing an objective external threat or challenge (such as natural disaster). Consequences of Group Cohesiveness Cohesive groups have several characteristics. First, members interact more with each other. Cohesive groups develop a supportive communication climate in which people are more comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings. Second, cohesive groups’ mem-bers are friendlier and cooperative with each other than are members in noncohesive groups. Members of highly cohesive groups talk positively about their group and its members. Third, cohesive groups have greater influence over their members and pressure them to conform. Fourth, cohesive groups’ members are more satisfied and believe that both their personal and group goals are better met compared to low-cohesion groups. Given these characteristics, it may be not surpris-ing that a general finding that emerged from study-ing various groups (including sport teams and work groups) is that cohesiveness contributes to positive group processes (e.g., sharing information) and to groups’ task performance.

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  Group Dynamics

  • Donelson Forsyth(Author)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  collective cohesion The degree to which the group unites it ’ s members, as indicated by the perceived solidar-ity of the group (entitativity) and members ’ identification with the group. C OH ES I ON A ND DE V EL OP ME NT 131 Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. connection to the group, are more likely to say “ I feel a sense of belonging to my group ” (Bollen & Hoyle, 1990), “ I think of this group as a part of who I am ” (Henry, Arrow, & Carini, 1999), and “ I see myself as a member of the group ” (Smith, Seger, & Mackie, 2007). They not only consider their group to be a single, unified entity, but they also consider themselves to be a component part of that inseparable whole. This increased identification of individuals with cohesive groups is predicted by social identity theory (Hogg, 1992, 2001). When a group is highly cohesive, members ’ identities will be based more on their membership in that group rather than their own personal, unique qualities. In consequence, their sense of self will become depersonalized: They will view themselves and their fellow members as relatively interchangeable parts of the whole, and their sense of membership in the group will become more important to them than their personal relationships with specific group members.

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  Teamwork and the Bottom Line

  Groups Make A Difference

  • Ned Rosen(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  CHAPTER 4

  HOW GROUPS AFFECT THEIR MEMBERS

  Groups can be strong, binding agents that help to hold a labor force together. They also can be reservoirs of potential energy which, if properly harnessed, can be of great benefit to any organization. But if they are improperly treated or left entirely to their own devices, they can develop organizationally damaging behavior patterns and attitudes.

  People think and act differently as group members than as individuals. Because groups influence the behavior, attitudes, and motives of their members, it’s important for managers to understand how and why that happens.

  COHESION AS THE HUMAN GLUE

  Cohesion can be defined as: “The degree to which group members feel attracted to their group and desire to remain members of it.” Cohesive groups that are attractive to their members (and usually to nonmembers too) have many important related characteristics. For example, most highly cohesive groups also seem to carry out their activities and interpersonal relations with “vim, vigor and enthusiasm.”1 These features often are referred to as indicators of high “morale.” Morale, in other words, is a group phenomenon.2

  Just as societal groups have cultural traditions, task groups also have patterns of collective feelings and beliefs that are passed along to new members. Task groups become points of reference, strongly influencing the way their members view themselves in relation to the organization or society at large. The members use the group’s standards or comparison points when making judgments and evaluations.3

  CONFORMITY PRESSURES - GOOD OR BAD?

  Such group pressures for uniformity serve valuable functions. They help the group to accomplish its goals and to maintain itself, and help the members develop a source of reinforcement of their opinions -- to create for them a social reality. By helping members to define their relations to their social surroundings, the group makes it easier to coordinate members’ actions.

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  Teamwork and the Bottom Line

  Groups Make A Difference

  • Ned Rosen, Ned Rosen, Ned Rosen(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Psychology Press

    (Publisher)

  CHAPTER 4

  HOW GROUPS AFFECT THEIR MEMBERS

  Groups can be strong, binding agents that help to hold a labor force together. They also can be reservoirs of potential energy which, if properly harnessed, can be of great benefit to any organization. But if they are improperly treated or left entirely to their own devices, they can develop organizationally damaging behavior patterns and attitudes.

  People think and act differently as group members than as individuals. Because groups influence the behavior, attitudes, and motives of their members, it's important for managers to understand how and why that happens.

