15 Groups in Context

1. 15Groups in Context • How does the social and physical environment influence groups and their dynamics? • What is the ecology of a group? • What are the causes and consequences of a group’s tendency to establish territories? • How can group places, spaces, and locations be improved? Just as individuals are embedded in groups, so groups are embedded in physical and social environments. Groups alter their environments substantially, but often the place shapes the group. As Lewin’s law of interaction, B = f(P, E), states, group behavior (B) is a function of the persons (P) who are in the group, but also the social and physical environment (E) where the group is located.

2. Case: Apollo 13

3. All groups exist somewhere Lewin’s field theory: B = f (P, E) “E” includes the physical, behavioral, and interpersonal environment Examples of groups in specific environmental contexts …work teams, gangs, Impressionists, fraternities, classes, airline pilots, astronauts

4. A sense of place Activation Tense  Excited  Enthusiastic Jittery  Elated Upset  Distressed   Happy Pleasure Displeasure Sad   Serene Gloomy   Contented Ambience Tired   Placid Lethargic   Calm Deactivation

6. Stress: Negative physiological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to circumstances that threaten—or are thought to threaten—one’s sense of well-being and safety. We have strong feelings in and about places. Some places make us feel good: glad to be there, relaxed, excited, warm all over…Other places make us feel bad: uncomfortable, insignificant, unhappy, out of place. We avoid these places and suffer if we have to be in them. Farbstein & Kantrowitz, 1978 • Stressful places

7. EUEs (extreme and unusual environments) Environmental contexts that are unlike those where humans usually live, including confined and isolated environments. Groups that survive in EUEs respond by becoming better groups—more organized, more cohesive, and more efficient. Those that do not display breakdowns in team coordination, communication, and leadership. • Dangerous places A number of groups fail to deal successfully with the challenges of an EUE (e.g., Mount Everest)

8. Places • Spaces • Locations • Design Small Group Ecology Group ecology includes spatial and seating dynamics • A sense of place • Personal space Personal space: Maintaining distance between oneself and others Crowding:Reaction to spatial invasion Seating (and standing) arrangement: how the group is arranged in the physical place • Stressful places • Spatial invasion Just as frogs issue their croaks from their favorite places in the stream, and birds neatly space themselves along a telephone wire, so humans display consistent patterns of spacing and seating when immersed in a group habitat. • Dangerous places • Seating

9. Personal space The area that individuals maintain around themselves into which others cannot intrude without arousing discomfort. Personal space

10. Hall’s concept of interpersonal zones • Personal space Note: Hall did not include a “remote” zone

11. The Remote Zone: E-groups • Online vs. Offline groups • Social presence can be very high in online groups

12. Personal space

13. Spatial invasion

14. sociofugal seating arrangements discourage interaction Although often unrecognized, or simply taken for granted, seating patterns influence interaction, communication, and leadership in groups. • Seating sociopetalseating promotes interaction

15. Sommer’s(1967) analysis of seating choices Percent choosing each seating arrangement • Seating

16. Territoriality • Places • Spaces • Locations • Design “A territory is an area of space, whether of water or earth or air, which an animal or group of animals defends as an exclusive preserve. • Types of territories Robert Ardrey The Territorial Imperative • Group territories A territorial species of animals, therefore, is one in which all males, • Territoriality in groups and sometimes females too, bear an inherent drive to gain and defend an exclusive property.”

17. Altman (1975) describes three basic types of human territories: Primary, secondary, and public • Types of territories

18. Some online “territories” can serve as third places, such as this location in World of Warcraft People’s homes and work places are usually primary territories (first and second places). Oldenburg calls secondary territories located in semipublic areas, usually in an urban location, where people go to meet their friends, socialize, and “hang out” Third Places. • Third Places

19. A seat in a classroom is also a secondary territory Haber (1980) found that 88% of all students establish a "zone" in a class (an area of 2 or 3 seats where they regularly sit)  she asked volunteers to sit in someone else's seat in a class, but many couldn't do it  27% of the students asked for their seat back  some blushed when they saw someone in their seat  those who surrendered their seat came to next class early  strongest rebuke if invasion took place during a break in class

20. Examples: Gangs, “turf wars,” tags, and graffiti • Group space: temporary territories • Consequences of territoriality • adjustment and stress • intergroup conflict • home advantage We didn’t rally them there. We never went looking for trouble. We only rallied on our own street, but we always won there. -- Doc, leader of the Nortons • Group territories

21. Territoriality in groups

22. Places • Spaces • Locations • Design • Types of territories • The person-place fit • Group territories • Fitting form to function • Territoriality in groups

23. Staffing theory • Fitting form to function • Understaffing • heavy workload • Involving • commitment • Overstaffing • low moral • too little to do • unengaged

24. Staffing theory • Fitting form to function

25. Overstaffed Groups Encourage members Restrict membership Punishdeviance Divide Other Understaffed Groups Recruit new members Reorganize Other Percentage

26. Duffy’s group workplace design Groups live and work best in places that are deliberately designed to match the members’ needs and the group’s needs.