SMALL GROUP EXAM III
(Cooperative)
Names: (Signatures of members)
I. Choose the correct answer or answers for each statement. There may be as many as 4
correct answers for each statement.
A. Confirmation bias is the psychological predisposition to
1. ignore information that contradicts our beliefs
2. distort information that confirms our beliefs
3. seek information that agrees with our beliefs
4. seek information that contradicts our beliefs
B. You want to prevent groupthink from becoming a problem in your group. To do
this you should
1. recognize when groupthink occurs
2. increase status differences among group members
3. seek information that supports an emerging agreement among members
4. develop a norm in the group that legitimizes disagreement
C. You can combat false dichotomies in your group by
1. employing the language of qualification
2. seeking confirming information and evidence
3. vigorously presenting disconfirming evidence to the group
4. being suspicious of absolute statements
D. Group discussion promotes higher quality decision-making when
1. the validity of inferences are carefully examined
2. inferences are grounded in valid information
3. at least one member of the group exerts influence to guide the group toward
higher quality decisions
4. group members draw conclusions about frequency and probabilities of events
on the basis of information that is readily available in our memory
E. Individualist and collectivist cultures differ in their preferred approach to conflict
management in which of the following ways?
1. Collectivist cultures favor accommodating; individualist cultures favor
collaborating
2. Collectivist cultures favor power-forcing; individualist cultures favor avoiding
3. Collectivist cultures favor compromising; individualist cultures favor
confrontation
4. Collectivist cultures favor avoiding; individualist cultures favor power-forcing
style
F. The power-forcing style of conflict management
1. should never be used to resolve conflicts
2. places primary emphasis on the task dimension and little focus on the social
dimension of groups
3. is an assertive style
4. should be the style of last resort
G. Information becomes a power resource when
1. it is readily available to the group
2. it is scarce
3. it is restricted
4. it is complex
H. Expertise is a power resource when
1. the person is viewed as a real expert
2. the person demonstrates trustworthiness
3. the person knows how to use the information to accomplish a goal
4. the person is charismatic
I. Constructive and destructive anger can be distinguished from each other by which
of the following variables?
1. Reciprocation of the anger
2. Asymmetry of the anger
3. Duration of the anger
4. Intensity of the anger
J. Steps involved in finding integrative solutions to conflicts of interest include
1. determining whether a real conflict exists
2. making a clear statement of issues and goals
3. sticking to goals but remaining flexible regarding the means of attaining them
4. conceding on high-priority issues if stalemated
K. You have had a heated disagreement with members of your study group. Emotions
are raw, and feelings have been hurt. You approach your group after a brief silence:
“I’m sorry I attacked you like that. I got angry and said things I didn’t mean.” This
is an example of the collaborating tactic called
1. integration
2. confrontation
3. bridging
4. smoothing
L. One of the members of your project group doesn’t know how to navigate the
Internet to do research for the group project. When group members offer to teach
her some simple ways to use the Internet, she appears to be interested, but never
pays much attention to instructions given by other members and consistently makes
simple errors whenever trying to use the Internet with guidance from others. She
actually hopes that eventually she’ll be given other duties because teaching her to
use the Internet is just too labor intensive and time consuming for other group
members. She doesn’t feel comfortable telling the group directly that she won’t learn
to use the Internet because that might get her ostracized by the group. Instead, she
pretends to try to learn but never seems to grasp how to use it. This is an example of
1. a defiance strategy
2. a resistance strategy
3. strategic stupidity strategy
4. loss of motor function strategy
M. Which of the following is a basic element of principled negotiation?
1. Separating the people from the problem
2. Negotiating positions, not interests
3. Generating a variety of options
4. Using objective standards to weigh merits and demerits of a proposal
N. As group leader, you are anxious to produce change in several areas. Before
attempting to implement changes, you should consider primary factors that
produce resistance to change, such as
1. Changes are less likely to be accepted when the need for change affects
individuals directly
2. Changes are less likely to be accepted when group members have had a part
in decision-making
3. Changes are less likely when they threaten the security of group members
4. Changes in groups are less likely when the changes are not open to revision
and modification
O. You want to determine by observation who has the most power in a group. The
first place to begin is with general indicators of power, such as
1. the more powerful define the less powerful
2. who opposes significant change
3. whose decisions are followed
4. who claims to have authority
P. True group consensus requires
1. commitment to the group decision
2. member satisfaction with the decision-making process
3. a super-majority of at least 75% of the group members
4. member satisfaction with participation in decision-making
Q. “Our meeting, uhm, ah, will be at 8:30 tomorrow evening, okay? That isn’t a
problem, is it?” This is an example of
1. hedging
2. tag questions
3. hesitating
4. disclaimer
R. Majority rule may be advantageous when
1. issues are not very important
2. decisions must be made relatively quickly
3. commitment of all members to the final decision is important
4. satisfaction with the group process is important
S. Assertiveness is
1. a generally constructive aggressive trait
2. the ability to communicate the full range of thoughts and feelings in whatever
way we choose
3. an empowering skill
4. always appropriate for any situation
II. Identify each statement as TRUE or FALSE. For each FALSE answer, provide a
reason explaining why it is false.
