Showing papers in "Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice in 2003"

Virtual Teams: Effects of Technological Mediation on Team Performance

Abstract: Recent advances in networking environments and telecommunications have led to the proliferation of teams that do not work face-to-face but interact over a computermediated communications network. Although some have asserted that virtual teams transcend boundaries of time or distance, others have claimed that working remotely in a mediated team environment differs in significant ways from working face-to-face. In this article, the authors examine the effects of technological mediation on team processes such as cohesiveness, status and authority relations, counternormative behavior, and communication. They discuss conditions under which distance matters in virtual team interaction.

The differential effectiveness of group psychotherapy: A meta-analytic perspective.

Abstract: The differential effectiveness of group psychotherapy was estimated in a meta-analysis of 111 experimental and quasi-experimental studies published over the past 20 years. A number of client, therapist, group, and methodological variables were examined in an attempt to determine specific as well as generic effectiveness. Three different effect sizes were computed: active versus wait list, active versus alternative treatment, and pre- to posttreatment improvement rates. The active versus wait list overall effect size (0.58) indicated that the average recipient of group treatment is better off than 72% of untreated controls. Improvement was related to group composition, setting, and diagnosis. Findings are discussed within the context of what the authors have learned about group treatment, meta-analytic studies of the extant group literature, and what remains for future research. Researchers’ understanding regarding the effectiveness of group psychotherapy has evolved over the past century. Case studies and anecdotal reports characterized the group literature in the first half of the 20th century, with the first comparative studies emerging in the 1960s (Barlow, Burlingame, & Fuhriman, 2000). Early reviews (Pattison, 1965; Rickard, 1962; Stotsky & Zolik, 1965) concluded that group therapy was a helpful adjunctive treatment, although little empirical evidence supported its use as a robust independent treatment. Reviewers in the latter part of that decade (Anderson, 1968; Mann, 1966) began to give group a heartier endorsement, describing it as capable of producing objectively measurable change in patient attitude, personality, and behavior. Throughout the 1970s, researchers repeatedly concluded that group outcomes were consistently superior to those of control groups (Bed

Measuring Team Knowledge: A Window to the Cognitive Underpinnings of Team Performance

Abstract: The authors report an effort aimed at developing and evaluating measures of taskwork and teamwork team knowledge for teams in which members differ in knowledge backgrounds. These measures were used in a study with 36 teams to explore the cognitive underpinnings of team performance variations due to cross-training regime. The authors demonstrate that these measures are valid and provide team performance information that complements outcome and behavioral measures. Teams exposed to full cross-training acquired more taskwork and teamwork knowledge than control teams or teams exposed to a conceptual version of cross-training. Measures of team knowledge provide information regarding team task performance critical for system design and training programs.

Teamwork Online: The Effects of Computer Conferencing on Perceived Confusion, Satisfaction, and Postdiscussion Accuracy

Abstract: This study investigated the impact of computer-mediated communication on teamwork by examining 40 4-person teams working in either face-to-face or computer conferencing environments. Results were consistent with the belief that computer-mediated teams have trouble maintaining mutual knowledge. Compared with their face-to-face counterparts, computer-mediated teams viewed their discussions as more confusing and less satisfying, spent more time devising decisions, and felt less content with their outcomes. Discussion time mediated the relationship between the communication medium and outcome satisfaction. Confusion and outcome dissatisfaction predicted inaccuracies when members independently recorded team decisions; accordingly, the electronic communication medium reduced decision recording accuracy. By clarifying several shortcomings associated with computer conferencing, these results can be used to inform choices when selecting and developing effective team communication media.

Promoting creativity in temporary problem-solving groups: The effects of positive mood and autonomy in problem definition on idea-generating performance.

Abstract: The current study examined the effect of mood and autonomy in problem definition on the idea-generating performance of temporary workgroups. Groups (N 54) were randomly assigned to a mood (positive vs. neutral) and autonomy (high vs. low) condition and asked to brainstorm ways to improve university student life. It was found that positive mood increased the originality of ideas and that problems that provided low autonomy led to a greater number of ideas. Mood and autonomy interacted to affect group satisfaction. Furthermore, positive mood led to the identification of more important domains for improvement in the high-autonomy condition. Implications for future research using temporary problem-solving groups are discussed.

I'm a Hypocrite, but So Is Everyone Else: Group Support and the Reduction of Cognitive Dissonance

Abstract: The impact of social support on dissonance arousal was investigated from a social identity view of dissonance theory. This perspective is seen as augmenting current conceptualizations of dissonance theory by predicting when normative information will impact on dissonance arousal and by indicating the availability of identity-related strategies of dissonance reduction. An experiment was conducted to induce feelings of hypocrisy under conditions of behavioral support or nonsupport. Group salience was either high or low, or individual identity was emphasized. As predicted, participants with no support from the salient in-group exhibited the greatest need to reduce dissonance through attitude change and reduced levels of group identification. Results were interpreted in terms of self being central to the arousal and reduction of dissonance.

