Group Processes MODULE - 5

Social Processes and

19 Behavior

GROUP PROCESSES
Notes

Rahul is a 17-year-old boy. He was playing a game on his mobile phone, when his
mother called out to him to accompany her to the market to buy vegetables. He was
reluctant to go but at last he agreed. On his way to the market, they passed by a
playground and saw a cricket match going on in full swing. The players were in matching
uniforms and all were concentrating on the action of the batsman and the bowler. On
reaching the market, he saw many people buying things of different kinds, some were
bargaining and others were giving money to the shopkeepers. On the other end, the
shopkeepers were selling their goods and calling out to the customers to buy from
them. He was quite fascinated seeing the commotion going around and began to
wonder, what could be the difference between this collection of people in the market
and those in the playground. Like Rahul, you must have encountered a similar experience.
You must have seen a huge collection of people in the bazaar or a mall. Are they called
groups? No, they are just a mere gathering of people who happened to be at the same
time and place for their own personal purpose. So then, what are groups? Can those
players in the playground fit to be called a group? How are groups different from
other kinds of gathering of people?

In this chapter, the questions will be answered and additionally, you will learn about
groups and gain a wide understanding of its features and its influence on performance
and decision making in our day to day life. Later in the chapter, you will also learn
about leadership and the essential characteristics of effective leaders.

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Social Processes and

Behavior LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying this lesson, learner :

 describes group and its features;

 recognizes the type of groups which we come across in our life;

Notes  describes the formation of groups;

 determines the influence of groups on performance and decision making;

 defines leadership; and

 identifies the characteristics of effective leaders.

19.1 GROUPS

Groups are people who have come together for a common agenda and purpose. Two
people are often considered as a "dyad" rather than a "group." A group consists of
three or more people who interact and are interdependent on each other. For example,
family, football team, dance troupe, a bunch of people who are working on a specific
project, etc. All of these are considered as groups as the members interact and influence
one another and are different from other collections of people.

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Social Processes and

Behavior

Notes

Figure 19.1: A group of people working on a project (top) and a crowd of people
in the market going about with their own work (bottom)
(Source:-www.unsplash.com)

Groups have the following salient features

(i) Groups are governed by social norms. Norms are conventional or unwritten
social practices, behaviors, thinking, outlook, etc that are widely accepted by
society. These norms guide the members how to behave and act in a group. For
example, a sports team should wear team uniforms during the match/game and
no other casual clothes;

(ii) Groups have common needs, motives and goals; moreover, the members in the
group strongly depend on each other to achieve their desired outcome;

(iii) The individuals constitute the group, interact and share ideas and thoughts with
one another;

(iv) Group members have well defined social roles- specific expected behavioral
roles that they are supposed to perform and also to do it well. For example, a
teacher and a student in a class have different roles and are expected to act as
per their roles assigned to them;

(v) The people who constitute a group are interdependent on one another- the
action or behaviour of one has an impact on the other.

Thus, groups are organized collections of individuals who have come together for a
common motive, purpose and goals, guided by social norms and expected to behave
as per role expectations.
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Social Processes and Functions of Groups

Behavior a) Groups fulfill the individual need for belongingness. As a social being, we feel
the need to relate to one another, seek affection and care for each other.
b) People also join groups in order to feel secure and protected as it gives them a
sense of greater strength and power when in a group.
c) Groups also give us a sense of identity as to how we define ourselves - a set of
Notes people who share distinct characteristics like common origin, religion, race, etc.
This sense of identity comes from being a member of a certain group which
gives the members their self-worth or value.
d) Being in a group helps them to increase their knowledge by getting information
from other members.
e) Groups also help the members to achieve their goals quickly as compared to
working alone.
Being in a group makes them feel closer to one another and therefore develops a
sense of security through shared identity and power. The members are able to identify
themselves and one another based on their affiliation with the respective groups.

ACTIVITY

Identify and list out the different types of groups that you are part/member of.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 19.1

Fill in the blanks:

a) Groups satisfy our need for………………..and ……………….…..

b) ………………..directs our actions and ways of behavior in groups.

19.2 GROUP FORMATION

There are many conditions and factors which are conducive and lead to the formation
of groups. The three main factors are:

(i) Groups are formed due to proximity like, physical proximity. For
example: residents of the same building or colony who often meet for morning
walks constitute a group. The more people tend to meet each other, the more

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we come to know about one another and the more likelihood to form groups Social Processes and
depending on similar interests and other likings. Behavior

(ii) Groups are also formed due to similarity .People discover similar interests, share
common ideas, opinion, values and other factors tend to bond with one another
based on their similarities and may come together as a group. For instance, a
Book Club where the members are part of the group due to their shared interest
in reading books. It is a relationship based on stability and balance.
Notes
(iii) Having a common goal and objective could also be a reason for forming groups.
Trade Union is an example of an association of workers formed for the common
interests and fulfilment of the common goals.

