[MUSIC] Welcome to the week three of our communication theory course. Now, as you know quite a lot about interpersonal communication, we can move to the next step and focus on how communication is managed within the groups. This week we will focus on field theories, discuss the role of leadership, and the process of group decision-making. So let's start. People have the tendency to live in groups. Consequently, group communication is a vital part of our life. Involuntarily, all human beings belong to one or more groups. Do you remember the numerous groups to which you belong? You engage in group communication in your family, social movements, sports team, or MOOC. Groups help us to complete a wide variety of tasks. The knowledge of this course can increase your satisfaction of group communication. What is group communication? It is the exchange of information and the symbols to achieve shared meaning among group members over a period of time. It is generally perceived that people can achieve more by working in groups with others than they can by working on their own, mentioned Vladimir Gritsenko in 2015. For example, people who participate in brainstorming groups report that they have been more productive than those who work alone. There are three primary sociological perspectives for starting groups. The functionalist perspective is a big picture, macro level view that looks at how different aspects of society are intervened. The critical perspective is another macro analytical view, one that focuses on the genesis and growth of inequality. The symbolic interactionist, this method of analyzing groups takes a micro level view. Instead of studying the big picture, these researchers look at the day-to-day interactions of groups, studying these details. The interactionists looks at issues like leadership style, communicative interactions, and group dynamics. Of course, every time people gather, they do not necessarily form a group. An audience assembled to watch a street performer is a one-time random gathering. Conservative-minded people who come together to vote in an election are not a group because the members do not necessarily interact with one another with some frequency. Interestingly, people within the aggregate or category can become a group. During disasters, people in a neighborhood, an aggregate who did not know each other, might become friendly and depend on each other at the local shelter. After the disaster ends and the people go back to simply living near each other, the feeling of cohesiveness may last, since they have all shared an experience. It is difficult to define exactly when a small group becomes a large group. For instance, the ice bucket challenge as a cultural movement united many people across the globe. On the other hand, there are examples when large groups may share a geographic space. An example, nationalist movements are formed by a group identity based on a common language, history, culture, ethnicity or religion. As we know, similarity breeds connection. Hence, it is forming groups. Let's observe key theories where the concept of similarity is central and which give us a deeper understanding of group communication. Theory of social comparison posited that people would use a reference group, those who are similar to them in various ways. Festinger assumes that we have a need to compare our opinions and abilities with others, particularly if there are no objective standards that we can refer to. Simon Berkovich and Moyer in 1970, distinguished between two dimensions of a message, sources similarity membership and attitudinal similarity. Attitude similarity accounts for one of the reasons we find some people more appealing than others to interact with when others have similar economic, political, and social views. For example, we are more likely to enjoy interacting with them, mentioned Cohen in 2001. There are two types of similarity, attitude similarity and membership similarity. In attitude similarity, we find some people more appealing than others and more likely to enjoy interacting with them when others have similar social views, economic, and political. Membership similarities created through personal experiences or affiliations with groups, references to social and demographic characteristics. There are motivation of involvement into group. Interpersonal attraction is any force of pairing intensity that draws an individual to another person, including the tendency to move closer to him or her cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally. This leads people to think, feel, and act positively towards someone. Personal need for affiliation, meaning, or identity, many individuals find their work satisfying in part because it provides them with affiliation and identity in work groups. Since most of us spend more time working than we do pursuing any other individual activity, it makes sense that we come to identity a part of ourselves with it and enjoy it. Organizations spend a great deal of time and energy trying to learn our identity with their group goals and objectives. Groups, whether social or work related, offer affiliation, meaning, and identity to our lives. Another motivation for involvement into the group is commitment to group goals and activities. Groups have reasons, purposes, and goals for existing that draw us to them. This can range from saving the world to changing the grading system, to finding a new method for marketing a product. Another one is assignment to the group by someone else. We do not always have the option of deciding for ourselves which group we will join. For instance, a leader of the group might assign you a role within that, you find not identify or select for yourself. There are following key parameters of groups. Size, member interdependence, task, group norms, and shared identity. Size also affects communication within the group. In terms of size, the more people in the group, the more issues with scheduling and coordination of communication. Interdependence means groups exhibit interdependence, meaning they share a common purpose and a common faith. It becomes a group when the members are interdependent to the point of each being impacted by the group process. For example, a family sitting around the dinner table discussing family matters or reviewing the day's activities constitutes a small group because of the interdependence. On the other hand, when a disengaged set of family members sitting together in silence in front of the television set may not constitute a group. Group members are interdependent and coordinate their efforts to accomplish a common task. For instance, they may discuss a topic, write a report, create a new design or prototype. A group norm is perceived as a rule that group adopts to regulate member's behavior. A number of experiments have illustrated how strong the drive to conform group norms can be. It is worth considering how group norms can impact on how group members reach their decision. The shared identity of a group manifests in several ways. Groups have official characters or mission and a vision statement that lay out the identity of a group. For example, the shared identity of Red Cross as a humanitarian network is formed by one central purpose, to help those who suffer without discrimination, whether during conflict in response to natural or man-made disasters or due to conditions of chronic poverty. Shared identity can also be exhibited through group names, slogans, songs, handshakes, clothing, or other symbols. Let's talk about types of groups. Each type of group can be characterized by the kind of communication that takes place within it. There are many types of groups. By the most common distinction made between types of groups is that of task-oriented and relational-oriented groups. Task-oriented groups are formed to solve a problem, promote the cost, or generate ideas or information. Rational-oriented groups are formed to promote interpersonal connections and are more focused on quality interactions that contribute to the well-being of group members. Relational communication holds the group together. Some people concentrate on getting the job done, while others are much more concerned about relationship within the group. Team, an ongoing task-oriented groups working together, loyal and dedicated to the task and other group members. Teams differ from other types of groups in that members are focused on a joined goal. The purpose for assembling a team is to accomplish more complex goals. For instance, to make an airplane engine, that's not all groups or teams, but all teams are qualified as a group. Sociologist Charles Horton Cooley suggested that groups can broadly be divided into two categories, primary groups and secondary groups. According to Cooley, primary groups may play the most critical role in our lives. The primary group is usually made up of significant others, those individuals who have the most impact on our socialization. The best example of a primary group is the family. We also interact in many secondary groups, which are characterized by the less frequent face to face interactions, less emotional and relational communication, and more task-related communication than primary groups. For instance, secondary groups are place of employment, classroom, or office. Let's look at in-group and out-group. An in-group is the group that an individual feels he or she belongs to, and believes it is to be an integral part of who he or she is. An out-group, conversely, is a group someone doesn't belong to. Often, there are maybe feelings of disdain or competition in relation to an out-group. Sports teams, unions, and secret societies, are examples of in-groups and out-groups. People may belong to or be an outsider to any of these. A reference group is a group that people compare themselves to. It provides a standard of measurement. People compare themselves to what they see. Adults, teens, or children pay attention to what music their peers like, what they wear, what they do with their free time. Most of us have more than one reference group, for instance, a middle school girl might look at not only her classmates but also at her older sister's friends and see a different set of norms. Some other examples of reference groups can be one's workplace, one's culture center, or family gathering. [MUSIC]
