Page 314 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J

Managing Conflict in the Small Group 297

Expressing Disagreement in a Group
When we express an opinion that appears to run counter to the opinion of the
majority, we run the risk of being labeled as the deviant member. A deviate is a mem- Deviate
ber who is viewed by the other members as substantially different in some important A group member
way from the others. Two common types of group deviates are members who do not who differs in some
participate and members who express incompatible views about the issues and test important way from
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opinions of the group. Reluctant as you may be to express a deviant opinion, ethi- the rest of the group
cally you should do it for the good of the group. An innovative or opinion deviate is members; opinion or
someone who disagrees with a proposed action or decision of the group but who is innovative deviates
strongly committed to the group and its goals. Diedre functions as an opinion deviate can help groups
by stating the need for a speaker to have educational value. examine alternatives
An opinion deviate may find it hard to influence a group. Lindskold and Han found more thoroughly by
that it was nearly impossible for a single conciliatory member to influence a nonconcil- forcing the group to
take a closer look at
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iatory group. Thameling and Andrews also found that opinion deviates exerted little something.
influence. Other group members responded more emotionally to deviates than to con-
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forming group members. A sex bias has also been observed: Members responded more
cooperatively to male than to female deviates. Group members appeared to perceive
male deviates as bright and well informed, and showed a willingness to work with them
by asking for evidence, questions, additional information, and so forth; however, they
were more likely to perceive female deviates as arrogant or overly confident.
Despite these difficulties, this kind of disagreement is invaluable to a group.
Innovative deviance has been found to account for one-fourth of group interaction,
serving a critical thinking function. Innovative deviance in the form of contradic-
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tion, challenging statements by other members, continuing a disagreement started by
others, or agreeing with an assertion someone else had attacked was particularly help-
ful in the group’s conflict and decision emergence phases. Furthermore, most innova-
tive deviance occurred immediately prior to consensus, supporting the notion that
conflicts can contribute to consensus.
There are a number of factors that increase your chances of succeeding as an
opinion deviate.
1. Express your opinion cautiously and carefully, displaying loyalty to the group. 16
Members will trust your motives if you have already established your
commitment to the group.
2. Consider the timing of the opinion deviance.
Diedre took a risk confronting Tony so directly at the very first meeting.
Generally, opinion deviance is more accepted after a group has already built
some cohesiveness and is at the stage when members expect direct expressions
of opinion.
3. Use good social skills in expressing the opinion deviance.
Aggressive members are dominant and try to force their ideas and practices on
others compared to more assertive members who respect self as well as others.
Assertive innovative deviance is more beneficial than aggressive innovative
deviance. 17

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