Small Group Research

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between group cohesion, group norms, and perceived social loafing among 118 soccer players playing junior league in Norway. Each player completed a questionnaire assessing group cohesion (task cohesion and social cohesion), team norms (productive norms, role involvement, and social support norms), and perceived social loafing. As predicted, all cohesion- and team-norm subscales were negatively correlated with perceived social loafing. Furthermore, the results showed that the players’ attraction to their team’s task as well as their perception of the productive- and social-support norm predicted perceptions of social loafing. A significant three-way interaction between task cohesion, social cohesion, and performance norm emerged. The analysis showed that the combination of high social cohesion, low task cohesion, and low team norms seems to underlie perceptions of social loafing.

Many group-level constructs are based on within-group homogeneity in attitudes, affect, beliefs, and perceptions. In this article, three models for the development of within-group homogeneity are delineated. These models are shown to have implications both for differences between variables in their level of homogeneity and the conditions under which relatively high and low homogeneity should be observed. The models are explored in a small sample (N = 24 groups), where homogeneity in job satisfaction, positive affect, potency beliefs, and task-identity perceptions is examined. The results indicate that variables differ in their mean level of homogeneity and suggest that homogeneity may be the product of a combination of processes. A hierarchical framework for the investigation of homogeneity is suggested for further research.

Decision-making groups tend to favor the introduction and use of shared over unshared information, often leading teams to make suboptimal decisions. This study examined the influence of time (restricted vs. ample) and perceptions of task demonstrability (solve vs. judge) on information sampling and decision quality in computer-mediated and face-to-face groups. Three-person face-to-face and computer-mediated groups were asked to read about a fictional murder investigation and to determine which of the three suspects was the guilty individual. The results indicated that the computer-mediated groups, who were given a solve set of instructions and ample time to discuss the task, had the highest solution rates. Analyses of the computer-mediated discussion logs indicated that the solve groups who were given extended time repeated and recalled more unshared information.

Using attribution theory, this study examined the effects of team leader race on subordinate performance evaluations. The authors found that the team leader’s performance was a major determinant of subordinate performance ratings. However, the team leader’s performance, in combination with race, also affected performance attributions. In high performing teams with a Black leader, subordinates were more likely to attribute the leader’s performance to internal causes (i.e., ability and effort) rather than external causes (i.e., luck and the ease of the game). Alternatively, in low performing teams with a Black leader, subordinates were more likely to attribute the leader’s performance to external causes. These causal attributions then tempered the direct effect of the team leader’s performance on subordinate performance ratings. Leaders who performed well received higher ratings when performance was attributed to internal rather than external factors. On the other hand, leaders who performed poorly received higher ratings when performance was attributed to external rather than internal factors.