Deck 11: Interaction and Performance in Groups

Question 1

Which of the following is the best example of a compensatory task?

A) Members of a marching band are trying to raise money for new uniforms. The more band members who help out, the more money they will be able to raise.
B) A group of advertising agents are brainstorming the theme of their next pitch. One of the agents comes up with a great idea and everyone praises her for her brilliance.
C) A team of track athletes are competing in a relay race. They are cheering on the slowest member of their team, hoping that he runs as fast as he can.
D) A group of 4th graders are trying to determine how many jelly beans are in the glass jar. The students decide to take the average of all of their guesses and submit that as their final guess.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Below are the descriptions of three companies. Which company should have the most motivated and coordinated employees?

A) The Orange Corporation spends very little money to train their employees. Instead, they value the skills that develop when people learn by themselves on the job.
B) The Grape Company requires its employees to explain their decision-making strategies to others.
C) Pear Inc. encourages employees to express their individual identity and not buy into the corporate culture.
D) All of the above

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Muriel is a highly identified member of a cohesive group of volunteers that is working to feed the homeless. What should Muriel be likely to experience as part of this group?

A) Muriel will look out for her individual needs, rather than cooperating to help the group meet its needs.
B) Muriel will spend a lot of time working with the other group members to renegotiate how to accomplish their goals.
C) Muriel will decide to leave the group if other group members slack off.
D) Muriel will stick with the group even if it fails at important tasks.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

_______ is the process in which one or more group members are permitted to influence and motivate others to help attain group goals.

A) Task interdependence
B) Social facilitation
C) Leadership
D) Group coordination

Question 5

Linda, the president of a company, treats her employees as equals and is open to hearing their opinions. What type of leader is Linda?

A) A relationship-oriented leader
B) A task-focused leader
C) A problem-focused leader
D) An emotion focused-leader

Question 6

Research on the relation between the mood of a leader and group performance has shown all but which of the following?

A) Members with leaders in a positive mood were happier.
B) Members with leaders in a positive mood coordinated better.
C) Groups composed of agreeable members perform better with a happy leader.
D) Groups composed of disagreeable members perform better with a happy leader.

Question 7

According to contingency theories of leadership, which leader should be most effective?

A) Juan is a task-oriented leader who is in charge of a highly cohesive group working on a complex task.
B) Martin is a relationship-oriented leader who is in charge of a skilled group working on a task that requires a great deal of cooperation.
C) Pierre is a leader who flexibly uses a combination of social-oriented and task-focused styles.
D) All of the above

Question 8

If a coach wants her players to both enjoy their athletic experience and win games, what should she do?

A) Offer a lot of criticism for failure.
B) Make the athletes run laps for every loss.
C) Provide instruction about proper technique after the athletes make mistakes.
D) All of the above

Question 9

A group of individuals who have come together to protest human rights violations are deciding who among them will be their leader. Based on research reviewed in the text, who is most likely to be selected as the group's leader?

A) Shane, who talks a lot, but is admittedly not an expert on the topic.
B) Chrissy, who often takes on a submissive pose when talking to others.
C) Meghan, who has attended many protests and is highly identified with the cause.
D) Gretchen, a pacifist, who prefers to work behind the scenes to enact change.

Question 10

Based on the study by Magee and Tiedens (2006) in which participants were shown four-person groups whose members displayed sad or happy facial expressions, which group should be seen as most cohesive?

A) A group of employees who are all happy.
B) A group of employees who are all sad.
C) A group of employees in which 2 are happy and 2 are sad.
D) A collection of strangers who are all sad.

Question 11

In a study on emotional contagion by Barsade (2002), a confederate pretended to be in either a good or a bad mood during a group activity. The results of this study showed that:

A) Group members exposed to a negative mood were more likely to get sick.
B) Group members exposed to a positive mood cooperated less.
C) Group members exposed to a positive mood were more likely to remain friends after the study ended.
D) Group members exposed to a negative mood showed a decrease in perceived task performance.

