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Members in Small Group Communication 197

information but without firmly formulated conclusions. The importance of a group Communication
orientation is also seen in one of the rules of netiquette, which holds that you should Choice point
not protest the subject of, say, a mailing list or a chat group. If you don’t wish to be small Group Conflicts
group oriented and discuss what the group is discussing, you’re expected to unsub- You’re leading a group of
scribe from the mailing list or withdraw from the group. graduate and undergraduate students,
charged with evaluating the core curricu-
Center Conflict on Issues Conflict in small group situations is inevitable; it’s a lum. The problem is that neither the gradu-
natural part of the give and take of ideas and often promotes a better outcome. To ate students nor the undergraduates want
manage conflict effectively, however, center it on issues rather than on personalities. to listen fairly to each other. Thinking back to
When you disagree, make it clear that your disagreement is with the ideas expressed, the discussion of listening (Chapter 3), what are
not with the person who expressed them. For example, if you think that a colleague’s some of the things you might say to promote
ideas to raise funds for your social service agency are impractical and shortsighted, more effective group listening?
concentrate your criticisms on your colleague’s proposed plan and suggest ways that
the plan could be improved rather than attacking your colleague personally. Similarly, when
someone disagrees with you, try not to take it personally or react emotionally. Rather, view
the disagreement as an opportunity to discuss issues from an alternative point of view. In the
language of the Internet, don’t flame—don’t attack the person. And don’t contribute to flame
wars by flame baiting, or saying things that will further incite the personal attacks.

be Critically Open-Minded When members join a group with their minds already
made up, the small group process degenerates into a series of debates in which each person
argues for his or her position—a clear example of members’ taking on individual and dys-
functional roles. Group goals are neglected and the group process breaks down.
Let’s say you have spent several hours developing what you think is the best, most effec-
tive advertising campaign to combat your company’s low sales numbers. At the group meet-
ing, however, members’ reactions are extremely critical. Instead of becoming defensive, listen
to their criticisms and try to think of ways that your plan could be modified to be as effective
as possible for the company. To avoid this situation in the future, try to come to the group
with ideas rather than conclusions; with suggestions rather than final decisions; and, of
course, with information that will contribute to the discussion and the group goal. Be willing
to accept other people’s suggestions as well as to revise your
own in light of the discussion. Listen openly but critically to
comments of all members (including your own).

beware of social loafing Visualize yourself in a rope
pulling contest—you need to successfully pull the other side
into the pond or they will pull you. With this vision in mind,
consider whether you would exert more effort if you were
alone or if you were part of a group of five or six. The con-
cept of social loafing—the theory that you exert less effort
when you’re part of a group than when alone—resulted
from experiments such as this that measured the amount of
effort people actually exerted alone versus in groups (Latané,
Williams, & Harkins, 2006). Being aware of this tendency is
a useful first step in combating it. It’s often an unproductive
group tendency that leads to less productive group interac-
tions and decisions. And it is probably noticed by others and ViewPOInts
so hurts you professionally. Some of the factors that influ-
ence social loafing and corresponding correctives are social Facilitation
identified in Table 10.1 (p. 198). The opposite of social loafing is social facilitation, which
holds that in a group you exert more effort than you would
ensure understanding Make sure all participants if you were alone. You might feel this way if you felt you
understand your ideas and information. If something is were being watched and evaluated, for example. Under
worth saying, it’s worth making clear. When in doubt, ask what conditions are you likely to perform below your nor-
mal level? Under what conditions are you likely to perform
questions: “Is that clear?” “Did I explain that clearly?” above your normal level?
Make sure, too, that you fully understand other members’