This is a timed assignment. The paper will start on the 12th May at 7.35pm and will end at 9.40pm. In other words, the writer has 2 hours to complete the paper.
The paper will be uploaded once the timing starts. Meanwhile, these are some sample questions, answers and the syllabus that will be tested for
2 hour paper with a total of 4-5 questions.
Seng Kang Primary GROUP DYNAMICS EXAM QUESTIONS 2018 GROUP DYNAMICS MARKERS COMMENTS 2018 GROUP DYNAMICS SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS 2019 SET A GROUP DYNAMICS MARKERS COMMENTS 2019 SET A GROUP DYNAMICS SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS 2019 SET B GROUP DYNAMICS MARKERS COMMENTS 2019 SET B In this presentation, we will cover the principles that guide social scientists in their studies of groups. The study of groups has been a relatively new field in social science. The first scientific studies of groups were only carried out at the start of this century. The study of human behaviour was complex and this complexity was further magnified when groups of interacting individuals became the objects of interest. Unlike other subjects of interest in the field of social science, the development of studies of groups was slow as social scientists disagreed among themselves on many fundamental issues on theories and methods. Many social scientists would agree that the level of analysis to adopt when studying groups is a source of major disagreement among the researchers. Some favour the individual-level analysis approach as they would like to explore how individual group members perceive and interact with others in the group. Researchers who take on this approach would explore how psychological processes like motivations, attitudes and personality determine behaviour in the group context. On the other hand, some advocated the group-level analysis as they felt that that it would impossible to understand groups by looking merely at the individuals who form them. To them, the groups could possess a group mind. Using baking as a comparison, each ingredient such as flour, butter or sugar would have its own unique taste. However, when you put them together, a new taste is created. Likewise, when individuals come together as a group, group mind is created, and it produces thinking and behavior that is different from what any individual group member can produce. Pause for a moment and ask yourself... To what extent do you think the two types of analysis levels are sufficient to understand groups? Some social scientists became dissatisfied with the group-level and individual- level approaches, which led them to develop still other ways of thinking about social groups. Over time, researchers developed stronger models for understanding groups, and the concept of interactionism emerged. Basically, interactionism assumes that social behaviour is determined in part by the individual and in part by the relationship between the individual and the group. One such approach that leverages on the principle of interactionism is Group Dynamics. Group dynamics, having its principles rooted in interactionism, is based on the idea that group behaviour is a system of reciprocal interactions between groups and individuals. Kurt Lewin summarized his belief that both individuals and groups were important in what has now become a well-known equation. A person’s behaviour (B) is the function of his or her personal qualities (P), the social environment (E), and the interaction of these personal qualities with factors present in the social setting. Lewin felt that one cannot understand people without understanding their groups, and one also cannot understand groups without understanding the individuals who belong to them. For example, imagine you are attending a meeting for the first time. You may wonder how you should behave which is the “b” in the equation. You assessed the group and tried to understand the group norms. How the other group members respond to you, which is the E, and how you respond according to your characteristics, P, is going to affect your ultimate behaviour in the group (B). Lewin felt that: • you cannot understand people without understanding their groups. • you cannot understand groups without understanding the individuals who belong to them. Lewin was also of opinion that groups are powerful and influential. Groups change their members and the environment they are in. In addition, social processes that happen in groups are dynamic and fluid as well. Thus, it is found that groups play an influential role in changing members’ attitudes, values and most importantly, perceptions. Not only that, our society is also shaped by groups. We have seen that group dynamics stems from the principle of interactionism. This approach explains that your behaviour in a group is a system of reciprocal interactions between groups and individuals. The concepts that you will be learning in this course are rooted in group dynamics. Take a moment to consider this question. Based on your understanding of group dynamics, what does it mean to say that a group is “more than the sum of its parts”? In this presentation, we will take a look at why individuals, like you, want to seek connections with others. Aristotle once said: Man is by nature a social animal, and an unsocial person who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either unsatisfactory or superhuman. Based on research, there is