Question 12

Research on gains and losses in group performance has shown all but which of the following?

A) Two heads are always better than one.
B) Groups solve puzzles more quickly than individuals do.
C) Compared to individuals working alone, groups of individuals can recall more accurate and detailed accounts of a police interrogation.
D) Group members use the responses by the most confident members as cues to correct answers.

Question 13

When working together on a brainstorming task, groups of people tend to generate fewer uses for a common object compared to people working alone. This finding has been attributed to:

A) Social facilitation
B) Social loafing
C) Ostracism
D) Minority influence

Question 14

Jamal is a computer programmer and he is working with a small group to design a new video game. In which of the following situations will Jamal be most likely to engage in social loafing?

A) Jamal and the rest of the group are engaged and interested in this task.
B) Jamal's individual work on the game is instrumental for its success.
C) Jamal believes that his group will design a much better game than he could alone.
D) None of the above situations would lead Jamal to engage in social loafing.

Question 15

Computer technicians at a company are working together to install a new email server on all of the company's computers. Which of the following group members should be MOST likely to engage in social loafing?

A) Sun, a Chinese woman, who is working behind the scenes and will not be held accountable for her work.
B) Li, a Chinese man, who will be held accountable for his work.
C) Susan, an American woman who will be held accountable for her work.
D) Gordon, an American male who is working behind the scenes and will not be held accountable for his work.

Question 16

Lionel is working on a group project and none of the other group members are pulling their own weight. Because of this, Lionel is working extra hard to make up for the shortcomings of his fellow group members. Lionel is engaging in ________.

A) Social loafing
B) Social facilitation
C) Social compensation
D) Social deliberation

Question 17

When members lack assigned roles, when they are unaware of each person's strengths and weaknesses, and when they do not know who is in charge the group is suffering from:

A) Poor coordination
B) Social loafing
C) Evaluation apprehension
D) Social compensation

Question 18

A manager at Company A likes to be supportive of her employees and she frequently tells them that they are doing a great job. A manager at Company B provides his employees with feedback on how to get the job done in the most efficient way possible. The manager at Company A is using ________ communications, whereas the manager from company B is using ________ communications.

A) Task-focused; socially-focused
B) socially-focused; task-focused
C) instrumental; emotion-focused
D) problem-focused; emotion-focused

Question 19

According to early research on technology and communication, which of the following forms of communication would best allow the voices of ""lower-status"" individuals to be heard?

A) Face-to-face communication
B) Videoconferencing (e.g., Skype)
C) Email
D) None of the above

Question 20

Which of the following findings from research on stereotypes and leadership is TRUE?

A) Feminine-looking men who say cooperative things are more likely to be perceived as leaders than masculine-looking men who say such things.
B) Feminine-looking women are more likely to be perceived as leaders than masculine-looking women.
C) Male leaders are preferred over female leaders during times of threat.
D) Male leaders show more concern with morale and encourage more participation than female leaders.

Question 21

Saul is a charismatic leader who has inspired extreme devotion among his followers. It is likely that Saul is a _______ leader.

A) relationship-oriented
B) transformational
C) masculine
D) feminine

Question 22

According to your text, research on transformational leaders has shown all but which of the following?

A) They inspire their followers to pursue collective goals rather than personal goals.
B) They empower followers and create a sense of control.
C) They use their influence over others in only positive ways.
D) They are skilled communicators that express an attractive vision of the future.

Question 23

Do groups perform better on brainstorming tasks than individuals? Explain any discrepancies between groups and individuals on such tasks.

Question 24

A group of volunteers are working together to build a new school. How would you advise this group to use coordination and communication to be as effective and productive as possible? Specifically, what are the characteristics of a coordinated group and what are some strategies for effective communication?

Question 25

Briefly describe the pros and cons of utilizing technology to communicate in groups. Would you advise members in the minority to use technology to communicate, or is it best that they communicate face-to-face? Why?

