Chapter 5, question 3

Nonverbal communication was an interesting part of Chapter 5. Seeing as how the majority of communication is nonverbal it is an intricate part on the group dynamic and normal everyday interactions. Just watching how someone’s face or body reacts to something you say can say way more than the words they spew out of their mouth. I cant tell you how much I value non-verbal communication Vs verbal in my job. As a salesman you are always gauging where the customer is at in the conversation and you can tell more how they are reacting to your words but what the do rather than what they say. If they are swaying while they say “ok” the conversation probably isn’t going the way you hoped it would even though they said “ok”. By watching these queues we can interact with our group members in whole other manner which gives us another look into our group dynamic.

Chapter 5, question 2

“White men of privilege” is a concept that can be interpreted in different ways. I myself see it as a way that minorities view the “white man” as having a cake walk through life. It is a crutch in which minorities use as an excuse for their shortcomings. Being a minority I have heard this term, in different variations, many times. Is there some validity to it? Sure there is. White Caucasian males may have a leg in the corporate world and other areas of our culture. This isn’t the case as much as in the past 50 years, but it is still an issue in today’s world. In the world I have viewed this has never really been the case. Obviously we all have experienced different things in our lives, but I have never truly witnessed a white guy getting something over a black, Hispanic, Asian or any other ethnicity. I feel that this is a way for lazy people to justify them not getting what they want. It is my experience that has taught me that if you want something you have to earn it. May u have to work harder to get it than a white person? Maybe. But that shouldn’t be an excuse to stop trying.

Chapter 5 question 1

I think that almost everyone that went to high school was stereotyped at one point or another. I myself was a jock, and I was labeled everything that accompanies that title. I obviously used to hang out with people who also played sports and as a group was labeled as trouble makers, dumb, “simple”, etc. Granted there were some members of the group that may have fit into that category, but for the most part we were nothing like that. I always found it so funny when I’de be in class and people would make comments regarding me or my friends. But that is the way high school is. When that translates in adult life is where we run into problems. The book talks about how damaging stereotypes can be and how no good comes from them. I would agree with that statement, because for the most part, stereotypes are negative. Very rarely is a stereotype a positive thing.

wk 3, question 3

One concept that I like in this chapter was Cohesiveness. “Is the extent of which member are loyal to the group.” (Pg 54) This is a great definition. Its funny how when it’s a member of your group you can except things from the m that you wouldn’t from others. I know some of my friends do some pretty stupid things, but you still tend to stand by them and stay loyal to the end. I don’t know what it is. It really is “A force that binds groups together.” (Pg 54) You develop a sense of camaraderie and are willing to do things for them that you wouldn’t do for anyone else. I have gone above and beyond the call of duty for my group of friends as they have for me. But taking a step back and looking at it from an outside perspective it has to seem weird the things we go through for our friends.

week 3, question 2

I have witnessed a violation of group norm on many occasions. My close group of friends tend to mingle with other groups all of the time. For instance, I have grown very close to my sister boyfriend and his friends over the past year or so and sometimes have my group of friends come over his house from time to time. When this happens there tends to be some norm violation by my group of friends when it comes to his group norms. For the most part depending on who’s group setting it is, the foreign group tends to have an internal obligation to conform to the “home” groups norms. When it comes to say beerpong, my group of friends play one way and his group plays another. My group tends to adapt to that norm for the most part. But when a specific rule such as rebuttal throws come in, my group tends to disagree and a violation of a norm comes into play making it somewhat uncomfortable.

wk 3, question 1

As you and your friends begin to hang out you begin to develop habits or norms, I know my group of friends definitely do. You begin to go to the same places and do the same things. And when in our group you are expected to act certain way and do certain things. We talk a lot of crap and you are required to develop tough skin. We are also very dependable when it comes to coming through when you say you will, and if this doesn’t happen it puts a big damper on the entire group dynamic. When people come into our group that aren’t exactly normal visitors, it is easy to see what our group dynamic is. In fact people comment on it all the time. We don’t really hide who we are or how we act, I find it very funny because for the most part we don’t even notice it.

Question 3

One subject that was touched on in Chapter 2 that I want to talk about is Irreversibility. The author brings up a really good point in regards to this subject. “Once something is said- in anger, frustration, enthusiasm, or excitement - it can never be taken back and will have some impact on the participants and future discussions.” (Pg 38). I find this to be very true. Once something is said and even if the speaker didn’t mean for it to come out that way, there is no real way to the people who heard it to forget how it originally made them feel when they first heard. Even if the person apologizes and tries to take it back, the damage is already done. Some groups are strong enough to overcome something like this, a lot of groups aren’t. Which is why you especially need to be careful about what you say in your group setting with people you may not have a prior relationship with. First impressions can never be re-done.

Question 1

Interdependence is crucial in order for a group to reach its ultimate goal. Harris explains that the group benefits by the passing along of their ideas and similar interactions. The group needs to depend on one another and each share the responsibility.

I feel a perfect example is that of my basketball team. In order for a team to be good, they have to all handle their individual jobs well while backing each other up. We have to know that if I do my job the others will do theirs. We have to work together by doing our part in order for us to win the game. If one falters we all falter.

Another example would be that of my co-workers. In a bank we all have a specific job to do. We all work on referrals. The tellers refer people to me and I in turn refer to specialists. We only get crediot for the referral is the account is opened. Therefore, we are depending on that other person to get eh job done when I hand the customer off.

Question 2

Entropy and equifinality impact groups in different ways. Entropy impacts all sorts of groups and the way they operate. It’s about keeping a balance between over-stimulation and stagnation. Groups, need to keep an order to things and stay organized otherwise entropy will set in and set the group back from accomplishing what they set out to do in the first place. Equifinality on the other hand is a reference to the fact that group can attain the same goal but do it in different ways. It is good to keep this in mind because you can mold the path you take based on the type of people you have in your group. This is key to make your group function to its fullest capabilities. By realizing equifinality and maintaining entropy you can have your group move toward its common goal without chaos or stagnation. These are two very important factors in the small group dynamic.