Page 144 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J

The Members and Their Roles 127

Information seeking: asking others for facts and information, evidence, or
relevant personal experience. (“Juan, how many campus burglaries were
reported last year?”)
Opinion giving: stating beliefs, values, interpretations, judgments; drawing
conclusions from evidence. (“I don’t think theft of materials is the worst
problem facing the library.”)
Clarifying: making ambiguous statements clearer; interpreting issues. (“So does
‘excellent’ to you mean that the report should be perfect grammatically?”)
Elaborating: developing an idea previously expressed by giving examples,
illustrations, and explanations. (“Another thing that Toby’s proposal would
let us do is . . .”)
Evaluating: expressing judgments about the relative worth of information or
ideas; proposing or applying criteria. (“Here are three problems I see with
that idea.”)
Summarizing: reviewing what has been said previously; reminding the group of
a number of items previously mentioned or discussed. (“So, by next week,
Marija will have the media research finished and Toni will have the
preliminary drawing of the logo for us to see.”)
Coordinating: organizing the group’s work; promoting teamwork and
cooperation. (“If Meagan interviews the mayor by Monday, then Joyce and
I can prepare a response by Tuesday’s meeting.”)
Consensus testing: asking if the group has reached a decision acceptable to all;
suggesting that agreement may have been reached. (“We seem to be agreed
that we’ll accept the counteroffer.”)
Recording: keeping group records, preparing reports and minutes; serving as
group secretary and memory. (“I think we decided that two weeks ago.
Let me look it up in the minutes to be sure.”)
Suggesting procedure: suggesting an agenda of issues or special technique;
proposing some procedure or sequence to follow. (“Why don’t we try
brainstorming to help us come up with something new and different?”)

Maintenance (Relationship-Oriented) Functions Maintenance functions influence Maintenance Function
primarily the interpersonal relationships of members. We think the following seven Relationship-
functions, with sample statements, are especially vital to task groups: oriented member
behavior that
Establishing norms: suggesting rules of behavior for members; challenging reduces tensions,
unproductive ways of behaving as a member; giving negative response when increases solidarity,
another violates a rule or norm. (“I think it’s unproductive to call each other and facilitates
names. Let’s stick to the issues.”) teamwork.
Gatekeeping: helping some member get the floor; suggesting or controlling
speaking order; asking if someone has a different opinion. (“Ruben, you look
like you want to make a comment. Do you want to say something about the
proposal?”)

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