Created by: Brianna BruhnkeBreanna Callahan

Stacie Purcell

Defensive and Supportive ClimatesConfirming and Disconfirming Responses

Group Cohesiveness

Evaluation

Evaluation is taking something someone says and making

them feel completely stupid for saying it such as,

“You idiot! That is a terrible idea!”

Description

Description is taking that subject said, and although

it is stupid, making the person not feel stupid by

saying something like,

“You may have an idea, but there seems to be other

problems.”

Evaluation vs. Description

Control

“Communicative behavior that aims at controlling others can produce defensiveness in group members,” (p.103).

Problem Orientation

“If others perceive you as a person who genuinely strives for a solution that will benefit all concerned, this perception will contribute to a supportive climate, great cohesiveness, and increased productivity,” (p.103).

Strategy

Strategy is basically a preplanned communication that usually has manipulation involved. Examples that book gives are; withholding information, acting mysterious, or pouting.

Spontaneity

If you act spontaneously, a person may think of you as a person who can immediately respond honestly to a situation. This will then increase your supportive climate.

Neutrality

This means that you are a type of person who does not behave or react in a caring way. To a group, you may be looked at as a person who has no feelings about the group members or the outcome of the group’s work.

Empathy

Being involved and concerned about your group members and the direction in which your group is heading will be perceived as supportive.

Superiority

An example of being superior to your peers or group members would be, “pointing out your greater knowledge, experience, or some other attribute that makes them superior to other members,” (p.104).

Equality

Making the group feel like they are all equal, will create an environment with a mutual trust and respect for one another, which will then create a more supportive climate.

Certainty

This type of person has all the answers to everything and usually wants to prove other people wrong.

Provisionalism

A person who is held to be provisionally, “they appear to be flexible and genuinely committed to solving problems rather than to simply taking sides on an issue,” (p.105).

Impervious Response- One speaker fails to acknowledge another speaker’s attempt to speak.

Interrupting Response- One speaker cuts another speaker short or begins while the other is still speaking.

Irrelevant Response- A speaker responds in a way that seems unrelated to what the other has been saying or introduces a new topic without warning.

Tangential Response- A speaker acknowledges another person’s communication but immediately takes the conversation in another direction.

Impersonal Response- One speaker conducts a monologue, or exhibits speech behavior that appears intellectualized and impersonal, contains few first-person statements, and many generalized “you’ or “one” statements, or is heavily loaded with euphemisms or clichés.

Incoherent Response- A speaker responds with incomplete sentences.

Incongruous Response- A speaker engages in nonverbal behavior that seems inconsistent with the vocal content.

Direct acknowledgement- A speaker acknowledges another person’s communication and reacts to it directly and verbally.

Agreement about content- A speaker reinforces information expressed by another.

Supportive response- A speaker expresses understanding of another person or tires to reassure or make the other feel better.

Clarifying response- A speaker tries to clarify another person’s message or feelings.

Expression of positive feeling- One speaker describes his or her own positive feelings related to what another person has said.

“By using confirming rather than disconfirming responses when communicating with other group members, people contribute toward a supportive, trustful climate and therefore promote greater group effectiveness and individual satisfaction,” (p.107).

Building a team is based on qualities of a group such as their size, speed, aggressiveness, and

on reaction time. Each person is better suited for a specific task. “For maximum effectiveness,

they need participants with different talent that compliment one another,” (p.108).

When people are in a successful group that satisfies their needs, they will have a

stronger connection with their group. Much like one has with close friends and family.

If everyone in a group is concerned about completing a task, the more effective they will be. It will strengthen a group when all

group members know that they are all trying as hard as they can.

Proper communication is the driving force of a successful group. In additional to quality

communication, the amount of communication that a group engages in also affects

cohesiveness.

In order to improve a group’s climate there must be a strong cohesive bond between the group members and one must know how to handle given situations for given

tasks.