Group cohesiveness

Festinger and colleagues (1951) proposed the theory of group cohesiveness as attractiveness to people which have the best care within the group and attractiveness to the group as a whole.[7] Lott and Lott (1965) argued that interpersonal attraction within the group is sufficient to account for group cohesion.[8] In other words, group cohesion exists when its members have mutual positive feelings towards one another.

Later theorists (1992) wrote that attraction to the group as a whole causes group cohesion, a concept reminiscent of the social identity theory.[9][10] According to Hogg, group cohesiveness is based on social attraction, which refers to "attraction among members of a salient social group".[9]^:100 Hogg explains how group cohesiveness develops from social attraction with self-categorization theory according to which individuals when looking at others' similarities and differences, mentally categorize themselves and others as part of a group, in-group members, or as not part of a group, out-group members. From this type of categorizing, the stereotypes of the group becomes more prominent in the individual's mind. This leads the individual to think and behave according to group norms, thus resulting in attraction to the group as a whole. This process is known as depersonalization of self-perception. In Hogg's theory social attraction refers to the liking of depersonalized characteristics, the prototype of the group, which is distinct from interpersonal attraction among individuals within the group. It is also important to note that group cohesiveness is more associated with group attraction than with attraction to individual members.[10]

Theorists believe that group cohesion results from a deep sense of "we-ness", or belonging to a group as a whole.[11][12] By becoming enthusiastically involved in the efforts of the group and by recognizing the similarities among group members, a group becomes more cohesive. Group pride creates a sense of community which strengthens the bonds of unity.

Sport (1984) and organizational theorists (1995) have pointed out that group members' commitment to work together to complete their shared tasks and accomplish their collective goals creates cohesion.[13][14] Members of task-oriented groups typically exhibit great interdependence and often possess feelings of responsibility for the group's outcomes. The bonds of unity which develop from members' concerted effort to achieve their common goals are considered indicative of group cohesion. The commitment to the task had a significant and positive relationship with performance, while group attractiveness and group pride were not significantly related to performance.[3]

Similarity of group members has different influences on group cohesiveness depending on how to define this concept. Lott and Lott (1965) who refer to interpersonal attraction as group cohesiveness conducted an extensive review on the literature and found that individuals' similarities in background (e.g., race, ethnicity, occupation, age), attitudes, values and personality traits have generally positive association with group cohesiveness.[8]

On the other hand, from the perspective of social attraction as the basis of group cohesiveness, similarity among group members is the cue for individuals to categorize themselves and others into either an ingroup or outgroup.[10] In this perspective, the more prototypical similarity individuals feel between themselves and other ingroup members, the stronger the group cohesiveness will be.[10]

In addition, similar background makes it more likely that members share similar views on various issues, including group objectives, communication methods and the type of desired leadership. In general, higher agreement among members on group rules and norms results in greater trust and less dysfunctional conflict. This, in turn, strengthens both emotional and task cohesiveness.

Difficult entry criteria or procedures to a group tend to present it in more exclusive light. The more elite the group is perceived to be, the more prestigious it is to be a member in that group. As shown in dissonance studies conducted by Aronson and Mills (1959) and confirmed by Gerard and Mathewson (1966), this effect can be due to dissonance reduction (see cognitive dissonance). Dissonance reduction can occur when a person has endured arduous initiation into a group; if some aspects of the group are unpleasant, the person may distort their perception of the group because of the difficulty of entry.[18] Thus, the value of the group increases in the group member's mind.

Small groups are more cohesive than large groups. This is often caused by social loafing, a theory that says individual members of a group will actually put in less effort, because they believe other members will make up for the slack. It has been found that social loafing is eliminated when group members believe their individual performances are identifiable – much more the case in smaller groups.[23]

In primatology and anthropology, the limits to group size are theorized to accord with Dunbar's number.