The Effectiveness of Psychodramatic Techniques: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Questions concerning the scientific basis of the clinical application of psychodramatic techniques have been raised primarily because of the infrequency of research publications that validate the clinical observations. A meta-analysis conducted on the basis of 25 experimentally designed studies showed an overall effect size that points to a large size improvement effect similar to or better than that commonly reported for group psychotherapy in general. The techniques of role reversal and doubling emerged as the most effective interventions. Of the 4 techniques investigated, 3 were significantly different from each other. There was no difference between the techniques’ effectiveness when used with clinical versus student populations or between their use in single versus multiple sessions. The meaning of the findings is discussed. As a therapeutic modality invented more than seven decades ago, psychodrama made a significant impact on the development of group psychotherapy. Its influence was particularly great in the early years of the 20th century. Then, together with the psychoanalytic‐ dynamic orientation, it dominated the field of group psychotherapy (Fuhriman & Burlingame, 1994). In the ensuing years, its influence in the field of group psychotherapy in the United States diminished. Yet along with the observed decline in North America, its popularity soared elsewhere, such as in Europe, South America, and the Far East. The attraction of psychodrama has been attributed in part to its powerful impact as seen in clinical practice. As to the observed decline in the popularity of psychodrama in North America, some have speculated that it is due to uncertainty concerning the research base of psychodramatic interventions and their scientific validity. Critics have repeatedly raised the issue of the paucity of empirical research that supports claims for the effectiveness of psychodrama. For example, D’Amato and Dean (1988) wrote the following: Since its introduction, there has been a clear dichotomy between believers and nonbelievers in PD’s [psychodrama’s] methods ....T heconflict revolves around the basic assumptions of PD and the fact that the methods are not empirically based. Psychodrama as a therapeutic technique continues to be practiced internationally, and authors continue to publish case studies and theoretical discussions. But few empirical evaluations of the method have appeared since its introduction. (p. 305)

Cooperation in social dilemmas and the need to belong: The moderating effect of group size.

Abstract: The present research examined the effects of the need to belong and group size on cooperation in a public goods dilemma. On the basis of previous research (R. F. Baumeister & M. R. Leary, 1995), it was expected that those high in the need to belong would cooperate most. In addition, it was expected that the need to belong would predict cooperation for large-group members but not for small-group members. Analyses supported both hypotheses. Furthermore, individual differences in the need to belong were positively correlated with frustration about individuals’ (cooperative) decision, a feeling believed to emerge from the felt uncertainty over whether cooperation would be reciprocated by others, the conflicting motivations of the need to belong and personal self-interest, or both.

Dragging down and dragging up: How relative group status affects responses to common fate

Abstract: The authors examined whether status differences moderate the effects of common fate on subgroup relations. University students (N = 103) were led to believe that their subgroup was performing well (high status) or poorly (low status) relative to another subgroup. They were then told that the combined performances of the subgroups would have shared implications for their subgroup's welfare. (common fate) or that there would be a direct link between their subgroup's performance and its welfare (no common fate). High-status (but not low-status) group members responded to the common fate situation by (a) decategorizing and (b) showing benevolence to the out-group. Results are discussed with respect to their implications for managing subgroup relations.

Quantity estimations by groups and individuals: Effects of known domain boundaries.

Abstract: The authors selected 8 ordered quantities from smallest (1st) to largest (8th) from each of 36 domains, such as population of countries and production of commodities. Given the 1st and 8th (broad domain boundaries), 2nd and 7th (medium boundaries), 3rd and 6th (narrow boundaries), 2nd and 3rd, 6th and 7th, or none of the quantities, participants estimated the 4th and 5th quantities from each domain. They then repeated the estimations as 3-person groups or individuals. The groups performed at the level of their best members and better than the independent individuals. All 5 domain boundaries improved estimation for both groups and individuals. Estimations were most accurate given the narrow (3rd and 6th) boundaries, suggesting processes of assimilation rather than averaging.

Tokenism also works with groups as tokens : The impact of group openness and qualification on reactions to membership in a low-status group

Abstract: Two experiments tested whether the tokenism effect would also emerge when groups as a whole rather than individual group members are denied access into a high-status group. In total, 317 pupils were led to believe that their class was not accepted into a high-status group. The openness of this high-status group toward other groups (open, minimally open, and closed) and the qualification of the own class (low, high) were manipulated. In both studies, pupils of a highly qualified class confronted with a closed high-status group differed from all other conditions by preferring nonnormative action to normative action. These results indicate that tokenism is a very robust phenomenon that occurs even when groups strongly expected to join the high-status group.