1.1 GROUP PERFORMANCE Flashcards
potential group performance [PP]
likely outcome if all group members work as individuals
actual group performance [AP]
actual productive outcome of group
If AP>PP …?
group is facilitating/enhancing performance
If PP>AP…?
group is hindering performance
What is Steiner’s AP formula?
AP = PP - PL
What is a unitary task
all members do the same thing
what is a divisible task
people do different sub-tasks
what are 2 types of task goals?
maximisation [quant] and optimisation [qual]
what are the 3 types of tasks ?
additive, disjunctive, conjunctive
Additive Task
*Group performance = sum of individual performances
*Unitary + maximisation
*E.g. Brainstorming, pulling a rope
*group potential is higher than what the best members could achieve alone
Disjunctive Task
*Operate at level of the highest performer
*Group succeeds if a single group member succeeds
*Can still benefit from larger group, greater group size should add to performance, inc likelihood of correct answer statistically?
o Nb. No direct link to group size and success though
*Eureka effect: correct/best decision once found is immediately recognised by all as correct
*e.g. problem-solving, complex calculations
*basically just a group working on something that one person could do
*group potential = best individual performance
Conjunctive Task
*Group members must be successful for the task to be completed
*E.g. mountain climbing team, keeping a secret, precision group work
*Team is only as fast as its slowest member
*Group potential decreases as group inc, more likely to have a weaker member
*Group potential = weakest individual performance
social inhibition
group process losses, how groups hinder productivity
what 3 things may cause social inhibition/process losses?
losses in coordination, motivation, or cognitive restriction
the ringleman effect
each member adds less performance to the group than their prior, as group size increases, performance slows
name 4 faults with brainstorming
production blocking, topic fixation, social inhibition, social loafing
production blocking
listening to others ideas uses mental energy needed to think of new ideas, reduces creative output
topic fixation
ideas tend to cluster to a few categories
social inhibition
ideas are held back for fear of what other people will think
social loafing
as responsibility is distributed, apathy sets in and individuals are less accountable for production, individual contribution cannot be easily assessed/distinguished from overall group
motivation losses may be due to which 3 things
social loafing, dispensability effect, sucker effect
for which type of tasks is social loafing an issue?
additive tasks
dispensability effect
people think their individual effort makes no real contribution to outcome
sucker effect
due to others social loafing, initial hard workers will reduce their efforts to not be suckers
