Group processes and social influence - Bunderson (2003)

7 important questions on Group processes and social influence - Bunderson (2003)

What is the transactive memory approach?

Transactive memory, or shared knowledge of who knows what in a group, enhances task performance by providing a roadmap for accessing and utilitzing members' expertise during task-related interaction.

Where focuses the distributed knowledge approach on?

They focus on whether and under what conditions group members are able to pool unshared knowledge and information in order to make informed decisions.

What is the expert influence approach?

This one considers the extent to which groups are able to recognize their more expert members and whether expert members are able to influence group decisions and outcomes.
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What are important implications for the motivation of group members of a decentralized group?

  1. Because members of a decentralized group have more influence over decisions that are made, they should feel a greater sense of personal responsibility and accountability for those decisions, i.e., that they have a personal stake in those decisions.
  2. Past research has also suggested that individualsa re more careful and comprehensive in their perceptions of another person when they perceive that the actions of that other person have some bearing on their personal situation
  3. Every member can conceivably have an impact on outcomes that matter to the entire group.

When is power centralized?


Power is centralizedi n a group when there is stratification or inequality in the extent to which actors are given opportunities to influence team processes and decisions.

In a centralized team, influence opportunities are restrictedt o one or a few individualsw, hereas in a decentralized team, all or most team members exert influence.

In what kind of groups is it more likely that diffuse characteristics will be used?

In groups with centralized power, there is less motivation to gather information about specific characteristics, so it’s more likely that diffuse characteristics will be used.

In what kind of groups is it more likely that specific characteristics will be used?

In groups with decentralized power, members often feel more personally responsible for decisions made in the group. This makes them more motivated to search for cues about their members’ abilities. This leads to the use of specific status characteristics, because these give more reliable information.

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