Page 400 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J
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Glossary 383
Content- oriented listener: A listener who enjoys analyzing Disjunctive task: A type of group task in which members
information, dissecting others’ arguments; can be seen work on parts of the group problem independently,
as overly critical. with little or no coordination of effort through discus-
Context: The situation or environment that influences the sion needed.
dynamics of communication. Distributed leadership: The concept that group leader-
Contingency approach: The study of leadership that assu- ship is the responsibility of the group as a whole, not
mes the appropriate leadership style in a given situation just the designated leader; assumes that all members
depends on factors such as members’ skills and knowl- can and should provide needed leadership services
edge, time available, the type of task, and so forth. to the group.
Cooperative requirements: The degree to which members’ E
efforts need to be coordinated for a group to complete
its task successfully (see also Conjunctive task). Electronic brainstorming: Brainstorming on computers
linked to a large screen that display all responses, but
Criteria: Standards for judging among alternatives; may
be absolute (must) or relative. no one knows who contributed which items.
Emergent leader: Member of an initially leaderless group
Critical thinking: The systematic examination of informa-
tion and ideas on the basis of evidence and logic rather who, by virtue of information and communication
than intuition, hunch, or prejudgment. competencies, rises from within the group to enact
Critique: Analysis and criticism of something, such as leadership functions and is viewed as the leader by all
or most members.
identification of strengths and weaknesses in a small
group’s process and interaction. Emoticon: Typographical symbols used in computer-
mediated communication to convey emotions in reg-
Culture: The patterns of values, beliefs, symbols, norms, ular text, such as the smiley face :-).
procedures, and behaviors that have been historically
transmitted to and are shared by a given group of Environment: The context or setting in which a small
persons. group system exists; the larger systems of which a
small group is a component.
D Equifinality: The principle that different systems can
Decision making: Choosing from among a set of alternatives. reach the same outcome even if they have different
Deep diversity: Member differences not due to visible starting places.
characteristics such as sex and race but to factors that Ethics: The rules or standards that a person or group uses
can affect a group more directly, such as how people to determine whether conduct or behavior is right and
approach work and solve problems. appropriate.
Democratic leader: An egalitarian leader who coordinates Ethnocentric: The belief that one’s own culture is inher-
and facilitates discussion in a small group, encourag- ently superior to all others; tendency to view other
ing participation of all members. cultures through the viewpoint of one’s own culture.
Designated leader: A person appointed or elected to a Extraversion- Introversion Dimension: The Myers-Briggs
®
position as leader of a small group. Type Indicator dimension concerned with whether
Deviate: A group member who differs in some important one’s focus is the external worlds (extraversion) or
way, such as degree of participation, values, or opin- one’s internal, subjective landscape (introversion).
ions, from the rest of the group members; opinion or F
innovative deviates help groups examine alternatives
more thoroughly by expressing opinions different from Facework: The communication strategies people use to
those held by the majority, thus forcing the group to preserve their own and others’ self- esteem (face).
take a closer look. Fact: A verifiable observed event; a descriptive statement
Dialect: A regional variation in the pronunciation, vocab- that is true.
ulary, and/or grammar of a language. Fallacy: A reasoning error.
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