SMALL GROUP EXAM II
(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. Each question is worth 4 points.
A. Role emergence involves
1. role fixation
2. endorsement by the group of a member’s bid to play a role
3. role reversal
4. role specialization
B. You want to emerge as leader of a group. To be successful you should
1. express strong opinions on subjects of group interest
2. accept accountability for your actions
3. manifest conformity to the group’s norms, values, and goals
4. display proper motivation to lead
C. Competition is
1. eating more hot dogs than anyone else and receiving a trophy for first place
2. trying to drink more coca-cola in one minute in front of a cheering crowd
than you’ve ever done before
3. scoring the highest you’ve ever scored on a biology test and receiving an
award
4. individuals working as a design team to solve a challenging problem
D. Research supports the following conclusions about competition:
1. Competition builds self-esteem for most participants
2. Competition encourages cheating and dishonesty
3. Competition diminishes achievement and performance for most individuals
4. Competition among group members typically enhances group cohesiveness
E. You are a newcomer in a group. During group discussions, members talk a great
deal and listen to each other. When you try to contribute, however, you are
ignored or given polite silence. Group members are clearly displaying
1. provisionalism
2. strategic communication
3. indifference
4. direct communication
F. Psychological reactance occurs when
1. someone verbally attacks us and we verbally counterattack
2. group members change the subject even though you clearly want to continue
discussing the topic
3. group members respond to you the way you communicate with them: praise
elicits praise and criticism provokes criticism
4. the more someone tries to control us, the more we are inclined to resist such
efforts, even do what we are told not to do
G. Someone in your study group plays the harmonizer-tension reliever role. This
means that she
1. engages in horseplay and diverts attention from the group task
2. clarifies ideas for the group
3. maintains peace; uses gentle humor
4. gently challenges prevailing points of view in the group
H. The Robbers Cave experiment involving 11- and 12-year-old boys during a
camping experience showed that
1. competitive events between teams promote understanding and enjoyment
2. bringing the two teams together for activities (e.g., eating) reduced the
intergroup friction
3. establishing superordinate goals promotes cooperation between groups
4. the best way to promote cooperation within a group is to create an outside
enemy that threatens the group
I. The situational leadership model includes which of the following leadership
styles: 1. Laissez-faire style
2. Participative style
3. Readiness style
4. Delegating style
J. You are the only woman in a group of five members. Even though you are in an
otherwise all-male group, you can improve your chances of emerging as leader of
the group by
1. emphasizing task-relevant communication
2. being the first to speak on discussion issues
3. exhibiting skillful communicator
4. being highly aggressive during discussions
K. Which of the following are valid conclusions, based on research, about the traits
perspective on leadership?
1. The traits perspective provides great insight regarding what makes great
leaders
2. Physical attractiveness and sociability virtually guarantee that a group leader
will be effective
3. Some traits may be necessary but not sufficient for an emergent leader to be
effective
4. Traits that help a leader be effective in one context may not help him/her be
effective in another context
L. Based on leadership research, the following conclusions are supported:
1. Leaders are born not made
2. The democratic or participative leadership style should be chosen over the
autocratic or directive style
3. Certain traits determine who will emerge as a leader and who will be an
effective leader
4. Effective leaders adapt to changing situations, using styles flexibly
M. Which of the following clearly qualify as teams according to the distinctions
between standard small groups and teams provided in the text?
1. Twenty homeowners debating revisions of their homeowners’ association
rules
2. A cheerleading squad developing routines for a national cheerleading
competition
3. A group of friends playing golf
4. A jury deliberating a criminal case
N. Which of the following are effective ways to establish a team identity?
1. Wear uniforms
1. Identify individual team members who make mistakes and blame them for
team failure as a motivating technique to improve overall team performance
2. Give awards to individual team members who score the most points for the
athletic team or who sell the most products on a sales team
3. Use terms such as “we” and “us” and avoid terms such as “they” or “them”
O. Team empowerment can be maximized by
1. fostering individual autonomy: individual members’ freedom to make choices
for the team
1. team members expressing optimistic “can do” attitudes
2. establishing a hierarchy of decision-making so all team members know
clearly who makes the decisions for the team
3. allowing teams to make recommendations for improvements to those in
authority
P. Disadvantage/s of working in virtual teams include
1. diversity of team membership may produce misunderstandings and perceived
insults
2. power differences among team members are more pronounced
3. outbursts of anger are more likely than in standard in-person groups
4. team identity is difficult to establish
Q. The following are maintenance roles in a group:
1. Supporter-encourager
2. Zealot
3. Harmonizer
4. Initiator-contributor
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. You join a group of highly experienced and technically skilled members whose
task is to produce creative solutions to complex technical problems. Such
experience and technical know-how virtually assures that this will be a very
effective team.
