Deck 6: Roles in Groups

Question 1

Someone in your study group plays the harmonizer-tension reliever role. This means that person

A) engages in horseplay and diverts attention from the group task.
B) clarifies ideas for the group.
C) maintains peace; uses gentle humor.
D) gently challenges prevailing points of view in the group.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The devil's advocate group role is

A) a disruptive and informal role.
B) a maintenance and informal role.
C) a task and informal role.
D) defined as one group member arguing their strong viewpoint to convince the group of the wisdom of that viewpoint.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is a difference between a role and a norm?

A) A role applies to all members of the group, but a norm applies only to a specific member of the group.
B) A role stipulates specific behaviors that are expected for individual group members while broad rules that designate appropriate behaviors for all group members are norms.
C) Norms are established by the group, but roles are established by individual members.
D) None of the above

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The Stanford Prison Study showed

A) the potent power of roles on perception and behavior.
B) role conflict among the "prisoners."
C) the effects of role reversal.
D) role fixation.

Question 5

Your athletic team requires all new members to engage in an initiation or hazing ritual which includes eating live crickets, rolling in mud and walking across campus for all to see, and singing the theme from yesteryear's TV show "Gilligan's Island" loudly in front of the entire team. These hazing rituals will likely demonstrate a strong relationship between

A) cohesiveness and conformity.
B) conformity and group productivity.
C) cohesiveness and informational power.
D) cohesiveness and group task.

Question 6

Informal roles are typically classified into three types:

A) task, self-centered, and disruptive.
B) task, social, and emotional.
C) task, maintenance, and disruptive.
D) task, work-related, and difficult.

Question 7

Hazing is

A) an initiating rite for newcomers to a group.
B) often dangerous and ill-advised.
C) outlawed in most states.
D) All of the above

Question 8

The communication process in which new and established group members adjust to one another is

A) a hazing ritual.
B) group socialization.
C) group endorsement.
D) None of the above

Question 9

A member of your group constantly seeks recognition and attention by monopolizing discussion and preventing others from participating in the discussion. This member is playing which of the following roles?

A) Zealot
B) Stage hog
C) Information giver
D) Initiator-contributor

Question 10

Playing the role of clown is a

A) maintenance role.
B) task role.
C) disruptive role.
D) None of the above

Question 11

A member of your small group gently challenges a prevailing point of view "for the sake of argument" to test and critically evaluate the strength of the group's ideas and potential decisions. This member is playing the role of

A) cynic.
B) fighter-controller.
C) devil's advocate.
D) stage hog.

Question 12

You are attending a departmental party for faculty and student majors. One faculty member, as he does at every departmental party, spends his time delivering what sounds like a lecture to students in a classroom, boring everyone with his vast knowledge of theories and research. This is an illustration by this faculty member of role

A) adaptability.
B) fixation.
C) flexibility.
D) conflict.

Question 13

When an individual member settles into his or her primary role in a group, this is called role

A) specialization.
B) fixation.
C) status.
D) flexibility.

Question 14

The process of newcomers gaining acceptance into an existing group is influenced by which of the following?

A) The number of members in the existing group
B) How well the existing group is functioning
C) The degree of past turnover of members in the existing group
D) All of the above

Question 15

Which of the following is a disruptive role in a group?

A) Information-contributor
B) Zealot
C) Devil's advocate
D) Opinion giver

Question 16

"The capacity to recognize the current requirements of the group and then enact the role-specific behaviors most appropriate in the given context" is the definition for role

A) fixation.
B) flexibility.
C) status.
D) reversal.

Question 17

The central communicative function of task roles is to

A) extract the maximum productivity from the group.
B) gain and maintain the cohesiveness of the group.
C) maintain the peace and reduce secondary tension.
D) All of the above

Question 18

The central communicative function of maintenance roles is to

A) produce the maximum productivity from the group.
B) move the group toward the attainment of its goals.
C) maintain the peace and reduce secondary tension.
D) assist individual group members to achieve their personal goals.

Question 19

Role emergence involves

A) role fixation.
B) group endorsement of a member's bid to play a specific role.
C) role specialization.
D) Both b and c

Question 20

A group member who plays the role of a cynic exhibits which of the following behaviors?

A) Tries to convert members to a pet cause or idea
B) Obstructs the smooth flow of discussion in the group by incessantly reintroducing dead issues already rejected by the group
C) Engages in fault-finding, predicts group failure, and focuses on the negative side of things
D) When the group may need a cheerleader, the cynic becomes a jeerleader by providing a disheartening message.

Question 21

You have just joined a group. As a newcomer, you can enhance your chances of gaining acceptance from your new group members by

A) playing the role of newcomer.
B) conducting a thorough reconnaissance of the group.
C) encouraging compatible group membership.
D) All of the above

Question 22

Which of the following is a strategy that established members of a group can employ to make the role of newcomer less challenging and intimidating?

A) Welcome new members into the group
B) Orient new members
C) Mentor newcomers
D) Conduct a thorough reconnaissance of the group

Question 23

Role emergence in informal groups with zero history typically occurs from

A) group endorsement of the role for a specific group member.
B) role specialization by a member who has bid for the role.
C) an endorsement process that proceeds by trial and error.
D) None of the above

Question 24

Devil's advocate is a self-centered/disruptive group role.

Question 25

Maintenance roles in groups are often viewed as lower status in a competitive culture such as the United States.

Question 26

Role fixation occurs when a group member spends a lot of time thinking about how much he or she would like to play a specific informal role.

Question 27

Role conflict is defined as two group members engaged in argument over playing the same role.

Question 28

A formal role is a position; an informal role emphasizes functions.

Question 29

The central communicative function of maintenance roles is to gain and maintain the cohesiveness of the group.

Question 30

The role that has the greatest importance and most potent effect on us is usually the one we choose when we have to decide between conflicting roles.

Question 31

Group socialization refers to the communication process in which new and established group members experience great difficulties and challenges adjusting to one another.

Question 32

Gatekeeper is a self-centered/disruptive role.

Question 33

Accepting a newcomer into an established, successful group often poses a risk of disrupting a smooth-functioning system.

Question 34

Hazing is a form of role conflict.

Question 35

Newcomers to groups are more likely to be readily accepted by other group members if the group has been in existence for only a short time than if it is a longstanding group.

Question 36

The role of clown is a harmonizing/tension relieving role.

Question 37

A devil's advocate is just another name for a difficult group member.

Question 38

Playing the role of newcomer to a group means trying to make a splash, to impress members of the group you have just joined.

Question 39

President/CEO of a college is an informal role.

Question 40

Playing roles in a group is a fluid, dynamic process.

Question 41

Role fixation is a critical ability for any competent group member.

Question 42

Playing devil's advocate is most effective when the group is brainstorming ideas.

Question 43

Maintenance roles are formal roles whose purpose is to gain and maintain the cohesiveness of the group.

Question 44

Role reversal occurs when a group member attempts to change from playing one task role to a different task role.

Question 45

Groups are more accepting of a newcomer when members believe the newcomers accept and will conform to the norms, values, and practices of the group.