Chapter 9: Group Communication

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Chapter 9 Group Communication

• COM 4480 Communication Theory
• April 2, 2007

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Small Group Communication

• Groupthink

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Small Group Communication

• Groupthink
• A mode of thinking that people engage in
• when they are ________________________
• ___________________
• and when the members _________________ override
  their motivation to _________________
• ______________________________________

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Small Group Communication

• Groupthink
• What causes groupthink?
• Structural Factors
• Situational Factors

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Small Group Communication

• Groupthink
• Symptoms of Groupthink
• Sense of ________________________
• Sense of ________________________
• Collective _______________________
• ______________________
• ______________________
• Illusion of ______________
• Pressure to _____________
• _______________________

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Small Group Communication

• Groupthink
• How to avoid Groupthink
• Leadership
• Group Structure
• Outside Input

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Small Group Communication

• Groupthink
• Strengths
• High _____________________
• Limitations

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9
Small Group Communication

• Symbolic Convergence Theory
• Ernest Bormann
• Fantasy
• The creative and imaginative interpretation of
  events that fulfills a psychological or
  rhetorical need.
• Fantasies Chain Out
• Marked by
• Fantasy Theme

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Small Group Communication

• Symbolic Convergence Theory
• What do these fantasy themes do?
• By sharing common fantasies, a collection of
  individuals is transformed into
  ____________________.
• Through this _____________________, we build a
  sense of _________________________________________
  _.
• When many groups share these fantasy themes, they
  have a rhetorical vision.

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Small Group Communication

• Symbolic Convergence Theory
• Strengths
• Moves communication beyond information
  transmission. Communication is the vehicle
  through which people turn into groups.
• Weaknesses