Cohesion and motivation of team members are key factors that contribute to a company's performance. By adaptability development, self-worth, and personal motivation growth, each member becomes able to feel confident and progress in the team. Social loafing is less frequent when there is cohesion in a team; the motivation of each team member is considerably greater.[3]

Studies have shown that cohesion can cause performance and that performance can cause cohesion.[24][25] Most meta-analyses (studies that have summarized the results of many studies) have shown that there is a relationship between cohesion and performance.[3][4][26][27] This is the case even when cohesion is defined in different ways.[3] When cohesion is defined as attraction, it is better correlated with performance.[3] When it is defined as task commitment, it is also correlated with performance, though to a lesser degree than cohesion as attraction.[3] Not enough studies were performed with cohesion defined as group pride. In general, cohesion defined in all these ways was positively related with performance.[3]

However, some groups may have a stronger cohesion-performance relationship than others. Smaller groups have a better cohesion-performance relationship than larger groups.[25] Carron (2002) found cohesion-performance relationships to be strongest in sports teams and ranked the strength of the relationship in this order (from strongest to weakest): sports teams, military squads, groups that form for a purpose, groups in experimental settings. There is some evidence that cohesion may be more strongly related to performance for groups that have highly interdependent roles than for groups in which members are independent.[27]

In regards to group productivity, having attraction and group pride may not be enough.[3][27] It is necessary to have task commitment in order to be productive. Furthermore, groups with high performance goals were extremely productive.[4][28][29][30][31]

However, it is important to note that the link between cohesion and performance can differ depending on the nature of the group that is studied. Some studies that have focused on this relationship have led to divergent results. For example, a study conducted on the link between cohesion and performance in a governmental social service department found a low positive association between these two variables, while a separate study on groups in a Danish military unit found a high negative association between these two variables.[32]

Studies have shown that people in cohesive groups have reported more satisfaction than members of a noncohesive group.[9][33][34] This is the case across many settings, including industrial, athletic, and educational settings. Members in cohesive groups also are more optimistic and suffer less from social problems than those in non-cohesive groups.[35]

One study involved a team of masons and carpenters working on a housing development.[36] For the first five months, their supervisor formed the groups they were to work in. These groups changed over the course of five months. This was to help the men get to know everyone working on this development project and naturally, likes and dislikes for the people around them emerged. The experimenter then formed cohesive groups by grouping people who liked each other. It was found that the masons and carpenters were more satisfied when they worked in cohesive groups. As quoted from one of the workers "the work is more interesting when you've got a buddy working with you. You certainly like it a lot better anyway."[36]^:183

People in cohesive groups experience better emotional adjustment. In particular, people experience less anxiety and tension.[37][38] It was also found that people cope better with stress when they belong to a cohesive group.[39][40]

One study showed that cohesion as task commitment can improve group decision making when the group is under stress, more than when it is not under stress.[40] The study studied forty-six three-person teams, all of whom were faced with the task of selecting the best oil drilling sites based on information given to them. The study manipulated whether or not the teams had high cohesion or low cohesion and how urgent the task was to be done. The study found that teams with low cohesion and high urgency performed worse than teams with high cohesion and high urgency. This indicates that cohesion can improve group decision-making in times of stress.

Attachment theory has also asserted that adolescents with behavioral problems do not have close interpersonal relationships or have superficial ones.[41] Many studies have found that an individual without close peer relationships are at a higher risk for emotional adjustment problems currently and later in life.[42]

While people may experience better emotional in cohesive groups, they may also face many demands on their emotions, such as those that result from scapegoating and hostility.[43][44]

People in cohesive groups have greater pressure to conform than people in non-cohesive groups. The theory of groupthink suggests that the pressures hinder the group from critically thinking about the decisions it is making. Giordano (2003) has suggested that this is because people within a group frequently interact with one another and create many opportunities for influence. It is also because a person within a group perceive other members as similar to themselves and are thus, more willing to give into conformity pressures. Another reason is because people value the group and are thus, more willing to give into conformity pressures to maintain or enhance their relationships.

Illegal activities have been stemmed from conformity pressures within a group. Haynie (2001) found that the degree to which a group of friends engaged in illegal activities was a predictor of an individual's participation in the illegal activity. This was even after the individual's prior behavior was controlled for and other controls were set in place. Furthermore, those with friends who all engaged in illegal activities were most likely to engage in illegal activities themselves. Another study found that adolescents with no friends did not engage in as many illegal activities as those with at least one friend.[45] Other studies have found similar results.[46][47][48][49][50]

Albert Lott and Bernice Lott investigated how group cohesiveness influenced individual learning. They wanted to test whether learning would be better if children studied with peers they liked than peers they didn't.[51] The degree of member liking was presumed to indicate group cohesiveness. They found that children with high IQ performed better on learning tests when they learnt in high cohesive groups than low cohesive groups. For low IQ children, however, the cohesiveness factor made little difference. Still, there was a slight tendency for low IQ children to perform better in high cohesive groups. The researchers believed that if children worked with other students whom they liked, they would more likely have a greater drive to learn than if they had neutral or negative attitudes towards the group.