Figure 19.2: A group of people doing yoga. Such groups are usually formed due to
similar interest in health and fitness. (Source:-www.unsplash.com)

19.2.1 Group Development

In 1965, a psychologist by the name, Bruce Tuckman proposed five stages of group
development: forming; storming; norming; performing and adjourning. Each stage plays
a vital role in building a high-functioning team.

These five stages are as follows:

1. Forming

This is the initial stage and the group is characterized by uncertainty and lack of
clearly defined structure. People are just getting to know one another and
discovering the ideas and opinions of one another. It is the period of relationship

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Social Processes and development. Orientation day at a new job is an example of a group forming
Behavior stage.

2. Storming

In this stage, the members become more aware of one another's weaknesses or
habits. With growing familiarity, conflicts might arise due to disagreements,
frustration or annoyance with each other. The reasons for the conflicts could be
Notes differences on what are the group goals, how to achieve it, who will lead the
group, where to get the resources, division of work or responsibilities and
expectations from the task or job at hand. It is important to work through the
conflicts and then develop well-structured and clearly defined goals of the group.

3. Norming

At this stage, norms are developed regarding the behavior of its members and
also the possibilities and expectations from each member. A group identity is
formed and a cordial relationship develops among the group members. For
example, in a dance troupe, the members began to identify themselves not only
as individual dancers, but as a group of dancers. Therefore they begin to
understand the need to perform their respective roles and cooperate more with
the fellow troupe members to get the perfect combination and rhythm. The
members are now more committed towards achieving the group goals.

4. Performing

Once the norming stage is completed, the group members unitedly work towards
the attainment of the targets of the group. The group becomes functional and
now it is time for performance. The group members are willing to co-operate
and trust each other and are enthusiastic to adapt as per the need of the overall
group.

5. Adjourning

It is the final stage where the group after achieving the target or goals for which
it was set up is dissolved. The existence of the group is no longer required as the
purpose has been met.

However, you should note that for some groups, the performance stage is the final
one. But for some groups formed temporarily, adjourning is the last stage in group
formation as once the task is completed, it is dissolved. The stages of development of
groups do not always flow in a rigid stage by stage pattern. Sometimes the stages can

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go hand in hand or can start from the later stage or may even skip some of the stages. Social Processes and
Therefore, it is important to note here that each group is unique in its formation and at Behavior
times the sequence depicted in the five stages model may vary from one group to the
other.

FORMING STORMING NORMING PERFORMI ADJOURNING

Figure 19.3: Stages of group development

Notes
19.2.2 Composition of Groups

A structure of the group is formed in the process of group formation. Groups have
distinctive features and key components. They are given below:

 Status: Members of a group occupy different positions or rank within the group.
Basically it is the hierarchies in the group which defines a member's position in
the group. For example, a cricket team has captain, vice-captain, senior and
junior players.

 Roles: The members in the group do not perform the same functions and are
expected to play different important roles and complete the task as per the role.
Sometimes the roles are assigned and at other times the roles are acquired. For
example, in a football team there are goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders,
forwards and strikers.

 Norms: Standard and accepted rules which govern the behavioural conduct
within a group that might not be written but is considered the appropriate way
to follow. For instance, the expected manner in which the students should behave
in the class like to be attentive, maintain silence and so on.

 Cohesiveness: The force that binds members in a group, like a feeling of

oneness, togetherness, belongingness and many other factors. The out-group is
seen as something different and the presence of the out-group is seen as a
competitive threat and it consequently leads to the increased bonding of the
members in their own groups.

19.3 TYPES OF GROUPS

You must have come across many types of groups in your daily life. Nature of groups
can differ from one another in terms of their function- social service or profit making
business; size - football team or citizen of a country; duration -short term group formed

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Social Processes and for a specific project or a religious group; geographical distribution - an Asian or an
Behavior African group and so on. People may belong to different types of groups at same time.

The various groups can be broadly categorized as listed below:

(i) Primary group

Primary group is a group in which the relationship is close, personal and the
members often have face to face interaction. Family is a perfect example of a
Notes primary group. A family is a social unit where the members have a close bond
and intimate relationship among themselves.

