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Studying Groups Chapter 2
How do researchers test their theories and hypotheses about groups and their dynamics?
What Are the Three Critical Requirements of a Scientific Study of Groups? Theories that organize knowledge of groups Research procedures to test hypotheses
about groups Reliable and valid measurement
What Methods Do Researchers Use to Measure Individual and Group Processes? Observational measures: observing and
recording events Example: Whyte’s participant observation
of corner gangs Overt vs. covert observation Hawthorne effect
What Methods Do Researchers Use?
Qualitative and Quantitative (structured) measures
Bales's Interaction Process Analysis (IPA) classifies behaviors into two categories: task and relationship behaviors
Bale’s SYMLOG (Systematic Multiple Level Observation of Groups) identifies 3 key dimensions:
1. Dominance/Submissiveness 2. Friendliness/Unfriendliness 3. Acceptance of Authority/Nonacceptance of Authority.
Self-Report Methods
Self-report measures: group members describe their perceptions and experiences
Example: Personality
Emotional Intelligence
Organizational Climate
Personality : Mackinnon (1959) Personality refers to “factors” inside people
that explain their behavior
The sum total of typical ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that makes a person unique.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Myers-Briggs: based on Jungian theory of personality
Classifies individuals along 4 theoretically independent dimensions.
MBTI Scales Extroversion-
Introversion Scale
E: Oriented primarily toward the outer world; focus on people and objects
I: Oriented primarily toward the inner world; focus on concepts and ideas
Sensing-Intuition Scale
S: Individual reports observable facts through one or more of the five senses
N: Reports meanings, relationships and/or possibilities that have been worked out beyond the reach of the conscious mind
MBTI Scales
Thinking-Feeling Scale
T: Judgment is impersonally based on logical consequences
F: Judgment is primarily based on personal or social values
Perception-Judging Scale
P: Preference for using a perceptive process for dealing with the outer world
J: Preference for using a judgment process for dealing with the outer world
Emotional intelligence involves the “abilities to perceive, appraise, and express emotion; to access and/or generate feelings when they facilitate thought; to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; and to regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth”
What Is Emotional Intelligence?
BarOn EQ-i Factors Intra-Personal
Emotional Self-Awareness Assertiveness Self-Regard Self-Actualization Independence
Inter-Personal Interpersonal Relationship Empathy Social Responsibility
Adaptability Problem Solving Flexibility Reality Testing
Stress Management Stress Tolerance Impulse Control
General Mood Optimism Happiness
Sample Test Items:
I have good relations with others
I’m fun to be with
I like helping people
Rating Scale:
1 = Very Seldom or Not True of me
5 = Very Often True of Me or True of Me
BarOn EQ-iBarOn EQ-i
Disadvantage of Self-Report Tests Social Desirability Faking “Good” Faking “Bad” Random Responding
Sociometry
A research technique that graphically summarizes patterns of intermember relations.
Sociometric structures: - stars- unpopulars- isolates- positives- negatives- pairs- clusters- fringers
Any measure, to be scientifically useful, must have reliability and validity.
Assessment Methods
ReliabilityReliability Reliability is synonymous with consistency. It is the degree to which test
scores for a an individual test taker or group of test takers are consistent over repeated applications.
No psychological test is completely consistent, however, a measurement that is unreliable is worthless.
For Example A student receives a score of 100 on one intelligence tests and 114 in another or imagine that every time you stepped on a scale it showed a different weight.
Would you keep using these measurement tools?
The consistency of test scores is critically important in determining whether a test can provide good measurement.
Test-retest ReliabilityTest-retest Reliability
Test-retest reliability is usually measured by computing the correlation coefficient between scores of two administrations.
ValidityValidity Refers to measuring what we intend to measure.
If math and vocabulary truly represent intelligence then a math and vocabulary test might be said to have high validity when used as a measure of intelligence.
Predictive ValidityPredictive Validity
The extent to which scores on the scale are related to, and predictive of, some future outcome that is of practical utility.
e.g., If higher scores on the SAT are positively correlated with
higher G.P.A.’s and visa versa, then the SAT is said to have predictive validity.
The Predictive Validity of the SAT is mildly supported by the relation of that scale with performance in graduate school.
What Are the Key Characteristics & Differences Between Case, Experimental, & Correlational Studies of Group Processes? Case Study
Example: Groupthink groups (Janis) Bona fide groups
Experiments Key features
manipulate independent variable measure dependent variable control other variables
Example: Lewin, Lippitt, & White’s study of leadership Strength: Test cause-effect relationships
Characteristics and Differences (cont’d)
Case studies: atypical of most groups, subjective, stimulate theory
Experiments: too artificial, not “real” groups, but clearest test of cause and effect.
Correlational studies: limited information about causality but precise estimates of the strength of relationships, less artificial, fewer ethical concerns
Multi-level approaches are uniquely informative
What Theoretical Perspectives Guide Researchers’ Studies of Groups? Motivational models: Lewin's level-of-aspiration
theory Behavioral approaches: Thibaut and Kelley's
social exchange theory Systems theory: Input-process-output models
of performance Cognitive theories: Berger's expectation-states
theory Biological perspectives: Evolutionary
psychology (or sociobiology)