A. Despite wishing otherwise, some group members can be totally powerless and
unable to affect a group in any way.
B. Participation from all group members during group discussions should always be
encouraged
C. Principled negotiation is a form of positional bargaining.
D. Effective group decision-making requires analysis and understanding of a
problem before members search for solutions.
E. Assertiveness is primarily a strategy of resistance.
F. All conflicts of interest and disagreements should be confronted in order to
resolve them.
G. In general, compromise is the least effective conflict management style.
H. Pattern recognition is potentially the most effective means of coping with
information overload.
I. Avoiding/withdrawal may be a useful conflict style in some instances.
J. Bridging and expanding the pie are forms of compromise.
K. Punishment can be a powerful means of influencing behavior of group members
if used often and together with rewards.
L. “A station KBNR call-in survey found that 66% of the 1,200 callers opposed
raising property taxes to finance school budget deficits.” This is an
unrepresentative sample.
M. Cultures vary in their attitudes concerning the appropriateness of power
imbalances. This variation is called the conformity-obedience dimension.
N. The most fundamental lesson of the Milgram studies is that when the destructive
effects of people’s behavior become clear and when individuals are ordered by
authority figures to carry out actions that are viewed as objectionable, most
individuals will defy legitimate authority figures.
O. Whenever a group member arrives late to a meeting it is an example of the
tactical tardiness resistance strategy.
P. Inferences are educated guesses about the known based on the unknown.
Q. A consistent relationship between two variables is called a dichotomy.
R. “I don’t understand. Please explain what you mean” is a statement typical of a high–
context communication style.
SMALL GROUP EXAM III
(Individual)
Name:_____________________
I. Choose the correct answer or answers for each statement. There may be as many as 4
correct answers for each question.
A. The forms of power include
1. prevention
2. empowerment
3. management
4. dominance
B. The Milgram studies on “Obedience” demonstrate that
1. a shocking number of individuals are sadistic
2. most individuals will defy authority and refuse to obey objectionable orders
3. individuals are inclined to obey legitimate authority
4. obedience is a strong power resource
C. You defy the group on an important issue. The group reaction to your defiance
will likely be influenced by which of the following?
1. Significance of the norm that is defied
2. Degree of deviation from the norm
3. Degree of certainty that the defiance is not simply unintended noncompliance
4. How passive the defiant member is
D. Which of the following is a significant disadvantage of majority rule in group
decision-making?
1. Group deliberations/discussions are too long
2. Minorities are unprotected from the tyranny of the majority
3. The quality of the group’s decisions may suffer
4. Decisions may be hasty
E. Rules for discussion when groups seek a consensus include
1. introducing conflict-suppressing techniques such as voting in order to
maintain harmony in the group
2. avoiding switching positions simply to sidestep conflict
3. seeking differences of opinion
4. accepting agreement among members as valid even if it has occurred with
little struggle
F. Constructive participation in group decision-making can be increased by
1. making issues and problems relevant to the interests of low-participators
2. giving low-participators no responsibility for tasks
3. establishing a system of accountability
4. valuing the contributions of low participators
II. Identify each statement as TRUE or FALSE. For each FALSE answer, provide a
reason that explains why it is false. Each question is worth 4 points
A. Specialization is a pattern recognition means of screening information in order to
cope with information overload.
B. Whenever a group member puts off completing a task necessary for the group to
function effectively it is a clear instance of the purposeful procrastination
resistance strategy.
C. The hard bargainer negotiation strategy is characterized by the bargainer acting
tough on interests but easy on positions.
D. Blowing off steam is an effective method for managing one’s anger because it
vents the anger and keeps it from building to an explosive level.
E. A false dichotomy is either-or thinking where we view the world in terms of
opposites when clearly there are more than two opposing possibilities.
F. A group has to display all the symptoms of groupthink in order to experience the
poor quality decisions and unfortunate consequences that accompany groupthink.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
Multiple-Choice
A. Which of the following is a valid statement about correlations?
4. Correlations link causal statements into dichotomies
B. Power is
4. avoidable in most human transactions
C. Which of the following is an advantage of the consensus decision-making process?
4. It takes relatively little time to achieve a consensus
D. Which of the following is a consequence of information overload?
E. Strategic stupidity is a type of
1. defiance strategy
F. Standard Agenda includes the following steps:
1. Problem-solution integration
G. The following can be said of creativity and problem solving:
1. Creativity is more inspiration than perspiration
H. Which of the following is a key component of the collaborative style of conflict
management?
I. Groupthink is a process whereby
1. group members get together and think up solutions to problems
True/False
A. Effective decision-making groups normally engage in creative exploration of
C. Effective brainstorming should begin with individual brainstorming on a clearly
defined issue or problem, then group brainstorming, followed by another individual
D. Information underload is usually a problem of too much opening in a system.
E. Standard Agenda is the most complete, flexible, and time-tested group problem-
F. Faulty inferential leaps are more likely when the issues are emotionally charged.
H. A glut of information makes it very difficult to ascertain useless from useful
