Studying Groups
Chapter 2
How do researchers test their theories and
hypotheses about groups and their dynamics?
What Are the Three Critical Requirements
of a Scientific Study of Groups?
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Theories that organize knowledge of
groups
Research procedures to test hypotheses
about groups
Reliable and valid measurement
What Methods Do Researchers Use to
Measure Individual and Group Processes?
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Observational measures: observing and
recording events

Example: Whyte’s participant observation
of corner gangs
 Overt vs. covert observation
 Hawthorne effect
What Methods Do Researchers Use?

Qualitative and Quantitative (structured)
measures

Bales's Interaction Process Analysis
(IPA) classifies behaviors into two
categories: task and relationship
behaviors

1.
2.
3.
Bale’s SYMLOG (Systematic Multiple Level Observation of
Groups) identifies 3 key dimensions:
Dominance/Submissiveness
Friendliness/Unfriendliness
Acceptance of Authority/Nonacceptance of Authority.
Self-Report Methods

Self-report measures: group members
describe their perceptions and experiences
 Example: Personality
Emotional Intelligence
Organizational
Climate
Personality : Mackinnon (1959)

Personality refers to “factors” inside people
that explain their behavior

The sum total of typical ways of acting,
thinking, and feeling that makes a person
unique.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Myers-Briggs: based on Jungian theory of
personality

Classifies individuals along 4 theoretically
independent dimensions.
MBTI Scales

ExtroversionIntroversion Scale

Sensing-Intuition
Scale
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E: Oriented primarily

S: Individual reports
observable facts through
one or more of the five
senses
toward the outer world;
focus on people and
objects

I: Oriented primarily
toward the inner world;
focus on concepts and
ideas

N: Reports meanings,
relationships and/or
possibilities that have
been worked out beyond
the reach of the conscious
mind
MBTI Scales

Thinking-Feeling
Scale
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Perception-Judging
Scale
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T: Judgment is

P: Preference for using a
impersonally based on
logical consequences
perceptive process for
dealing with the outer world

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F: Judgment is primarily
based on personal or
social values

J: Preference for using a
judgment process for
dealing with the outer world
What Is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence involves the “abilities to
perceive, appraise, and express emotion; to
access and/or generate feelings when they
facilitate thought; to understand emotion and
emotional knowledge; and to regulate emotions to
promote emotional and intellectual growth”
BarOn EQ-i Factors

Intra-Personal
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Emotional Self-Awareness
Assertiveness
Self-Regard
Self-Actualization
Independence
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Interpersonal Relationship
Empathy
Social Responsibility
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Problem Solving
Flexibility
Reality Testing
Stress Management

Inter-Personal

Adaptability
Stress Tolerance
Impulse Control
General Mood


Optimism
Happiness
BarOn EQ-i
Sample Test Items:
I have good relations with others
I’m fun to be with
I like helping people
Rating Scale:
1 = Very Seldom or Not True of me
5 = Very Often True of Me or True of Me
Disadvantage of Self-Report Tests
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Social Desirability
Faking “Good”
Faking “Bad”
Random Responding
Sociometry
A research technique that graphically summarizes
patterns of intermember relations.

Sociometric structures:
- stars
- unpopulars
- isolates
- positives
- negatives
- pairs
- clusters
- fringers
Assessment Methods

Any measure, to be scientifically useful, must
have reliability and validity.
Reliability
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Reliability is synonymous with consistency. It is the degree to which test
scores for a an individual test taker or group of test takers are consistent
over repeated applications.
No psychological test is completely consistent, however, a measurement
that is unreliable is worthless.
For Example
A student receives a score of 100 on one intelligence tests and
114 in another or imagine that every time you stepped on a
scale it showed a different weight.
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Would you keep using these measurement tools?
The consistency of test scores is critically important in determining
whether a test can provide good measurement.
Test-retest Reliability

Test-retest reliability is usually measured by computing the
correlation coefficient between scores of two
administrations.
Validity

Refers to measuring what we intend to measure.

If math and vocabulary truly represent intelligence then a
math and vocabulary test might be said to have high
validity when used as a measure of intelligence.
Predictive Validity

The extent to which scores on the scale are related to, and
predictive of, some future outcome that is of practical
utility.

e.g., If higher scores on the SAT are positively correlated
with
higher G.P.A.’s and visa versa, then the SAT is said to
have predictive validity.
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The Predictive Validity of the SAT is mildly supported by
the relation of that scale with performance in graduate
school.
What Are the Key Characteristics & Differences
Between Case, Experimental, & Correlational Studies of
Group Processes?

Case Study
 Example: Groupthink groups (Janis)
 Bona fide groups

Experiments
 Key features

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manipulate independent variable
measure dependent variable
control other variables
Example: Lewin, Lippitt, & White’s study of leadership
Strength: Test cause-effect relationships
Characteristics and Differences (cont’d)
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Case studies: atypical of most groups, subjective,
stimulate theory
Experiments: too artificial, not “real” groups, but
clearest test of cause and effect.
Correlational studies: limited information about
causality but precise estimates of the strength of
relationships, less artificial, fewer ethical concerns
Multi-level approaches are uniquely informative
What Theoretical Perspectives Guide
Researchers’ Studies of Groups?
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Motivational models: Lewin's level-of-aspiration
theory
Behavioral approaches: Thibaut and Kelley's
social exchange theory
Systems theory: Input-process-output models
of performance
Cognitive theories: Berger's expectation-states
theory
Biological perspectives: Evolutionary
psychology (or sociobiology)