B. A shift response is a type of interrupting that seizes the floor during conversation.
C. Role fixation occurs when a group member spends a lot of time thinking about
how much he or she would like to play a specific informal role.
D. Small zero-history groups typically select a leader by a process of elimination.
E. “I feel embarrassed when you act silly during serious discussions in our project
group” is a good example of using “first–person singular language.”
F. All cultures are highly competitive because competition comes naturally to
humans.
G. You communicate via e-mail with two friends in another country. This is an
example of a virtual team.
H. Role conflict is defined as two group members engaged in argument.
I. As the challenge increases, the need for teamwork decreases.
J. Of the two functional viewpoints of leadership: the “leader as completer” and the
“vital functions” perspectives: the “vital functions” viewpoint has more merit.
K. A strong ego is a critical characteristic of an effective team member.
L. The attitude that most destroys teamwork and team effectiveness is cynicism.
M. The basic structure of all teams is collaborative interdependence.
N. A team should establish as many goals as it can, the more goals the better, to be
sufficiently challenged and effective.
O. Roles for team members should not be designated if a team is expected to be
effective. Team members should be allowed to choose roles that they feel best
suited to play.
P. Quality circles have proved to be effective examples of self-managing work
teams.
Q. Paraphrasing is an example of a competitive listening skill.
SMALL GROUP EXAM II
(Individual)
Name:___________________
I. Choose the correct answer or answers for each statement. There may be as
many as 4 correct answers for each statement. Each question is worth 4 points.
A. Cooperation is structured into groups by
1. Urgent pleas and encouragement from group members
2. Interdependent division of labor and resources
3. Individual accountability
4. Limited rewards distributed to a small percentage of group members who
demonstrate the most merit
B. A hidden agenda is an example of
1. an evaluative communication pattern
2. a neutral or indifferent communication pattern
3. a superiority pattern of communication
4. a strategic communication pattern
C. Which of the following is a qualification for retaining leadership in a group?
1. Demonstrate competence as a leader
2. Accept accountability for your actions
3. Satisfy group members’ expectations
4. Display proper motivation to lead
D. The Stanford Prison study showed
1. the potent power of roles on perception and behavior
2. role conflict among the “prisoners”
3. the effects of role reversal
4. students who played “guards” were psychologically unfit to play such a role
E. Which of the following are valid conclusions based on research about the
situational perspective on leadership effectiveness?
1. No single style of leadership will be effective in all situations
2. When the readiness level of followers is low, the participating and delegating
styles are most appropriate
3. Using the telling style with an able and talented veteran worker will seem like
micromanaging and will likely produce resentment
4. When the readiness level of followers is high, the participating and
delegating styles are most appropriate
F. Impediments (obstacles) to team empowerment include
1. team-based, not individually-based reward systems
2. insufficient structural support for teams within an organization
3. a hierarchical decision-making process
4. team leaders who do not fully embrace self-managing teams
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. The central overriding point regarding leadership in small groups is that
leadership is a matter of choosing the participative (democratic) style of
leadership rather than the directive (autocratic) style.
B. In conflict situations, women are usually less competitive than men.
C. Devil’s advocate is a self-centered/disruptive group role.
D. Competitive patterns of communication in small groups are always incompetent
communication.
E. Hierarchy is the enemy of team empowerment.
F. Teams usually require a formal designation of member roles.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
Multiple-Choice
A. If you want to become leader of a small group, avoid
B. Leadership
4. is determined exclusively on the basis of outcomes
C. Virtual teams differ from conventional teams. With virtual teams
4. communication is synchronous—dependent on real time, live transaction
D. If you want to become leader of a small group, avoid
E. Effective team leaders
True/False
A. Provisionalism counteracts the defensive communication pattern called control.
C. The glass ceiling is an invisible barrier of subtle discrimination that excludes women
G. A group charge is the task of the team, such as to make decisions about improving
H. All team members wear black berets and leather vests. These serve as solidarity
I. There are two kinds of accountability in teams: individual accountability and team