sufficient evidence to highlight the need of being with others is an important factor that we simply cannot ignore in understanding group dynamics. Researchers also found that it is human’s innate drive to seek out and join with other humans. Interestingly, 87.3% of Americans lived with other people. This means living with family members, spouses and other individuals! Research has found that friendship and companionship, together with the sense of belonging, form the basic need of human beings. Such a need is so vital in our lives that it will create a great impact on our well- being and behaviour should we be isolated from others. For example, a series of studies was conducted to find out how people would react to isolation. At the beginning of the studies, the participants were given extensive personality tests. Randomly, the researchers would tell the participants how their answers would identity the type of future they would most likely have. Those who were told they would likely not have long-term relationships displayed a range of negative reactions such as being critical of others or engaging in self-defeating behaviours. Our self-esteem is measured by how much we are accepted by others. In fact, the support and caring provided by people such as family members and friends produces a sense of warmth and belonging in which we thrive. We also search for groups that can provide us with this sense of belonging and affiliation. Such groups would include therapy and support groups. Groups may sometimes deliberately withhold affiliation from or ostracise group members in order to influence them to conform to the norms of the group. This can cause a lot of stress for be individual who are being ostracised. Research has also found that ostracism, at times, can also affect negatively on brain activities. Other forms of ostracism such as the “silent treatment” are often used as they are reported to be effective in forcing group members to conform to the group norms. Research has also found that individuals who have undergone ostracism are likely to display one of the stress responses: freeze, fight, flight, tend or be-friend. In very rare cases, ostracism can lead to a general shutdown in one’s behaviours and emotions. Among these responses, the fight-or flight response and tend-and-befriend are more common. In fight-or-flight, one’s physiological response to stressful events would involve activation of the sympathetic nervous system that enables you to counter or escape the threat. In tend-and-befriend, to cope with the stressful event, you will tend to increase interpersonal response through seeking out connections to others and supporting one another. Leary suggests that the need to belong may be the basic motivational force at work rather than striving for positive self-regard. According to the sociometer theory, self-esteem is not an index of perceived self-worth. Instead, it is a psychological monitor of one's degree of inclusion and exclusion in social groups. Imagine a gauge that indicates how much petrol is left in the oil tank, self- esteem acts like the gauge that tells us the extent to which the individual is included in the group. Suppose we experience a dip in our self-esteem, individuals would search for and correct ways that would put them at risk of social exclusion. According to this model, people who have high self-esteem are able to maintain their inclusion in social groups carefully. According to the theory of evolutionary psychology, the human species have evolved over time in such a way that is best to ensure the human species will be continued. Through evolution, the human species have also successfully solved problems through social interactions and passed down such adaptive mechanisms. Groups not only provide an existing pool of potential mates but through the group’s network, group members may assist one another in meeting more people; thereby increasing one’s mating chances. In addition, social groups also find better livelihood ways and opportunities together, such as by taking advantage of the economies of scale. This can be achieved through the division of labour and specialization among group members. In short, social scientists believe that social groups provide the link to human survival. In summary, we have seen that humans have the tendency to connect with others as they do not want to experience the pain of loneliness. Humans also do not want to be ostracised. In addition, the evolutionary psychology explains that humans connect with others so that the survival of the species can be ensured. Based on what you have learnt, do you think humans are social animals? In this presentation, we will examine three perspectives that individualism and collectivism are based on: social relations, social obligations and social identity. Following our previous presentation, another perspective to understand why group membership is important is to study the concept of individualism- collectivism. Individualism is an outlook that stresses the importance of an individual, his rights and independence. This outlook simply assumes that you are an autonomous being and you have the freedom to act and think in ways that you prefer. You are also encouraged to attain goals that will benefit you. On the other hand, collectivism recognizes the importance of the group or community rather than each individual person. Collectivists see the self as