Deck 9: Communicating in Groups

Question 1

A _______ family is one in which all family members give input on a decision,but one person makes the final decision.

A)consensual
B)protective
C)pluralistic
D)laissez-faire

Answer 1

A

Question 2

During which stage of group development are members concerned about expressing their ideas and being heard?

A)norming
B)storming
C)performing
D)forming

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A work group is _______.

A)a small collection of people who interact for a common purpose
B)usually an unproductive and unfocused collection of individuals
C)non-goal oriented
D)a group that contains the optimum number of diverse members

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Olivia volunteered to bring snacks to the first group meeting,and now she does it every week even though it is not officially assigned to her.This is an example of a _______.

A)formal group norm
B)informal group norm
C)ground rule
D)prescribed behavior

Question 5

Which of these is an example of a service group?

A)a basketball team
B)a group building a Habitat for Humanity house
C)a design team redecorating a home
D)a project group designing a new ad for Nike

Question 6

Norms that evolve informally are different than formal norms because informal norms _______.

A)are easier to enforce
B)evolve during the beginning stages of a group's formation
C)may never actually be discussed by the group
D)include ground rules

Question 7

Cohesiveness is more likely to develop in groups in which _______.

A)there is mandatory membership
B)the membership is heterogeneous
C)there is widespread attractiveness of the group's purpose
D)none of the above

Question 8

Competent group communicators often identify developing group norms and then adapt their communication styles to the group norms during the _______.

A)performing stage
B)storming stage
C)norming stage
D)forming stage

Question 9

Cohesiveness is more likely to develop in _______.

A)a one-meeting group that avoids conflict
B)the first few interactions during the forming stage
C)interpersonally independent groups
D)groups where members feel valued and respected

Question 10

Synergy is _______.

A)the combination of factors that create less energy than was initially predicted
B)a commonality of purpose and group efforts that produces a group outcome greater than an individual outcome
C)the contextual situation that allows for group dynamics
D)an over-reliance on group norms

Question 11

Which of the following statements about social friendship groups is accurate?

A)They are not as important as work groups.
B)They are more task-oriented than work groups.
C)They fulfill our need to belong.
D)They are not really groups.

Question 12

Group goals _______.

A)do not need to be discussed for clarity
B)motivate a group to work toward its achievement
C)are always acceptable and consistent
D)require members to go beyond normal achievements

Question 13

Generally speaking,when we consider group size,_______.

A)bigger is usually better because it provides more diverse opinions
B)even rather than odd numbers of participants are preferred and helpful
C)the optimum size is the smallest number of people capable of achieving the goal
D)cohesiveness is nearly impossible in a group smaller than five

Question 14

Disagreements between people are usually not present in the _______ stage because members like to appear flexible during this stage of group development.

A)norming
B)storming
C)adjourning
D)forming

Question 15

What is the purpose of a team-building activity?

A)to establish trust and rapport
B)to establish group norms
C)to determine who is committed to group goals
D)to develop leadership in groups

Question 16

A(n)_______ group is a group that forms out of a shared hobby,concern,or activity.

A)service
B)action
C)interest
D)work

Question 17

An effective work group goal should be _______.

A)voted on by all members
B)fairly easy to achieve
C)challenging to achieve
D)vague to allow change if needed

Question 18

During which stage of group development are members concerned with fitting in?

A)norming
B)storming
C)performing
D)forming

Question 19

Which of the following characteristics of a group norm is accurate?

A)They develop only through formal processes.
B)They are determined by the group leader.
C)Adhering to them is healthy for a group.
D)They impede group progress.

Question 20

Which of the following statements about support groups is accurate?

A)Having group goals is the most important thing.
B)These groups center around a shared hobby.
C)Establishing trust is essential in these groups.
D)They do not have group goals.

Question 21

According to your textbook,which statement about online games like World of Warcraft is accurate?

A)These groups are ineffective because they isolate members.
B)These groups do not abide by the standards of healthy groups.
C)These groups operate totally differently from other groups.
D)These groups can be productive and healthy for members.

