Chapter 7: Effective Role Performance in Small Groups

Chapter 7 talks about the roles that certain people play in small groups. After you read this chapter, you will be able to describe the most frequently played roles in small group as well understand the communication skills for engaging in effective role performance. The last thing you will learn is to understand the relations among people, roles, and communication skills.

Key terms:

• 1. Task Leader - Briefly defined as he or she is what he or she does or has the potential to do in the group. Usually enjoys high group status and feels responsible for the group's actions.
• 2. Social-emotional Leader - Defined as the person who is well liked by the rest of the group members. This leader may not be the most popular in the group, but certainly most members are attracted to him or her.
• 3. Tension Releaser - Defined as the ability to be funny but also is aware of the sensibilities of the group in given work environments.
• 4. Information Provider - Usually is one of the most shared roles in a small group, but if one member is the main information provider, he or she has the ability to provide accurate and concise data instantly for all major aspects of the discussion topic.
• 5. Central Negative - Usually is the person that isn't pleased what's going on. Also, this person challenges the leader of the group or criticizes other people's opinions.

Unlike the 5 major roles from before, there are 5 minor ones as well.

• 1. Questioner - This person has the ability to probe the ideas under discussion incisively without threatening or alienating group members and without challenging the task leader.
• 2. Silent Observer - The person would play this role quietly and observe and evaluate the discussion being carried on by more active members.
• 3. Active Listener - Usually shared within the group, the person who plays this role remains argumentatively neutral,, while being actively supportive of any member who attempts to contribute an ideas or evaluate an idea under consideration.
• 4. Recorder - One that records all the information for their group
• 5. Self-center Follower - A counter-productive role, this person works again the group's goals and is narcissistically out for him or herself.

Strategies for Enhancing Role Performance - These strategies are used to enhance role performance .

• 1. Maintaining Role Stability - Basically stating that if you take a particular role is that you keep your role and know how to play it.
• 2. Adopting an Expanded Role - If one person isn't playing a particular role up to par, this person will stand up and adopt that role to keep stability.
• 3. Performing the Leadership Role When Needed - Defined as if the leadership role is needed, one will step and perform the necessary tasks.
• 4. Assisting in Procedure - An important communication skill because it shows support for the leader and helps to build solidarity in the group
• 5. Observing and Self-Monitoring - When in the heat of an argument, this strategy is shared and a person using this strategy will kick back and monitor the situation.
• 6. Maintaining Focus on One's Professional Role - A strategy to make sure one stays focused on their professional role.
• 7. Esprit de Corps - Refers generally to the presence of a common spirit pervading members of a team. It implies unity, enthusiasm, devotion, and self-sacrifice.
• 8. Encouraging - Basically supporting your group members to do a good job.
• 9. Avoiding the Self-Centered Follower Role - Basically avoiding this role by not performing the twelve deviate beaviors
• Aggressing - An abrasive and overly dominant person in the group.
• Doormatting - These people are too submissive for both their and the group's own good, usually kicking themselves before the group does it
• Eggheading - A person who flaunts the fact that he or she is more knowledgeable than the rest of the group.
• Airheading - One that doesn't really contribute and pretends that he or she is "dumb"
• Complaining - A person who exhibits extreme social immaturity and avoid doing work by simply complaining.
• Self-Confessing - One who exhibits their real-life problems to the group to make it a help-session rather than getting the task at hand done.
• Help Seeking - Similar to what self-confessing does, this person constantly ask other groups members if he or she is a valuable player to the group.
• Recognition Seeking - A person who boasts
• Special-Interest Pleading - A person who speaks on behalf of some outside group and not as a member of the group.
• Playing the Clown - One who overexercises the tension reliever position. Constantly fools around.
• Blocking - A person that stop decisions from taking place
• Foddering - Making themselves out to be the hero in where the will make group crises intentionally and then come in to save the day.



Mulitple Choice:

1. What is NOT a role played in a small group

1. Aggresing - Answer!
2. Task Leader
3. Central Negative
4. Recorder

2. What skill for enhancing role performance deals with spirits that implies unity, devotion, and self-sacrifice?

1. Assiting in Procedure
2. Believing in the Bible
3. Esprit de Corps - Answer!
4. Encouraging

3. A person is kicking himself constantly in the group because hes not doing a good job. What kind of deviant behavior is this?

1. Blocking
2. Playing the Clown
3. Complaining
4. Doormating - Answer!

4. A central negative does what?

1. Tells people that they are not part of the group
2. Usually challenges the task leader in what they have to say or other members of the group - Answer!
3. Sits there and pouts
4. Provides information for the group

5. How many main roles are played in a small group

1. 5 - Answer!
2. 10
3. 4
4. 7

6. If a group knows the role they play, what is that called?

1. Expanding Roles
2. Focus on Role
3. Perform Leader Role
4. Role Stability - Answer!

7. A person says a funny joke during one of the group's discussion. However, she gets back to the task at hand. What role did she play?

1. Tension Releaser - Answer!
2. Social-Emotional Leader
3. Playing the Clown

8. Someone who gossips to start drama and then later on try to become the hero of the group is what type of deviant behavior.

1. Recognition Seeking
2. Special Interest Pleading
3. Self-Confessing
4. Foddering - Answer!

9. Someone who steps up and takes the leadership position when needed is what?

1. Perform Leader Role - Answer!
2. Assist in Procedure
3. Focus on Role
4. Encouraging

10. Questioner does what?

1. Probes ideas - Answer!
2. Gives ideas
3. Shuts down ideas

True/False:

1. There are 10 main roles in a small group - False!


2. Task Leader is a main role in a small groupTrue!


3. Eggheading in flaunting knowledge to group members True!


4. One who sulks is complaining - False!


5. Taking a second role when the group roles are imbalanced is adopting an expanded role- True!


6. Someone who claims there are dumb to avoid work is eggheading - False!


7. One who jokes way too much in a group is playing the clown - True!


8. Self-Centered Follower works with the group - False!


9. There are 5 secondary roles - True!


10. Central Negative is NOT a main role in a small group - False!


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