Question 26

Two managers at a company have been tasked with raising the most money from the sales of their company's shoes. The first manager is going to have the members of her sales team compete to see who can raise the most money. The second manager is going to create cohesion among her sales team and hopes that they will sell more shoes. Based on what you read in the text, which sales team should raise the most money and have the most dedicated members? Explain.

Question 27

Differentiate between task- and relationship-oriented leadership. Which type of leader would work effectively with a diverse work group and why?

Question 28

Coach Smiley has just started coaching a Little League baseball team. Coach Smiley is a big believer in the power of sports to improve children's self-esteem and physical health. Briefly describe how Coach Smiley can use both task-oriented and relationship-oriented leadership to effectively manage his team.

Question 29

Sheila is interviewing for a job as president at a local university where the enrollment has suffered for the past few year. In order to get the job, Sheila needs to convince the all-male board of trustees that a woman can do the job just as well as a man. First, on the day of her interview, what are 2 behaviors that Sheila should engage in to look more like a leader? Second, what are 3 pieces of research evidence that Sheila could use to convince the board that she would be a good president?

Question 30

Briefly provide explain why transformational leaders are so effective and 3 characteristics that lead them to have such profound effects on their followers.

Question 31

Imagine that you have just been placed into small groups in one of your classes and that you will be working on an important project with your group. First, define social loafing. Second, explain how your teacher could design your project to discourage social loafing.

Question 32

A group of high school students are putting on a play. Explain how such a complex task involves 2 forms of task interdependence.

Question 33

Lin has a great deal of power over her employees. It is likely that Lin also demonstrates the following characteristics:

A) Lin is able to focus on important elements in her environment and ignore less relevant information.
B) Compared to someone not in power, Lin would spend more time solving an unsolvable puzzle.
C) Lin would experience difficulty performing a highly interdependent task with others who have as much power as she does.
D) All of the above

Question 34

Bennett is the chairman of the board of a large corporation. According to research by Carney, Cuddy, and Yap (2010) on nonverbal behavior, if Bennett wants to appear as powerful as possible in front of the board what behavior should he engage in right before his next board meeting?

A) He should practice giving people firm handshakes.
B) He should prop his feet up on his office desk, lean back in his chair, and interlock his hands behind his head.
C) He should sit in his office chair with his feet flat on the ground, his arms tucked close to his body, and with his hands clasped on his lap.
D) He should do a series of jumping jacks and pushups to get his adrenaline pumping.

Question 35

Marissa has just started learning to play the piano and Manuel, her teacher, has been playing the piano for over 20 years. Both are given the option of playing either a concert in front of an audience or giving a performance alone at a recording studio. According to social facilitation, which venue should each pianist select in order to give the best possible performance? Explain.

Question 36

Compare and contrast the arousal theory of social facilitation with the evaluation apprehension theory and the distraction theory. According to each theory, how should experts vs. novices perform in a game of pool in front of an audience and why?

Question 37

Annabelle has just moved to Australia with her family. Before she moved, Annabelle went to a co-ed public school. In Australia, she will be attending an all-girls school where she will also wear a uniform for the first time. Describe the phases that Annabelle will go through as she socializes to this new group.

Question 38

Briefly describe the 5 stages of group development and illustrate with an example of a group from your own life.

Question 39

Imagine that you are working on a project with a group. Will your group perform better or worse if it is under time pressure? Explore the pros and cons of working "under the gun".

Question 40

Charlotte, a 6th grader, showed up to school one day and none of her friends would talk to her any more. At recess they either made fun of her or avoided her completely. How is Charlotte likely to respond to this treatment by her 'friends'? First, describe one relevant study that has examined such issues. Second, explain how Charlotte would respond to such treatment at a) a neurological level, b) a behavioral level, and c) a cognitive level.

Question 41

What are the characteristics of a powerful person? Briefly describe a study that illustrates one easy way for people to feel more powerful.

