Social psychologyLesson 2 of 4 in the course Group and Intergroup Relations

Work-Group Roles, Norms, Status, Size, and Cohesiveness

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

Save course
Lesson progress
0 / 5

Your progress is kept in this browser only.Sign up to save it

Summary

Work roles divide and coordinate the activities a group needs to achieve its goals and maintain its norms. This lesson explains role differentiation, the three broad types of work roles, and how people learn and enact roles.

A work role is an expected pattern of behavior assigned or attributed to a position in an organization. It specifies the responsibilities an individual carries on behalf of the group. Groups differentiate roles because members can contribute in different ways: some lead, some perform core tasks, and others provide support.

All flashcards

Role set
The total collection of roles assigned to one person.
Role episode
A sequence in which group expectations are formed, communicated, interpreted, and enacted.
Role conflict, ambiguity, and overload
Conflict involves clashing expectations; ambiguity involves unclear expectations; overload involves excessive demands.
Social loafing
The tendency for individuals to reduce their effort on a group task.
Status incongruence
A mismatch between a person's standing on different valued dimensions or their role expectations.

Quiz questions

  1. During role sending, what happens?Answer: The group communicates role expectations to the individual.
  2. What is a work-group norm?Answer: A shared standard that regulates members' behavior.
  3. An employee receives incompatible expectations from two supervisors. Which role difficulty is most directly involved?Answer: Role conflict, because the expectations clash.
  4. Why is there no universal relationship between group size and productivity?Answer: The effect depends on the task and its coordination demands.
  5. What performance pattern is generally expected when group members have low acceptance of organizational goals?Answer: Performance is generally low, regardless of cohesiveness.

Based on Organizational Behavior by J. Stewart Black, David S. Bright, Donald G. Gardner, Eva Hartmann, Jason Lambert, Laura M. Leduc, Joy Leopold, James S. O’Rourke, Jon L. Pierce, Richard M. Steers, Siri Terjesen, Joseph Weiss (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

More in Social psychology

All Social psychology lessons
Social psychologyWork Groups: Membership, Group Types, and Development5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Social psychologyStereotyping, Selective Perception, and Perceptual Defense at Work5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Social psychologyOrganizational Conflict: Sources, Stages, and Handling Modes5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Social psychologyNegotiation Stages, Bargaining Strategies, Preparation, and Cultural Context5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Social psychologyAggression, Bullying, Bystander Effects, and Intergroup Cooperation5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Social psychologyWork Group Effectiveness: Performance Conditions, Norms, and Cohesiveness5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →