Date of Award
6-1964
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Dr. John J. Jochem
Second Advisor
Dr. Eston J. Asher
Third Advisor
Dr. Stanley M. Kuffel
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
Group Cohesiveness and Group Productivity
Cartwright and Zander (1953) distinguished at least three different meanings in their intuitive and operational descriptions of group cohesiveness: (a) attraction to the group, (b) morale, and (c) coordination of efforts of group members. Others have attempted to classify meanings of cohesiveness into two general categories. One category of definitions centers chiefly on particular aspects of group behavior or group process. Here, the meaning of cohesiveness refers to "sticking togetherness," productivity, task involvement and good team work. A common observation is that members of a cohesive group display a feeling of "we-ness" or "togetherness," meaning that they are more likely to talk in terms of "we" than "I."
The second category of definitions is concerns exclusively with the attractiveness of the group. Festinger, Schachter and Back (1950) define cohesiveness as the average resultant force acting on members with direction toward the group. Still others, like Libo (1953), try to present a more refined meaning of the concept. Libo suggestive units of analysis for the study of cohesiveness: the individual member and the group. Hence, an individual level of analysis and a group level of analysis.
Recommended Citation
Makedonsky, Michael M., "Group Cohesiveness and Group Productivity" (1964). Masters Theses. 4083.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4083