Chapter 9 Communicating in Small Groups
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Chapter 9—Communicating in Small Groups
At a Glance
What Is a Small Group?
Functions of Small Groups
Joining Small Groups
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter you should be able to:
2. List and summarize the similarities of small groups.
4. Summarize the reasons we join small groups.
6. Summarize the advantages of communicating in small groups.
8. Describe strategies for joining a group and socializing new members to a group.
9. Summarize strategies for maintaining positive relationships within a group.
Chapter 9 Communicating in Small Groups
Lecture Outline
I. What Is a Small Group?
2. The size of a small group matters because most of us communicate differently
in larger and smaller collections of people.
4. A small group’s size depends on its purpose.
a. If there are too few members, the group may not have sufficient help to
C. Small groups are interdependent.
1. According to systems theory, members of small groups are interdependent in
2. Many families are highly interdependent.
3. Interdependence doesn’t necessarily mean that each member’s influence on
D. Small groups are cohesive.
2. Two types of cohesion are particularly important for small groups:
a. Task cohesion is the extent to which everyone in the group is working
together toward the same objectives.
i. Task cohesion is high when all the group members know their specific
3. When members act contrarily to the group’s goals, the group can become
dysfunctional and counterproductive.
1. Rules are explicitly stated principles for governing what members of a group
can and cannot do.
3. Nearly every small group has both rules and norms that its members are
expected to follow.
1. Most small groups have one or more collective goals or purposes.
2. Individual members of the group often take on specific roles, or patterns of
behavior that define a person’s function within a group or a larger
3. Formal and informal roles can complement each other, together creating a
1. Group identities are important because they set boundaries around the group’s
membership by defining who belongs and who doesn’t.
2. Groups express and reinforce their identity both to those in the group and to
2. Researchers have discovered four specific types of communication that
characterize small groups:
a. Problem-solving communication focuses on the details of how a small
group can accomplish its tasks.
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d. Encounter communication describes the interpersonal interactions that
occur among group members.
I. Small groups often interact online.
1. Some groups interact online because their members are located in different
cities or countries, so face-to-face communication is impractical.
3. Online groups pose challenges.
a. Individuals who interact with other group members online report being
II. Functions of Small Groups
A. Some small groups focus on discrete tasks.
1. One function of some groups is to accomplish specific assigned tasks.
3. Other groups remain in operation and simply turn their attention to the next
1. The purpose of some small groups is to discuss and evaluate particular issues
and give advice on how they should be addressed.
2. Other small groups evaluate and advise on an as-needed basis.
a. Many advertisers turn to focus groups, usually composed of 6 to 10 typical
C. Some small groups create art and ideas.
2. Other groups are charged with creating ideas instead of art.
3. Many companies and organizations use brainstorming groups, small groups of
it.
2. Other small groups provide social and emotional support for people dealing
with difficult circumstances.
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© 2018 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
1. Social networking groups allow people to meet, communicate, and get to
know each other.
2. Social networking groups are particularly common on the Internet.
a. Chat rooms allow people to communicate online in real time, via text or
3. Although some groups and chat rooms can get quite large, they often include
2. The teams organized for many athletic competitions are small groups.
3. The purpose of competitive groups is to train and practice a particular set of
2. Participating in learning groups enhances critical thinking skills, such as the
ability to analyze and evaluate ideas, and lets us contribute our own
III. Joining Small Groups
A. The first group to which most of us belong is a family.
B. Over the course of our lives, we may join and leave a wide variety of small
groups.
C. We join small groups for many reasons.
1. We join small groups because we need to belong.
a. We don’t just want to belong to social networks; we need to.
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2. We join small groups for protection.
a. Group members can take care of one another, and those who are stronger
3. We join small groups to improve our effectiveness.
a. People join small groups to improve their skills or become more effective
4. We join small groups because we feel pressure to join.
a. Although we often join small groups by choice, we sometimes join
1. Before you join: the antecedent phase
2. Deciding to join: the anticipatory phase
a. In the anticipatory phase, we make judgments about what we expect
3. Joining a group: the encounter phase
a. The encounter phase occurs the first time we meet with others as a group,
4. Accepting a group’s culture: the assimilation phase
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© 2018 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
5. Leaving a group: the exit phase
a. Membership in most small groups has a life span.
IV. Advantages and Challenges of Small Group Communication
A. Communicating in small groups has advantages.
1. Small groups provide resources.
a. Resources are assets that enable us to be productive.