(ii) Secondary group

The secondary groups in contrast are those where the relationships are less
personal, intimate and indirect in nature. Large groups like, political parties,
clubs, environmental movements fall under secondary groups. Unlike the primary
group, the members do not involve much in each other's personal matters.

Thus, primary groups tend to be more cohesive than the secondary groups as it
involve strong emotional bonding, deeper level of intimate relationships and one
to one engagement with one another.

(iii) Formal Groups

In the formal groups, the members have clearly defined roles; communication
flows through a channel and a professional relationship exist within the members.
Military unit is an example of a formal group where the communication follows
a standard procedure or channel. Here the command flows from higher official
to lower order within the unit. They have a well-defined set of roles for the
respective members in the group. The high-ranking officials are responsible for
decision making and looking after the members of the unit.

(iv) Informal Groups

Informal groups are loosely structured with no rigid rules or defined roles and it
is built on casual and friendly relations. These often get created spontaneously
by people mostly to fulfil their social needs. A group of random people who
gather to play cards is an informal group.

(v) In-groups

People tend to categorize themselves and others on the basis of race, religion,
class, caste, gender etc. The groups in which we belong are known as in-groups.

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We use words like 'we' for the groups in which we belong Social Processes and
Behavior
(vi) Out-groups

We also categorize others on the basis of their race, religion, class, caste, gender
and on the basis of other parameters. The groups in which we do not belong are
termed as out-groups and we used the term 'they' for the out-groups.

In-groups and out-groups way of description of groups is used to highlight the

Notes
similarities and differences between the groups. It is commonly found that people
tend to favour their own groups and highlight more desirable features about
their own groups, while the people of the out-groups are seen as being different
and not so much in a positive manner. Though such perceptions or outlook are
a common tendency of people, it is important to note that various diversities or
differences should be upheld and celebrated, rather than shunned out as it
contributes to the richness of the society.

(i) Primary Groups (iii) Formal Groups v) In-groups

E.g. Family E.g. Military Unit E.g. we are Punjabis

(ii) Secondary Groups (iv) Informal Groups (vi) Out-groups

E.g. Book Club E.g. Random group E.g. they are
of people who Gujaratis
gathers to play
cards

Fig 19.4: Types of Groups with examples

INTEXT QUESTIONS 19.2

1. State whether the following statements are True or False

i) Formal groups have properly organized structure. True/False

ii) Cohesiveness creates disunity within the group. True/False

2. Fill in the blanks

……………...and…………….are reasons for formation of groups.

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Social Processes and 19.4 INFLUENCE OF GROUPS ON INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE

Behavior AND DECISION MAKING

The presence of others has an important effect on our individual performance and in
arriving at a concrete decision. Sometimes an individual's performance in a group
tends to differ when the individual performs the same task alone. The presence of
others sometimes can improve the performance and at other times it may also decrease
an individual's performance. A detailed description of these phenomena is given below:
Notes
19.4.1 Social Facilitation

When an individual's performance is improved by the presence of others than when

they are alone, this is called Social Facilitation. For example, you are able to run much
faster when you are in a competition with others than when you run alone. A landmark
study on social facilitation was done by Norman Triplett in 1898. In his research, he
observed that the cyclist rode much faster when they raced against each other as
compared to when they cycled alone. Social facilitation can occur by the presence of
others who perform the same task. The mere presence of an audience or spectators
can also lead to social facilitation. Social facilitation may not be observed in every
situation. For instance, the presence of people may simply decrease the performance
and the person may commit a series of errors in the presence of others. This occurrence
is known as social inhibition. For example, a person who has a fear of public speaking
may stutter or make silly mistakes while speaking to an audience, but is able speak
effortlessly when practicing alone.

Figure 19.5: A bicycle race with the audience cheering on.

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The presence of spectators and fellow competitors can lead to social facilitation Social Processes and
Behavior
There are many reasons as to why social facilitation occurs.

 The presence of others leads to feelings of increased arousal which leads to

improved performance.

 The second reason is due to the evaluation apprehension hypothesis, i.e. concern
about negative evaluation or judgement by other people which arouses people
to perform well, especially on simple tasks. Notes

 The desire to make a positive impression on others.

