Group Influence
An interpersonal undercurrent flows beneath the surface of most groups that pushes group members toward greater consensus, uniformity, homogeneity, or conformity. But other forces push members in divergent directions; they promote dissension, uniqueness, heterogeneity, and independence.
Choose a group you meet with regularly; take a moment and reflect on its influence on you. Do you change your behavior when you are in this group? Does the group influence you in some way, even when you are no longer in the group?
1. Describe the group briefly: its composition, structure, dynamics, and tasks. How long have you belonged to the group, and what is your role in the group?
2. Is the group an influential one for you, personally? To answer this question, briefly describe your basic personality in terms of these five qualities (see your Unit 1 discussion post for your scores in these areas):
introversion/extraversion (outgoing vs. reserved)
agreeable (friendly vs. aloof)
conscientious (responsible vs. uninvolved)
stability or neuroticism (assured vs. nervous) and
openness (open to ideas vs. conservative).
Do your actions in the group reflect your personal qualities, or do you act in ways that are inconsistent with your personality in this group?
Remember you can also take the Big Five Personality test at this website: http://www.personalitytest.org.uk/
3. People differ in their tendency to conform in groups. Do you have any conformity increasing qualities? Are you shy? Do you prefer to change your behavior to match the demands of situations in which you find yourself? Do you avoid attracting too much attention to yourself when you are in social settings? Are you generally uncertain about the validity of your opinions and conclusions? Are you more introverted than extraverted?
4. Be sure to include a concluding paragraph that summarizes your reflections about this group, how your own personality influences your communication and interactions within the group, and your level of (and reasons for) conformity within the group.
Submit your assignment as an MS Word document in APA format. Your assignment should be a minimum of two pages in length, not including the APA formatted title and reference page. You should use the text as your reference. This is how it should appear on your reference page:
Forsyth, Donelson (2018) Group Dynamics. 7th ed. Cengage Learning.
In-text citations for the text will look like this: (Forsyth, 2018).
Additional APA formatting guidelines can be found here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