Question 22

What should you do to change an informal norm in a group?

A)Begin enacting the behavior you would like to see.
B)Talk openly about the issue with your group.
C)Ask the leader to make a new policy.
D)You cannot change norms in a group.

Question 23

If two or more group members disagree about the scheduling of their meetings,this is an example of _______.

A)pseudo conflict
B)issue-related conflict
C)personality-related conflict
D)cultural conflict

Question 24

An interest group is made up of people who genuinely care about each other's welfare.

Question 25

During this stage of group development,members assign meaning to what they have done.

A)norming
B)storming
C)adjourning
D)performing

Question 26

If a group seems to be moving along quickly towards their goals with very little or no dissention among group members and no change in their goals,what is probably happening?

A)synergy
B)forming
C)groupthink
D)storming

Question 27

Performing is the most important stage of group development.

Question 28

Groupthink _______.

A)is what happens when a group comes to consensus on an issue
B)results from active listening skills
C)is the deterioration of mental efficiency that results from in-group pressure to agree with the group
D)none of the above

Question 29

Which of the following is an example of engaging in accountability?

A)following group norms
B)working to change counter-productive norms
C)expecting others to follow group norms and imposing appropriate consequences when they do not
D)all of the above

Question 30

A _______ is an explicit expectation of behavior.

A)norm
B)ground rule
C)cohesive act
D)value

Question 31

Groupthink is necessary in order for a group to be productive.

Question 32

What can you do to avoid groupthink?

A)discourage disagreement
B)avoid paraphrasing
C)question ideas and decisions
D)adhere closely to group norms

Question 33

A homogenous group may face which challenge?

A)difficulty creating new ideas
B)difficulty finding common ground
C)personality-related conflict
D)issue-related conflict

Question 34

Group norms can be counterproductive.

Question 35

While preparing for a group meeting,Jacob sees that his contribution was not posted in the minutes of the last meeting and he shows up to the meeting angry.The team leader explains the mistake as he hands out the revised minutes.This is an example of a _______.

A)pseudo conflict
B)issue-related conflict
C)personality-related conflict
D)cultural conflict

Question 36

In a _______ group,the members are very similar to one another.

A)homogeneous
B)heterogeneous
C)family
D)cohesive

Question 37

Even though the Bluerays,a local swim team,did not have a single record-holding swimmer on the team,their combined efforts and talents helped them to win the city's championship meet.This is an example of _______.

A)synergy
B)storming
C)groupthink
D)a support group

Question 38

What makes a group different from an aggregation of people?

A)Groups are larger than aggregations of people.
B)Groups have goals.
C)Groups always have similar members.
D)Groups engage in communication and aggregations of people do not.

Question 39

Which of the following statements about group evaluation is accurate?

A)Only leaders should evaluate the group.
B)Group evaluation is most effective at the completion of the task.
C)The group should evaluate itself on an ongoing basis.
D)Evaluations are most effective when completed by someone who is not a member of the group.

Question 40

During this stage of group development,conversations are focused on problem solving and sharing task-related information.

A)norming
B)performing
C)storming
D)forming

Question 41

Virtual groups should communicate how they feel to close the gap created by a virtual work environment.

Question 42

Identify and explain the major stages of group development and identify what stage this class is in right now.Justify and explain your answer using examples

Question 43

Think about the groups you are in or have been a part of.Describe the different roles you have taken in groups.Do you always end up in the same types of roles? Why do you think this does or does not happen?

Question 44

The adjourning stage of group development should include a termination ritual.

Question 45

Define synergy.Then,give an example of a time that you experienced synergy in a group.Based on what you know about group cohesiveness and group effectiveness,describe why you think this group was able to achieve synergy.Be sure to use at least three terms from the text in your answer.

Question 46

Conflict should always be avoided within groups.

Question 47

Your book identifies six characteristics of healthy groups.Briefly describe a group you have been part of that you think is a healthy group.Using at least three of the characteristics (and providing an example of each),explain why you think this group is/was healthy.

Question 48

Nonverbal cues are not important in virtual groups because group members do not see each other face-to-face.