Group Structure

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• Structure
• norms
• roles

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• Structure
• norms
• roles
• intermember
• relations

Emergent (self-organizing) and/or deliberately
designed
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What Are Norms?

• Norms Consensual and often implicit standards
  that describe what behaviors should and should
  not be performed in a given context.

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Development of Norms

• Sherifs studies of the development of norms in
  groups
• Convergence in actions, thoughts, and emotions
  occurs over time

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Sherif's (1936) autokinetic effect studies
Judged distance a dot of light moved in a
darkened room
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Autokinetic effect the stationary dot of light
will seem to move
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What if people make their judgments with others,
and state estimates aloud?
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Average distance estimates
Alone
Group Session 1
Group Session 3
Group Session 2
Conformity! Initially, they differ but over
trials, they converge
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Do Norms Sometimes Take on a life of their own?
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X
Confederate
Average distance estimates
Person B
Person C
Alone
Group Session 1
Group Session 3
Group Session 2
Sherif put in a confederate in some groups who
made exaggerated distance judgments others
conformed
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Person B
Person C
Average distance estimates
Person D
Group Session 4
Group Session 1
Group Session 3
Group Session 2
Even when the confederate was replaced, the norm
remained
New member
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Person C
Person D
Average distance estimates
Person F
Group Session 4
Group Session 1
Group Session 3
Group Session 2
The exaggerated norm lasted for many
generations of replacements
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• Sherifs studies of the development of norms in
  groups
• - Members often internalize these consensual
  standards
• - Result norms are self-generating and stable

• Examples
• Eating disorders in groups (binging, purging,
  excessive exercise)
• Alcohol use on college campuses (Perkins and
  social norm interventions)

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What Are Roles?

• Roles The types of behaviors expected of
  individuals who occupy particular positions
  within the group (e.g., roles in a play)
• Independent of individuals
• Flexible, to an extent
• Structure interaction, create patterns of action

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What Are Roles?

• Role differentiation The emergence and
  patterning of role-related actions
• Task roles pertain to the work of the group
• Relationship roles pertain to relations among
  members.
• Roles tend to become specialized over time
• Task and relationship role demands tend to be
  incompatible with one another

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What Are Roles?

• Moreland and Levine's group socialization theory
• Types of members prospective, new, full,
  marginal, and former (ex-member)
• Phases investigation, socialization,
  maintenance, resocialization, and remembrance
• Processes recruitment/reconnaissance,
  accommodation/assimilation, role negotiation,
  tradition/reminiscence
• Transition points entry, acceptance, divergence,
  exit

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What Are Roles?

• Role stress
• Role ambiguity
• Role conflict (interrole conflict and intrarole
  conflict)
• Role fit

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What Are Status Networks?

• Status network Stable pattern of variations in
  authority and power

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What Are Status Networks?

• Status differentiation
• Competition for status (pecking orders)
• Perceptions of status
• Expectation-states theory diffuse and specific
  status characteristics

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What Are Status Networks?

• Status generalization when irrelevant
  characteristics influence status allocation
• Minorities, solos denied status
• Online groups and the status equalization effect

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What Are Attraction Networks?

• Attraction network (sociometric structure)
  Stable patterns of liking-disliking

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What Are Attraction Networks?

• Sociometric differentiation
• Types of group members stars, rejected,
  neglected
• Features reciprocity, transitivity, homophily
  (clusters)
• Heider's balance theory likes and dislikes are
  balanced

A
A
A

-
-



B
C
B
C
B
C

-

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What Are Attraction Networks?

• What factors predict sociometric standing?
• Having socially attractive qualities (e.g.,
  cooperativeness or physical appeal)
• Person-group fit

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What Are Communication Networks?

• Communication network formal and informal paths
  that define who speaks to whom most frequently

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What Are Communication Networks?

• Types wheel, comcon, chain, circle
• Centralized vs. uncentralized

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What Are Communication Networks?

• Network and location in the network influences
  many processes
• Information saturation centralized networks are
  most efficient unless information overload
• Individuals who occupy more central positions are
  more influential (and more satisfied) than those
  located at the periphery.
• Hierarchical networks and information flow More
  information flows downward and unrealistically
  positive information flows upward