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Group Performance

Group Performance

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Series: Social Psychology: A Modular Course.

People interact and perform in group settings in all areas of life. Organizations and businesses are increasingly structuring work around groups and teams. Every day, we work in groups such as families, friendship groups, societies and sports teams, to make decisions and plans, solve problems, perform physical tasks, generate creative ideas, and more.

Group Performance outlines the current state of social psychological theories and findings concerning the performance of groups. It explores the basic theories surrounding group interaction and development and investigates how groups affect their members. Bernard A. Nijstad discusses these issues in relation to the many different tasks that groups may perform, including physical tasks, idea generation and brainstorming, decision-making, problem-solving, and making judgments and estimates. Finally, the book closes with an in-depth discussion of teamwork and the context in which groups interact and perform.

Offering an integrated approach, with particular emphasis on the interplay between group members, the group task, interaction processes and context, this book provides a state-of-the-art overview of social psychological theory and research. It will be highly valuable to undergraduates, graduates and researchers in social psychology, organizational behavior and business.

Table of Contents

Studying Small Groups. Group Processes and Social Influence. A Theoretical Framework. Audience and Co-action Effects. Motivation and Group Performance: Individual Effort on Collective Tasks. Group Idea Generation and Creativity. Group Decision-Making. Group Problem-Solving and Group Judgment. Teamwork and Leadership. Groups in Context. Groups and Technology.

Reviews

"Bernard Nijstad is one of the 'young lions' of this field and has made substantial contributions to a number of the content areas covered in the book. Group Performance handles the conceptual and empirical material very well, leaving the reader with a good sense of what we currently know about the psychology of behavior in and by groups.Overall an excellent introduction to the area." - R. Scott Tindale, Loyola University, Chicago, USA

"Bernard Nijstad, a brilliant and enthusiastic researcher, provides a comprehensive, cutting-edge perspective on a fascinating area of social psychology. This textbook will be a classic. I seriously could not stop reading it until the very last page. Highly recommended!" - Andreas Mojzisch, Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Germany

"Professor Nijstad does a fantastic job integrating both classic and contemporary research on group performance. I was particularly impressed with Nijstad’s ability to translate this literature in a well-organized and proficient manner. Nijstad’s enthusiasm for this work should help generate excitement in students reading about this topic for the first time." - Robert B. Lount, Jr., The Ohio State University, USA

Author/Editor Biography

Bernard A. Nijstad received his PhD in social psychology from Utrecht University in 2000. From 2000 to 2009 he was a faculty member at the department of organizational psychology of the University of Amsterdam. Currently Bernard Nijstad is a full professor of organizational behaviour at the department of economics and business of the University of Groningen. His research concerns group creativity, group decision-making, and decision avoidance.