  COHESION AS THE HUMAN GLUE

  Cohesion can be defined as: “The degree to which group members feel attracted to their group and desire to remain members of it.” Cohesive groups that are attractive to their members (and usually to nonmembers too) have many important related characteristics. For example, most highly cohesive groups also seem to carry out their activities and interpersonal relations with “vim, vigor and enthusiasm.”1 These features often are referred to as indicators of high “morale.” Morale, in other words, is a group phenomenon.2

  Just as societal groups have cultural traditions, task groups also have patterns of collective feelings and beliefs that are passed along to new members. Task groups become points of reference, strongly influencing the way their members view themselves in relation to the organization or society at large. The members use the group's standards or comparison points when making judgments and evaluations.3

  CONFORMITY PRESSURES – GOOD OR BAD?

  Such group pressures for uniformity serve valuable functions. They help the group to accomplish its goals and to maintain itself, and help the members develop a source of reinforcement of their opinions – to create for them a social reality. By helping members to define their relations to their social surroundings, the group makes it easier to coordinate members' actions.

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  Encyclopedia of Group Processes and Intergroup Relations

  • John M Levine, Michael A. Hogg, John M. Levine, Michael Hogg(Authors)
  • 2009(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications, Inc

    (Publisher)

  Finally, cohesion is affective. In 1995, Roy Baumeister and Mark Leary proposed that humans have a fundamental need to affiliate—that people need frequent interpersonal contact with others in situations characterized by stability and affective concern. Membership in any group satisfies the affiliation need. Cohesion certainly provides a “feel good” property to groups. Lack of cohesion, in contrast, contributes to feelings of anxiety, depression, and alienation. 317 Group Cohesiveness Carron and his colleagues also proposed a con-ceptual model of cohesion. A foundation for that model is that each group member develops beliefs about the group as a whole (i.e., the similarity, closeness, and bonding among members), as well as about the group’s ability to satisfy personal needs. The former beliefs are labeled group inte-gration; the latter are labeled individual attractions to the group. Carron and his colleagues suggested that there are two fundamental orientations associated with group members’ perceptions of cohesion: (1) a task orientation, which represents a general motivation to achieve the group’s instrumental objectives and (2) a social orientation, which represents a general motivation to develop and maintain social relation-ships and activities within the group. Consequently, four manifestations of cohesiveness were suggested: group integration–task, group integration–social, individual attractions to the group–task, and indi-vidual attractions to the group–social. The Development of Cohesiveness How and when does cohesiveness form in groups? This question can be examined using the minimal group paradigm. In this paradigm, strangers are assigned to groups randomly and then informed that they share some trivial characteristic (e.g., a preference for one artist over another). Immediately, this shared characteristic leads to bonding (a sense of unity) and “group members” begin to exhibit ingroup favoritism and outgroup bias.

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  Team Cohesion

  Advances in Psychological Theory, Methods and Practice

  • Eduardo Salas, Armando X. Estrada, William B. Vessey, Eduardo Salas, Armando X. Estrada, William B. Vessey(Authors)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Emerald Group Publishing Limited

    (Publisher)

  conceptually related but distinct facets that include interpersonal and group belongingness; and social and task elements of cohesion. Furthermore, we specify that these elemental facets occur both horizon-tally (among individuals with similar standing within groups) and verti-cally (among individuals with different standing within the groups). We discuss advantages and disadvantages of our framework and conclude with implications for research and practice. Keywords: Cohesion; structure; function; affective; instrumental Contemporary research and theory on the study of groups and group dynamics have long ago noted that cohesion is among the most important characteristics of high-functioning groups ( Beal, Cohen, Burke, & McLendon, 2003 ; Evans & Dion, 2012 ; Rosh, Offermann, & Van Diest, 2012 ). A large body of evidence has shown that cohesion accrues many benefits for individual group members, the group itself, and the larger orga-nizational entity to which the individuals and group belongs ( Wendt, Euwema, & Hetty van Emmerik, 2009 ). Cohesion has been linked to enhanced team motivation and effort ( Greene, 1989 ), increased job and team satisfaction ( Ahronson & Cameron, 2009 ; Dobbins & Zaccaro, 1986 ; Walsh, Matthews, Tuller, Parks, & McDonald, 2010 ), enhanced team learning ( Mullen & Copper, 1994 ), increased individual well-being ( Bliese & Halverson, 1996 ), and improved group performance (Beal et al., 2003; Evans & Dion, 2012 ) to name but a few examples from this rich literature. The benefits of cohesion on individual and group functioning are so ubiquitous that successful performance has often been attributed to the cohesive bonds shared among individual group members.

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