Page 347 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

Supporter/encourager Praises, agrees, indicates warmth and solidarity; verbally
supports members
Harmonizer
Tension reliever Social Roles
Gatekeeper Mediates differences among members; reconciles
disagreement; brings collaboration from conflict
Reduces the formality or status differences; offers humor
Ensures all have an equal chance to be heard; protects those
who prefer to be silent

Box 15-3 ■ Group Task and Social Roles

The supporter plays a valuable role, for example, because without verbal support from others, good ideas
and suggestions are often disregarded. If no one supports a minority opinion, it is quickly dismissed.
Generally, if only one person supports the idea, the group will seriously consider the merits of the proposal
and a minority opinion can gain majority support. Verbal support remarks are “I agree,” “Well said,” or “I wish
I had said that.”

Gatekeepers tend to say things such as “You look like you have strong feelings” or “I can tell by your face
that you disapprove.” Such comments are generally all the prodding the silent participant needs to enter the
discussion.

All members—participants as well as facilitators—are responsible, and they need to be alert to perform as
many of the functions as they see a need for. Some people may be natural harmonizers or orienters, while
others are summarizers. While members of the group are talking, other group members need to be reflecting
on the dynamics of the group and on the needs at the moment. This process leads to an understanding of
which functions need to be performed to help the group accomplish its task.

Some group members assume negative roles that are not helpful and inhibit the group. These include being
an aggressor, dominator, withdrawer, recognition seeker, objector/blocker, joker, and special interest or self-
interest pleader.12,14

CASE ANALYSIS 8

What would you suggest that Betty can do to implement “group facilitation skills”?

Paradox of Group Dynamics

There is a paradox inherent in groups. Groups possess the potential to stimulate creative thinking and to
promote a decision or solution that is superior to what any individual could accomplish alone. On the other
hand, groups possess the potential to stifle creative thinking and thus promote an outcome inferior to what an
individual working alone might accomplish. Ordinarily, no one person is solely responsible for what happens
in any given session. However, whether a group becomes a force to promote creative thinking and problem
solving or a force that inhibits these functions depends primarily on the skills of its leader and, to a lesser

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