19.4.2 Social Loafing

In social loafing, the influence of others leads to decrease in performance of an individual

when performing an activity as part of a larger group than performing alone. Let us
suppose in a certain school, all the students were asked to clean the school surroundings.
Since there are hundreds of students, each student will expect the work to be done
easily and therefore may choose to put in less hard work. Individuals may relax and
rest from time to time knowing that the others would work and that they could pass-
off unnoticed since there are hundreds of students working together on the same activity.
This social behavior of reduction in individual efforts when the output of the group is
combined together with the other members for a single task is known as social loafing.
Here the intensity of efforts put in by each individual would be less when working in a
group, as each member feels that their individual contribution is not identifiable. Whereas
the efforts put in by each individual would be more if they were asked to work alone
and clean a specific area, as their individual contribution would be identifiable. In
social facilitation, the presence of others gives a boost to the performance of an individual
when performing the task alone, but in social loafing the presence of other group
members who performs the task together reduces the performance of individuals as
their contribution is less noticeable and not easily evaluated.

Some of the reasons as to why social loafing occurs can be attributed to:
 Individual members feel less responsible for the collective task and therefore
contribute less effort when they work as a group.
 Since the contribution of work of each member would not be checked separately,
the motivation level of the group members decreases.
 Not proper coordination and differences in commitment level among the group
members.
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Social Processes and Social loafing could decrease by:

Behavior
 Building the bond of the group members and making them understand the
importance of collective responsibility.

 Making the group members feel important by counting their individual efforts.

 Make them know of the importance and value of the given work and thereby,
increasing the pressure to work hard together.
Notes
19.4.3 Groupthink

Groupthink is a phenomenon which occurs in a group. Here the group members think
that unity and harmonious relations of the group members is more important than
taking correct decisions and rational judgements. Therefore, the group members try to
maintain the balance of the groups by avoiding disagreement and conflict over logical
arguments and reasoning. For example in a board meeting a company director proposed
an idea about how to expand the business. All the board members agree to execute
the idea, though some of them felt the idea was not really good but accepted the idea
to maintain unity and good relation with the director and other board members.

Groupthink is likely to occur when the group is highly cohesive. Here the group members
avoid sharing opinions which may be different from others. The group leader actively
controls and directs the discussion and decision making. Groupthink also happens
when there is a feeling of external threat by the members.

The consequences of Groupthink are:

 Inadequate survey of alternative actions.

 Failure to examine fully the risk of the accepted choice.

 Failure to gather the required information.

 Failure to develop contingency or optional plans.

How to avoid Groupthink:

 The leader of the group should be impartial and accept criticisms as well as
differences of ideas from the members.

 Opinions and ideas from outgroup members should be invited and encouraged.

 The leader should create several sub-groups and let them meet separately and
then bring all the sub-groups to share their respective ideas to be discussed.
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Group Processes MODULE - 5

 Sharing of anonymous opinion should be encouraged through secret ballot to Social Processes and
gather honest opinion from the members. Behavior

19.4.4 Group Polarization

Group polarization is the tendency of groups to take extreme actions or decisions

rather than the initial actions or decisions of the individual members. For example-
individual group members may be initially contemplating to invest a small amount in a Notes
business venture but when business partners join in larger number, they becomes
ambitious enough in investing a more exorbitant amount which could be quite risky.
The concept of group polarization was developed after the phenomenon of risky shift
effect put forth by James Stoner in 1961. Stoner studied the risk- taking decisions of
groups and individuals and found that groups take much more risky decisions than
individuals. This shift from the safer course of action when as an individual to a risky
course when in a group is known as a risky shift and this concept prompted many
scholars to do further research on group polarization.

Why Group Polarization happen?

 We usually want to be accepted and liked by others in a group. Therefore, there

is a tendency to adopt the beliefs, ideas and attitudes in order to fit in the group.
Individuals may favor a similar opinion of the group but may develop an extreme
form. If people wish to be liked by members of a certain group, they generally
take up the attitudes and actions consistent with the group so that they would be
accepted more favorably by the members and the leader.

 If the majority of the group members strongly support an attitude or an action,

the other in-group members who do not have a strong individual stand are likely
to develop and strengthen his position in alignment with the position of the majority
within the group.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 19.3

1. What is it called when the performance of an individual member improves in the

presence of others?

2. What happens when individual members in a group put in less effort in a collective
task?

3. Match the following

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Social Processes and a) Highly cohesive group i) Group polarization

Behavior
b) When groups members take extreme
decisions than when as an individual ii) Group think

c) Risky shift effect iii) James Stoner

19.5 LEADERSHIP
Notes If we observe any group, organization or nation state; we would find that there would
be a person who influences or exercises social power over the others in order to
accomplish certain objectives of the group. Without such a person, no group or
organization can expect to arrive at a decision to fulfill the goals and vision of the
group. For example, a school captain has influence and exercise more power over the
others in the class and he/she leads the fellow students in decision making and other
aspects. Therefore, in every group we will find that there is a person who is more
influential and who commands more respect or power than the other members of the
group. The person who can influence the other members to think and act in the desired
direction eventually becomes the leader of the group and the others followers.
Leadership is defined as the process in which the leader influences and directs the
followers towards the goal achievement of the group. Great leaders like Mahatma
Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela and Indira Gandhi are exceptional leaders
who showed courage, led and guided their followers.

