A First Look At Communication Theory, 10e (Griffin)
Chapter 17 Functional Perspective on Group Decision Making
1) Which of the following is NOT a requisite function of effective decision making?
A) problem analysis
B) goal setting
C) appropriate questioning
D) identification of alternatives
2) Identify the word that refers to the question of which of the four requisite functions is most
important in order for a group to maximize the probability of a high-quality decision.
A) minding
B) flaming
C) hedging
D) prioritizing
3) Which of the following is NOT included in Hirokawa and Gouran’s list of types of
communication in decision-making groups?
A) promotive
B) collegial
C) disruptive
D) counteractive
4) According to Hirokawa and Gouran, most comments from group members:
A) focus on analyzing the central problem.
B) focus on goals and solutions.
C) disrupt rather than promote progress toward the goal.
D) overestimate the difficulties in decision making.
5) Hirokawa and Gouran are particularly wary of:
A) over rationalizing the decision-making process.
B) neglecting the historical and institutional functions.
C) gut feelings unsupported by reasonable evidence.
D) groups whose tasks have positive biases.
6) John Dewey’s reflective thinking:
A) helps us get in touch with our inner child.
B) can be a hindrance to decision making in large groups.
C) is anti-pragmatic in its orientation.
D) parallels a doctor’s approach to treating a patient.
7) Jürgen Habermas is convinced that the validity of any ethical consensus can be reached only
to the extent that three requirements are met. In this context, which of the following best
describes the requirement for argument?
A) Everyone advances their own interests rather than figure out whether an action serves the
common good.
B) Everyone is committed to a standard of universalization.
C) All people affected by the ethical norm being debated are likely to attend and be heard,
regardless of their status.
D) All participants are expected to exchange their points of view in the spirit of genuine
reciprocity and mutual understanding.
8) According to the functional perspective, a low-status member of a group:
A) can have only a limited impact on decision making.
B) usually emphasizes the positive rather than the negative qualities of alternatives.
C) should insist on a careful process in order to influence the final decision.
D) usually depends on the status quo.
9) Stohl and Holmes contend that most real-life groups:
A) follow the functional approach.
B) have a prior decision-making history and are embedded within a larger organization.
C) include a combination of promotive, disruptive, and counteractive utterances.
D) have trouble staying on track and setting goals.
10) The term ________ was introduced by Cynthia Stohl and her colleague, Linda Putnam, to
refer to intact groups with stable, yet permeable boundaries and interdependent with their
immediate context.
A) “mythos”
B) “hunch”
C) “bona fide group”
D) “reference group”
11) Hirokawa and Gouran repeatedly state that goal setting is the most important function in
group decision making.
12) Ivan Steiner claimed that actual group productivity equals potential productivity minus losses
due to processes.
13) Hirokawa regards group discussion as an instrument that group members use to create the
social reality in which decisions are made.
14) Randy Hirokawa discovered that the groups that successfully resolve especially difficult
problems usually take extremely diverse decision-making paths.
15) Counteractive communication is used by group members to move the group back on track.
16) Dewey’s pragmatism was based on the hopeful assumption that practical decisions can be
brought under more intelligent control through the process of rational inquiry.
17) Hirokawa and Gouran’s four requisite functions are almost exact replicas of steps 2, 3, 4, and
5 in Dewey’s reflective-thinking process.
18) In bona fide groups, most participants are strangers and refrain from having relationships
with each other outside the group.
19) For Hirokawa and Gouran, goal setting must occur first in the process of group decision
making.
20) ________ is defined as a prescriptive approach that describes and predicts task-group
performance when four communication functions are fulfilled.
21) A meta-analysis of 60 empirical research studies on the functional perspective concludes that
of the four functions, ________ is by far the most crucial to ensure a quality decision.
22) ________ is defined as a discourse on ethical accountability in which discussants represent
all who will be affected by the decision, pursue discourse in a spirit of seeking the common
good, and are committed to finding universal standards.
23) Outline the requisite functions of effective decision making. Are there any cases in which
one might be more important than the others? Explain.
24) According to the functional perspective, what is the role of communication in the decision-
making process?
25) Discuss the principal critiques of the functional perspective.
26) Discuss your experience in a decision-making group. Does the functional perspective shed
light on the process? If you knew then what you now know, would your participation in the
group’s deliberation have been different? Were there important aspects of the experience that
Hirokawa and Gouran’s theory did not address?
27) In both general and specific terms, what are the strengths and weaknesses of a theoretical
approach such as the functional perspective?
28) Have you ever been a member of a group that had to address a task that had a positive or
negative bias? Explain how this condition affected decision making.
29) Is the functional perspective a good scientific theory? Explain if it can be falsified.
30) How does a theoretical approach such as the functional perspective compare to theories such
as Pearce and Cronen’s coordinated management of meaning?
31) How does Petty and Cacioppo’s concept of elaboration compare to Habermas’s ideal speech
situation?