The group as a self-active system: Outline of a theory of group action

Human social systems, and groups in partlcular, are conceived as units which, as a whole, actively strive towards the achievement of external and internal goals. This ‘group action’ consists of simultaneous integrated processes on various individual and social levels. Our theory comprises four groups of constructs, which refer to task structure, group structure, information processing and execution. In an ongoing group action, the task structure is projected on the group structure; according to the resulting pattern, the group processes its action related information and executes the act. The latter two processes proceed on two levels, on an individual and on a group level. There are cognition, emotion and volition on the individual, and communication on the group level of information processing; execution proceeds in individual action and in cooperation. A specific part of the theory concerns analogies between individual cognition and intragroup communication.     

Effects of a group stereotype on memory for behaviors performed by a group member

Participants were provided with a group impression prior to receiving behavioral information pertaining to a group member. The group impression conveyed a below average level of intelligence or an above average level of intelligence. In addition, the distribution of intelligence scores within the group was unimodal in one condition and bimodal in another condition. The behavioral information pertaining to the individual group member was predominantly intelligent or predominantly unintelligent, thereby affording the on‐line formation of an intelligent or unintelligent personal impression regarding the group member. After receiving the behavioral information, participants recalled the behaviors and rated the group member along the intelligence dimension. Recall and judgment data revealed that the group impression functioned as the dominant expectancy that influenced processing of the behavioral information. Moreover, the effect of the group expectancy was substantially greater in the unimodal condition than in the bimodal condition. Presence of a group impression appears to reduce the tendency for participants to derive a personal impression on‐line, and reduce the tendency for participants to rely on a derived personal expectancy when encoding behaviors performed by a group member. Potential moderators of this effect are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sources of the discontinuity effect: Playing against a group versus being in a group

Intergroup relations tend to be more competitive than relations between individuals. This difference, called the “discontinuity effect,” has been demonstrated under a wide variety of conditions. Two separate explanations for the discontinuity effect were explored in our research. The first explanation is that something about playing against a group leads people to compete. The second explanation is that something about being in a group leads people to compete. The results supported both explanations, although the evidence more strongly favored the effect of being in a group. Distrust mediated both effects.     

Comparison of group climate in an eating disorders partial hospital group and a psychiatric partial hospital group

Women in an eating disorders partial hospital program and a psychiatric partial hospital program were compared on a self-report measure of group climate following a psychodynamic-interpersonal therapy group. Those with eating disorders experienced their groups as more engaged and as more avoiding than those in the psychiatric partial hospital group. Therapists may be able to use initial heightened engagement in eating disorder groups to counteract the tendency to avoid content.     

Interindividual‐intergroup discontinuity as a joint function of acting as a group and interacting with a group

An experiment assessed the prisoner's dilemma game (PDG) choices of a set of three persons who interacted with another supposed set of three persons. There were four conditions: (1) group‐on‐group (both three‐person sets constrained by a majority vote), (2) group‐on‐one (only own three‐person set constrained by a majority vote), (3) one‐on‐group (only other three‐person set constrained by a majority vote), (4) one‐on‐one (neither three‐person set constrained by a majority vote). The four conditions were compared with three orthogonal contrasts. Consistent with the assumption that interindividual interactions are less competitive than interactions involving groups, the first contrast indicated that there were fewer competitive choices in the one‐on‐one condition than in the other three conditions pooled. Consistent with the assumption that competitiveness can flow either from acting as a group or interacting with a group, the second contrast found no significant difference between the group‐on‐one and one‐on‐group conditions. Finally, consistent with the assumption that the interindividual‐intergroup discontinuity effect is a joint function of acting as a group and interacting with a group, the third contrast revealed that there were more competitive choices in the group‐on‐group condition than in the one‐on‐group and group‐on‐one conditions pooled. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The group as a resource: reducing biased attributions for group success and failure via group affirmation

Self-affirmation theory proposes that people can respond to threats to the self by affirming alternative sources of self-integrity, resulting in greater openness to self-threatening information. The present research examines this at a group level by investigating whether a group affirmation (affirming an important group value) increases acceptance of threatening group information among sports teams and fans. In Study 1, athletes exhibited a group-serving attributional bias, which was eliminated by the group affirmation. In Study 2, the most highly identified fans exhibited the most bias in terms of their attributions, and this bias was eliminated by the group affirmation. These studies suggest that groups can serve as resources from which people can draw in response to threatening group events.     

Using a self-evaluation system as a group contingency

The efficacy of a group-evaluation system was examined, with a reversal design, in two classes of students with disabilities. The results suggested that a group-evaluation system was effective in decreasing the inappropriate verbalizations of both groups. Student satisfaction data revealed that the students in both groups had positive reactions to the system. Factors contributing to the success of the intervention as well as suggestions for its implementation are discussed.