Figure 19.6:Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela are exemplary leaders of all times.

The leaders and followers need each other; they also influence each other while

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arriving at a decision and in various other activities. However, leaders have more Social Processes and
influence over the followers. Leaders are not the only ones who occupy power positions Behavior
in a group but leaders may also be the ones who want to make a difference, bring
positive changes and implement novel ideas for the welfare of the group.

Early researchers have promulgated two types of leadership theories. The first one is
the Great Man Theory, which assumes that great leaders are born and have unique
background which makes them different from the followers. The second is Trait Theory,
Notes
which maintains that a person associated with certain personality traits like intelligence,
self - confidence, creativity, drive, flexibility and integrity has the tendency to lead
others. However, numerous studies have found that there is a very weak relationship
between personality traits and leadership abilities.

Leadership should be understood from the amalgamation of both personality traits

and situational context. Seeing leadership from a single point of view would lead to
inadequate understanding of the true essence of a leader. Type of leadership varies
depending on the kind of work, situation or circumstances. For example, in a social
welfare organization, a relationship oriented leader would be more effective while for
a private company, a task oriented leader would be more successful.

ACTIVITY

Identify any two leaders who have been your inspiration. What are the qualities that
you admire in them?

There are different kinds of leadership styles. The most prominent among them are
transformational, transactional, autocratic and democratic leaders. They differ in the
type of functions they perform and the manner of functioning.

 Transformational leaders are characterized by trust and confidence in their

subordinates; inspire them to achieve their goals, lead an exemplary life and
strive to bring positive changes for the development of their subordinates.
Mahatma Gandhi is an example of a transformational leader.

 Transactional leaders perform the act of planning, organizing, controlling and

streamlining of the group. This type of leader is more concerned about the end
result and meeting the set target of the group. For example, a manager of a
company or the coach of a sports team. They give rewards, recognition and
privileges to the subordinates for good performance and achievement of the
group goals.

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Social Processes and  An autocratic leader assumes absolute power and dictates the decisions and
Behavior activities of the group. The leader determines the working system, imposes goals
on the group and resists changes. Adolf Hitler is an example of an autocratic
leader.

 A democratic leader believes in participation, involvement of the members in

the activities and the decision -making process of the group. He indulges in
interpersonal relations and works for the welfare of the members. Example: The
Notes Prime minister of a democratic country like India, England, etc.

Characteristics of Effective Leaders:

 Effective leaders work hard towards the achievement of goals

 Effective leaders are driven by a desire to excel.

 Have good communication skills.

 Effective leaders are self- confident and are assertive.

 Effective leaders are open to new ideas, experiences and can be flexible.

 Such leaders have high personal integrity and maturity.

 They have good interpersonal skills.

 They are considerate and have the ability to listen.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 19.4

Fill in the blanks

1. ……….. theory says that leaders have special personality characteristics which
make them a leader.

2. ………… leaders are concerned about their subordinates' welfare.

3. …………. leader believes in collective work and participative decision making.

4. A leader should possess …….. skill in order to build good rapport and cordial
relation with their members.

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Social Processes and

WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT Behavior

Group Process

Notes

TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. What are groups? Explain the basic features of groups.

2. Describe the factors and the stages in the formation of groups.

3. Describe the different types of groups with examples.

4. How can the presence of others influence our behavior and decision making?

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Social Processes and 5. Explain the nature of leadership. Give the characteristics of an effective leader.
Behavior
6. What is the relationship between personality traits and leadership abilities
according to early leadership theories and current research findings?

7. What are the reasons for group polarization and what is the phenomenon of
risky shift effect in group decision making?

8. How different groups differ from one another in terms of characteristics and
Notes relationships among members?

9. What are the main features and characteristics of groups, and how do they
differ from collections of individuals?

10. What are the five stages of group development proposed by Bruce Tuckman
and how does each stage play a role in building a high-functioning teams?

ANSWERS TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

19.1

a) Belongingness, security

b) Norms

19.2

1. i) True ii) False

2. Proximity, similarity

19.3

1. Social Facilitation

2. Social Loafing

3. a) ii b) i c) iii

19.4

1. Trait 2. Transformational

3. Democratic

4. Interpersonal

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