2. Small groups experience synergy.
3. Small groups expose us to diversity.
a. One important advantage of participating in a small group is exposure to
ways of thinking that are different from our own.
B. Communicating in small groups poses challenges.
1. Small groups require sacrifices.
a. Belonging to a small group sometimes requires sacrifices for the benefit of
the group.
b. Besides sacrificing time, group members sometimes find that they have to
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© 2018 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
2. Small groups can experience conflict.
a. Conflicts arise when two or more parties perceive that their goals are
3. Small groups can be difficult to coordinate.
a. Finding dates and times to meet that fit everyone’s schedule can be
difficult.
V. Becoming a Better Small Group Communicator
A. Socialize new members constructively.
1. New members must be socialized into the group.
3. Adding new members to a group.
a. Recruit good members.
i. Seek potential members who will contribute to the group’s mission.
ii. Look for individuals who fit the group’s personality.
4. When the new member is you.
a. Embrace the group’s culture.
b. Acquire appropriate skills.
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© 2018 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
1. Contribute to a constructive group environment.
a. Celebrate success.
i. If a member of the group receives good news, ask that person if you
can share the news with the group.
2. Help to build group cohesion.
a. Emphasize collective goals.
i. Encourage the group to identify its shared goals clearly.
ii. Take opportunities to remind others in the group of the common goals.
b. Keep track of progress.
Chapter 9 Communicating in Small Groups
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Key Terms
antecedent phase
interdependence
Chapter 9 Communicating in Small Groups
Additional Lecture Ideas
1. Invite a representative from your college’s Student Affairs/Student Life office to provide
information about joining campus organizations, or assemble a panel of upperclassmen to
2. Assign students a service-learning project in which they study the group dynamics of a
3. If your college offers any mentoring programs, invite the coordinator(s) to speak to your
students on how they might get involved. Encourage students to take the mentoring
Chapter 9 Communicating in Small Groups
Classroom Discussion and Activity Topics
1. In pairs, ask students to brainstorm the rules and norms that have been a part of the
groups they have belonged to in the past. Reiterate the difference between a rule and a
norm, and have students share several examples. Did students feel that some of the
2. Divide the classroom into seven teams, and assign one of the seven functions of small
groups to each team. Have students brainstorm a list of potential groups that pertain
to their specific function. Ask students to present their ideas. Were any of the groups
mentioned more than once (i.e., they fit into more than one category)? Discuss how
many groups are multifunctional, meeting various needs.
a. Some small groups focus on discrete tasks.
b. Some small groups evaluate and advise.
3. Task concerns and social concerns are a part of every group. Ask students to choose
which focus they believe to be more important: getting the job done or getting along
4. The Dark Side of Communication—Working at Odds: Dysfunctional Groups. Engage
the class in a discussion of dysfunctional groups. Have students in your classroom
ever been a part of a dysfunctional group? What dysfunctional behaviors were evident
Chapter 9 Communicating in Small Groups
For Review
1. What are some small groups, and what do they do?
2. Why and how do people join small groups?
3. How can you communicate better in a small group?
Chapter 9 Communicating in Small Groups
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Pop Quiz
Multiple Choice
1. The term for the ability of group members to work together in the service of a common goal,
much as do melodies and harmonies in music, is
a. cohesion.
b. independence.
c. formal roles.
d. introversion.
2. The phase of group socialization that occurs when individual members decide to accept the
expectations for the group’s culture is the
a. anticipatory phase.
b. assimilation phase.
c. encounter phase.
d. antecedent phase.
3. While working in a group to complete a class project, Ron contributes far less than anyone
else in the group. Ron is engaging in
a. synergy.
b. role communication.
c. social loafing.
d. the need to belong.
4. Greta has been elected president of her homeowners’ association. Being president is an
example of a(n)
a. group role.
b. formal role.
c. norm.
d. informal role.
5. On a NASA flight crew, each member affected, and was affected by, every other member.
That is an example of the crew’s
a. interdependence.
b. social cohesion.
c. task communication.
d. resources.
Fill in the Blanks
6. A fan club on Facebook is a group that serves the function of _____.
Chapter 9 Communicating in Small Groups
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7. The assets that enable us to be productive—such as money, equipment, and expertise—are
known as _____.
8. Quiz Bowl teams exemplify groups that _____.
9. A collaboration that produces more than the sum of its parts is creating _____.
10. In the _____ phase of group socialization, you meet with a small group for the first time.