Question 42

In ________ tasks the group's performance is only as good as the performance of its worst member. In contrast, in ________ tasks the group's performance is only as good as the performance of its best member.

A) additive; compensatory
B) compensatory; additive
C) disjunctive; conjunctive
D) conjunctive; disjunctive

Question 43

In order to be interdependent, groups must interact face-to-face.

Question 44

To ensure a safe flight, a pilot's communication skills are often just as important as his or her skills at flying a plane.

Question 45

Groups whose members communicate face-to-face take longer to reach decisions, they make poorer quality decisions, and group members are less satisfied with their decisions compared to groups that use technology to communicate.

Question 46

Hockey players that feel greater team cohesion are more likely to return for the next season.

Question 47

Members with leaders in a positive mood put forth less effort than leaders in a negative mood.

Question 48

Research on leadership style has supported the idea that great leaders are born, not created.

Question 49

Coaches that offer a lot of criticisms for poor performance tend to have players who enjoy the game more than more supportive coaches.

Question 50

Regardless of gender, individuals who look more masculine are more likely to be selected as leaders.

Question 51

In American football, African Americans hold a relatively high number of head coaching positions.

Question 52

In many cases, the weakest group member will work harder in a group than they do alone.

Question 53

Social loafing is less prevalent in collectivist cultures.

Question 54

If you want people to perform at their best, they should perform in front of an audience.

Question 55

The presence of other people who cannot evaluate us still has the potential to create social facilitation effects.

Question 56

Groups that are socially interdependent are rarely also task interdependent.

Question 57

According to the group socialization model, the group changes the individual but the individual does not change the group.

Question 58

People who experience lack of control prefer hierarchical groups.

Question 59

Groups generally perform worse when they are under time pressure.

Question 60

Being ostracized can cause the same areas of the brain to activate as when we experience physical pain.

Question 61

Research on brainstorming shows that groups are able to generate double the number of ideas as the same number of individuals working alone.

Question 62

Individuals may feel more power by recalling a time in which they previously had power, and buy assuming ""power poses.""

Question 63

Members of a student newspaper are working together to publish the latest edition of the paper. They have been working together for so long that each group member's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors regarding the paper have started to influence each of the other members. When they work together to meet a deadline they are all happy. When someone shows up late for work, they are all disappointed. It is clear that this group is high in ____________.

A) independence
B) interdependence
C) social desirability
D) social facilitation

Question 64

Which of the following is the best example of social facilitation on the tennis court?

A) Andie, who is learning a new swing, practices alone and gradually improves.
B) Johnny, who is an expert tennis player, prefers to practice by himself because he feels he performs better when there is little pressure.
C) Mary, who is a novice tennis player, chokes during her first game in front of an audience and loses.
D) Louie, who is an expert tennis player, plays in front of a large crowd and wins his match.

Question 65

Groups in which all of the members have equal status and power are known as _______, whereas groups in which some members have more power than others are known as _______.

A) egalitarian; hierarchical
B) hierarchical; egalitarian
C) oligarchical; egalitarian
D) hierarchical; oligarchical

Question 66

Half of the members of a high school glee club want to perform show tunes at regionals. The other half of the members are upset because they always perform show tunes so they are arguing to perform hits from the 80s instead. Given the disagreement among the glee club members, this groups is most likely at which stage of group development?

A) Norming
B) Performing
C) Storming
D) Adjourning

Question 67

Which of the following statements about the second stage of group development is true?

A) Process conflicts arise from personality differences among group members.
B) Relationship conflict arises from differing opinions about the content of the tasks a group is performing.
C) Task conflict can lead to improved group performance.
D) All of the above statements are true.

Question 68

Satisfaction with the group and a shared understanding of the group's purpose are characteristics of which stage of group development?

A) Storming
B) Forming
C) Performing
D) Norming

Question 69

In the _______ stage of group development, members work together to solve problems, make decisions, and generate output.

