Communication in Small Groups

Chapter 1

Group Inventory• What are the range of small groups to

which you have belonged?– Sports team (soccer, rowing, swim)– Social justice activism (CARA, diversity

committee)– Nonprofit board – Volunteer groups (special events, Folklife)– Study abroad class– Newspaper, Workplace – Toastmaster (clubs, social group)– Family (3, 5, 10, 12, ?)

Group Inventory

How important are these groups to you? (Optional: TurningPoint

assessment)

Defining Small Groups• Consider journal groups while reviewing key

features of small group definition

• Basic group shape– Group size– Copresence– Boundaries (entativity, coherence)

• Interconnections– Communication– Goals– Interdependence

Why all the fuss about theory?• Commonsense and “conventional wisdom”

about groups

• Unintended consequences

• Improving one’s own performance

• Helping others be more effective

Evaluative Criteria for Theory

Criterion Description

Clarity Transparency of theory’s statements

Logical Coherence Free of logical errors

Novelty Presents a new idea

Falsifiability Subject to test

Validity Passes many of its tests

Parsimony Simplicity of theory’s statements

Scope Sufficiently broad generalizations

Testing Theories• Research approaches

– Case study– Field research (survey, mixed-method)– Experiment

• “Control and manipulation”• Coding schemes

– Meta-analysis

• The unit of analysis problem in group research