This assignment will give you experience observing and interacting with people o

This assignment will give you experience
observing and interacting with people outside
of the classroom. It has been designed to provide you with the
opportunity to develop skills, synthesize knowledge, and integrate learning in
a real-world setting. This goal is accomplished by challenging you to physically attend and observe a group.
Note: Social and family events, religious services,
classes, court proceedings, lectures, and sporting events are not acceptable
events for the purpose of this assignment.
Purpose: To provide you with an
opportunity to experience a group setting and analyze how the presence of
others substantially influences the behaviors of its members through social
facilitation.
Observe a group discussing a topic of
interest,
such as a focus group, a community public assembly, a department meeting at
your workplace, or local support group.
Study how the group members interact
and influence one another.
Analyze how the group behaviors and
communication patterns influence social facilitation.
Integrate your findings with
evidence-based literature from journal articles, the course text, and additional scholarly
sources. The literature should be about group patterns, not
about the content of the meeting.
Process: You will participate
as a guest at an interest group meeting in your community to gather data for a
qualitative research paper. Once you have located an interest group, contact
stakeholders, and explain the purpose of your inquiry. After you receive
permission to participate, you will schedule a date to attend the meeting; at
which time you will observe the members and document the following for your
analysis:
·
How were the people arranged in the
physical environment (layout of room and seating arrangement)?
·
What is the
composition of the group, in terms of number of people, age, sex, ethnicity, and
so on?
·
What are the group’s purpose, mission, and goals?
·
What is the duration
of the group (short- or long-term)? Explain.
·
Did the group
structure its discussion around an agenda, program, or rules of order?
·
Describe the
structure of the group. How is the group organized?
·
Who are the primary
facilitators of the group?
·
What subject or issues did the group
members examine during the meeting?
·
What types of information did members
exchange in their group?
·
What were the group’s
norms, roles, status hierarchy, or communication patterns?
·
What communication
patterns illustrated if the group was unified or fragmented? Explain.
·
Did the members share
a sense of identity with one another (characteristics of the group, similarities,
interests, philosophy, and so on)?
·
Was there any
indication that members might be vulnerable to groupthink? Why or why not?
·
In your opinion, how did the collective group
behaviors influence individual attitudes and the group’s effectiveness? Provide
your overall analysis.
Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper incorporating
your analysis with evidence to substantiate your conclusion.