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Hi. My name is Dr. Jennifer Guthrie, and
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today we're going to talk about working
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in groups. So before we begin, I want you
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to take a bit
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and think to yourself: do you enjoy
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working in groups?
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Have those experiences been positive?
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Have they been negative?
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And if so, what made those experiences positive or negative?
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Well, if you thought to yourself, I
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absolutely hate working in groups, I
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can't believe I have to do this project,
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you're not alone. Unfortunately, a lot of people
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despise working in groups. In fact, so
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much so that we even have a name for it.
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It's called group hate--the idea that
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people do not like working
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in groups. Well, here's the deal: if people
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have a lot of group hate, when they actually
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do work in groups, sometimes it can set
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up a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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So hopefully today,
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after this video, you'll have a bit more
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positive attitude about groups, and we'll
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give you some tools for how to work better
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in groups. So again, as mentioned, there's
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this idea of group hate. In fact, there's even a
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popular meme out there that says, "When I die,
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I want the people I did group projects
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with to lower me into my grave so that
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they can let me down one last time."
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Well, here's the deal:
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there's actually a lot of research that
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shows that working in groups can have tremendously
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positive effects. I myself avoided every
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small group class
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possible in my undergraduate, until later
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in life I realized
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that would have been a great experience
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for me. I had to do a lot of group
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presentations and projects
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in the workplace, and now, as a researcher,
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I write in teams.
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So I've been able to see the real-life
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effects of how wonderful
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it can be to work in groups. So
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to begin: first, working in groups--it
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makes sense, right? Think of it
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as a puzzle, where if you have different
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unique smart brains coming together,
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usually groups have better
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problem-solving than an individual. So
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you're able to bounce ideas off one another,
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come to more creative solutions. Also,
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having
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different opinions at the table can
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result in more
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innovative solutions and better projects,
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which makes sense. You're smart, you're
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capable--
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but imagine what you can do if you're
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working in a powerful team with
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other smart, capable people, and you have
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folks you can test your ideas with
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and make sure you have the best ideas possible.
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So working in groups, even though it does
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have its challenges,
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can be tremendously beneficial.
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So today, we're basically, in this first video,
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going to talk about what makes up a
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group and then the typical group processes.
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So first of all, what distinguishes a group
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from working autonomously
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is its size. Anything with three or more
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people is considered a group. If you have two,
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we usually think of that as a dyad and
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the dynamics are different.
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As soon as you add a third person,
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there's the potential to form what we
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call
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coalitions, which is basically where you
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can have
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some folks teaming up against another
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person.
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So, in a dyad--two people--you can, of course,
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have conflict, but as soon as a third
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person is introduced,
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one person may feel like the other two
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are ganging up on them. So
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that's what makes a group special or
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different. Coalitions--little heads-up,
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we'll talk about this later--
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can be a positive thing in groups.
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Usually, they end
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up being negative. No one likes to feel
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like they're being ganged up on, so be
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careful of that when you're working in groups.
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Make sure that you don't have one group
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member who thinks everyone else is
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against them. That usually doesn't go well.
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Think--if you've been in that position,
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it's hard, right?
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The second aspect of working in
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a group is interdependence.
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Everyone in the group depends on
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everyone else to do their job.
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In the next video, we'll talk about
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problematic group situations,
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and one of those is a social loafer.
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That means that someone in the group is not
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doing what they're expected to do.
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So to be a good group member, remember:
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everybody's
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depending on you like you're depending on them.
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So make sure you meet deadlines, you keep
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in communication--
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that sort of thing. The third aspect of a group
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is a group identity. So one thing you can
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do to inject some positivity in your group
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work is come up with a name.
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Even if it's a silly name and it's just for you all,
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have that group identity. If you feel
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like you're a group, you may
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act like you're a group. The fourth part
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of any good group
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is to have goals. In terms of your group project,
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talk amongst yourselves on what your goal
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is. Is the goal to get an A?
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Is the goal to learn from the experience?
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Is the goal that you want to have fun
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with your group? Make your goals
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explicit to your group members--what
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you're hoping to get out of the project--
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and then keep each other accountable in kind ways.
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Make sure your goals are
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reasonable, they're something you can actually achieve,
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but being clear about what you want to
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get out of this project from the start
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will help you plan. The next aspect is having structure.
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Every group needs structure. We can have
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formal roles as well as informal roles.
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Joanne and Keaton, a
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prominent group comm scholar,
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recommend that you have at least three
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formal roles in your group.
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The first is to have some sort of a
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leader. If you appoint a leader or elect a leader
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right off the bat, that can make things a lot easier.
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That person can be in charge of overseeing
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or making sure you meet deadlines, of
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making sure the communication runs smoothly, etc.
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You can break up those leadership roles, but
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make sure someone is behind the scenes
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organizing what you all are doing.
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Also, you should have somewhat of a secretary role--
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someone to keep track of your meeting
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minutes and notes,
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scheduling appointments--so that way you
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can keep track of those critical documents.
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Perhaps you set up a Google Drive, and
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that secretary function, the person, can
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make sure you all stay on track.
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And then finally, Joanne and Keaton
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recommend that each group should have
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what we call a critical advisor.
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Another way to think of this is a devil's advocate,
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which sounds bad but it's not. Basically, if
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everyone in the group understands that
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you should have at least
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one person who plays devil's advocate with ideas--
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like, "Okay, I like that topic for the speech,
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but here are some potential negative
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consequences. What do you all think?"--
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just having someone to question, to toy,
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to maybe look at other aspects of an
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idea can go really, really well.
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So try to have some
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sort of leadership
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going on, some sort of organizer who's
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taking care of your written notes and documents,
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and then someone who's either appointed, elected--
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you can even rotate that role--who's
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playing critical advisor,
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meaning they're going to test ideas in a kind way
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to make sure you have the best
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innovation. So that's basically the
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components of a small group,
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and in the next video, we'll talk about
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dealing with not-so-great group issues.