Why do psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, and political scientists study groups?
What is group cohesion, and how does it differ from interpersonal attraction?
What is the secret to surviving, as a group, in an extreme and unusual environment?
Summarize Tuckman’s five-stage model of group development, naming and giving an example of each stage he identifies.
How is a role in a group like a role in a play? How do they differ?
Describe the structure of the status relations in a group of characters in a popular television program.
What are the processes that distinguish between a typical team and a highly effective team?
In what ways does membership in a group change a person’s sense of self?
How is the need to belong different from other needs such as thirst and hunger?
Use principles of attraction to explain why people use social networking sites.
You are planning a mission to explore the planet Mars. When you create the team that you will send, what types of individuals and diversity will you build into the group and why?
Why is a unanimous majority so influential?
Explain why some individuals rise to positions of authority and others do not.
Think of groups that you have joined in the past. How have those experiences with past groups affected your willingness to join groups now?
Do you think of yourself as a loner or a joiner? Trace your behavioral tendencies back to your psychological needs.
Describe your own role tendencies in groups in terms of preference for task roles or relationship roles.
Drawing on studies of cultural factors, eras, gender, and personality, explain your personal tendency to conform or to remain independent.
If you were the manager of a large staff of people in a manufacturing company, which bases of power would you rely on most heavily and why?