TWELVE ANGRY MEN
A Paper/Exam
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer any 3 of the 6 questions below. Answers must be no longer
than 2 pages per question. Points will be deducted for any answer that exceeds the
maximum length. This assignment must be TYPED, double-spaced with standard
margins (about 350 words per page). Each group member must answer the individual
accountability question separately.
1. Analyze jury deliberations in terms of the primary power resources. Concentrate on
4-5 key members of the jury depicted in the movie. Explain the influence of each key
member on the final outcome of the deliberations by focusing on each member’s
power resources (e.g., information, expertise, etc.).
2. There are several instances of defiance depicted in the movie. Identify which jury
members were defiant and in what ways they were defiant. Discuss each of these
instances of defiance in terms of the 4 strategies groups typically employ to
extinguish defiance.
3. There is much conflict dramatized in this movie. Discuss the conflict by applying the
5 communication styles of conflict management (e.g., collaborating, accommodating,
etc.). Identify jurors and the conflict styles they utilized. Concentrate on 4-5 jurors.
What were the results of using the styles?
4. What negotiation strategy (i.e., tit-for-tat, hard bargaining, principled negotiation,
etc.) did Henry Fonda use? Explain. What negotiation strategies did other jurors
(choose 4) use and how did Henry deal with those jurors who used these strategies?
5. Did the jury in this movie arrive at a true consensus? Explain and defend your
answer in terms of the criteria constituting a true consensus.
6. Identify significant inferences made by members of the jury. Were the inferences
faulty? Explain. Did the jury engage in collective inferential error?
INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY QUESTION
(if exam taken as a group):
Discuss roles and leadership depicted in the movie. Which informal roles were
exhibited? By whom? With what results? Did leadership emerge according to the normal
pattern in small groups? Explain. Was leadership effective? Which leadership styles
were used? Which were effective and why?
THE DREAM TEAM
The Dream Team is an alternative to the Twelve Angry Men essay exam. This is a very
entertaining and amusing film that exhibits a wide variety of small group communication
processes.
INSTRUCTIONS: As a group, answer three (3) of the questions below. Maximum
length for each answer per question is TWO (2) typed pages (about 700 words). NOTE:
typing is mandatory. No exceptions.
1. Apply the communication competence model to the group depicted in the movie.
Discuss whether each group member’s communication is relatively proficient or
deficient. Provide details from the movie to support your analysis.
2. Discuss explicit and implicit norms exhibited by the Dream Team. Were norms
violated? If norms were violated, how did the group and outsiders respond? Did
norm violation (deviance) result in any/all of the typical ways groups respond to
nonconformity? Explain and provide examples.
3. A group is a system. Explain how this statement is true in terms of the Dream Team.
Discuss interconnectedness, adaptability to change, and influence of size. Was there
group synergy? Explain.
4. Discuss the Dream Team in terms of conflict management communication styles.
Which styles were used by whom in which situations? Were they effective? Should
other styles have been used? Explain and justify.
5. Discuss defensive versus supportive communication patterns exhibited by the Dream
Team. Be specific (i.e., evaluative vs. descriptive, contro vs. problem orientation,
etc.). What were the consequences of these patterns?
6. Discuss concepts of competition, cooperation, and teamwork exhibited by the Dream
Team. Be specific and connect your analysis to the research on competition and
cooperation.
INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY QUESTION
(if exam taken as a group):
Discuss roles and leadership. Which informal roles were exhibited by members of the
Dream Team? What were the results? Did leadership emerge in the standard pattern
found in small groups? Was leadership effective? Which leadership styles were used?
Explain and defend with examples.
HOW TO TAKE A COOPERATIVE ESSAY EXAM
1. Assemble your group. One person should direct the group during the discussion of
each question.
2. Brainstorm possible responses to each question before deciding which questions to
choose for the exam.
3. One group member should record brainstorming responses for future reference.
4. Once the group has decided which three questions will be answered for the exam,
split the group into thirds. Each subgroup will work on a single question.
5. Assemble to subgroups into the full group and discuss each subgroup’s preliminary
answer. Critique the answer before a final draft is undertaken. This is a critical step.
Do not skip it.
6. One member from each subgroup will volunteer to type the final draft of the answer
for each subgroup’s question. Combine the three answers. The entire group should
read the final draft before turning it in to make certain that there are no mistakes. If
mistakes are found, make corrections, include on the final draft the names of all
group members who participated actively in the process, and turn in the exam.
7. NOTE: the group may vote to exclude any group member who did not pull his or her
weight in the process of answering the questions. Exclusion, however, will not occur
if the group is split. This must be a unanimous decision from all members (excluding
the person in question). If a group member is excluded from the group’s final paper,