Working in a group is vastly different from working individually. A personal goal becomes a shared goal, and a new layer of processes and mechanics appears. This is what happened when our study group was formed. We had to realize the importance of goal setting, the hardships a group faces, and what benefits it provides. In this paper, the work of our group will be described and analyzed following the group theories.
Our group managed to set up a goal and distribute the responsibilities among the members, and everyone was aware of their roles. Additionally, the members had the understanding that they could rely on each other if something was too difficult for one person to do. Our group planned to execute a group lecture and shared the same notion of doing our best, as the members ultimately wanted a good grade.
Some theories that were demonstrated in our group were social laboring and the collective effort model. Social laboring was connected with the members exercising extra effort for the group when they thought it was vital to “the common good” (Forsyth, p. 318). The collective effort model manifested in our group’s expectation about reaching the goal, as everyone believed that it is within reach and worthwhile (Forsyth, p. 319). If a group member was performing poorly, he was encouraged rather than criticized, which allowed our group not to trigger social compensation (Forsyth, p. 318). In general, our group demonstrated a number of positive group mechanics.
Our group managed to minimize some negative processes during the work, for example, free riding (Forsyth, p. 316) and social loafing (Forsyth, p. 315). They were minimized, as the members believed that their contribution is essential for our group’s success and that each person played a significant role in the outcome. While facilitating the resources and avoiding negative consequences, the members managed to increase identification with the group (Forsyth, p. 318). Overall, our group made attempts to avoid negative group mechanics and make the work efficient.
To summarize everything, this paper attempted to integrate the group theory with the actual group experience. The work of the group was outlined, then the analysis of the group was given with the application of various group mechanics, both positive and negative. In the end, the group’s dynamics were mostly positive, and the success was group-based, as all members felt like they contributed to the overall result.
Reference
Forsyth, D. R. (2019). Group dynamics (7th ed.). Cengage.