A) Norming
B) Performing
C) Storming
D) Adjourning

Question 70

Patrick is part of a debate team. When he showed up for the latest team meeting, the other group members ignored him. Patrick also realized that he would not be a part of the next debate. It would appear that Patrick's debate team members are ________ him.

A) ostracizing
B) norming
C) storming
D) social loafing

Question 71

In the Cyberball paradigm, participants play a computer game in which they toss a virtual ball back and forth to two other players. Half of the participants are routinely passed the ball, whereas the other half of the participants get the ball initially, but then they are left out. Which of the following results have been found using this paradigm?

A) In general, people are not affected by ostracism in Cyberball.
B) Being ostracized in Cyberball leads people to report lower levels of control and self-esteem.
C) People who believe they are being ostracized by KKK members will not experience the negative effects ostracism.
D) People are less likely to feel ostracized when other players fail to toss them a ""Cyberbomb"".

Question 72

Research on group socialization has shown all but which of the following?

A) Group members perceive temporary group members as less similar to the group.
B) Temporary group members improve group decision-making.
C) Newcomers are more likely to confront in-group members who violate the rules.
D) Veteran members feel more comfortable ""rocking the boat.""

Question 73

Which of the following is a characteristic of the first phase of the group socialization process?

A) The group tries to mold the individual into a ""team player"" who can help achieve group goals.
B) The group tries to find a specific role for the individual that maximizes his or her contribution.
C) The individual is careful not to upset the group in such a way that would lead to their ousting.
D) The individual and the group size each other up and determine if they will help each other achieve their goals.

Question 74

According to social facilitation, when performing in front of others, people will perform better at _________ tasks, and worse at _________ tasks.

A) simple or well learned; complex or new
B) complex or new; simple or well learned
C) simple or well learned; accessible
D) less accessible; complex or new

Question 75

According to the text, why does social facilitation occur?

A) Because other people serve as distractions
B) Because we are worried about how others will evaluate our performance
C) Because the presence of others increases an individual's level of arousal
D) All of the above

Question 76

Students from high schools across the state have shown up to take part in a track and field meet. The stakes are high and the audience is large and noisy. According to Zajonc's theory of social facilitation, who should have the best performance at the meet?

A) Dakota, who does not have a lot of experience running the 400-meter dash and who is experiencing a great deal of arousal.
B) Mackenzie, who has a lot of experience running the 400-meter dash and who is so comfortable that she is experiencing very little arousal.
C) London, who has a lot of experience running the 400-meter dash and who is experiencing a great deal of arousal.
D) Piper, who does not have a lot of experience running the 400-meter dash, but who had an opportunity to warm up for an hour before the meet.

Question 77

In a study by Bartis and colleagues (1988), participants were asked to list various uses for a knife. The participants who performed a simple version of this task and who knew that their individual responses could be identified performed better than participants who also thought that their individual responses could be identified but performed a more complex version of the task. This study provides evidence for which specific cause of social facilitation?

A) Arousal
B) Evaluation apprehension
C) Distraction
D) Social desirability

Question 78

Research on evaluation apprehension in the workplace has shown that:

A) Workers experience more satisfaction when their work is monitored electronically as opposed to in person.
B) Highly skilled workers perform better when they know they are being monitored than when they are unmonitored.
C) Relatively unskilled workers perform better when they know they are being monitored than when they are unmonitored.
D) Electronic monitoring of workers decreases their levels of stress.

Question 79

Which of the following statements about distraction and social facilitation is true?

A) Individuals who are in the same room, but unable to view the performance of another person, can still serve as a distraction.
B) In order to be a distraction, individuals must perform tasks in front of observers.
C) Distraction impairs performance on difficult tasks that require individuals to focus their attention.
D) People's performance on simple tasks suffers when performed in a crowd of people.

Question 80

Task dependence involves reliance on group members for _________, whereas social interdependence involves reliance on group members for _________.

A) group identity; mastery of material outcomes
B) feelings of connectedness; group identity
C) mastery of material outcomes; feelings of connectedness
D) group identity; feelings of connectedness