The effects of group development, member characteristics, and results on teamwork outcomes

grantor: University of TorontoThe study of group development has a history which dates back over a half century and an extensive amount of literature has been accumulated. It is only in the last few years, however, that researchers have moved from hierarchical models to multi-sequence models which suggest that each group has its own unique development pattern. If groups do vary in development patterns then this suggests the possibility that specific development patterns may have more positive or more negative influences on group effectiveness. The relationship between group development and group effectiveness is a little studied area of research, yet it is also a potentially important contributor to creating high performing teams. This dissertation, therefore, examined the effects of group development patterns on the group effectiveness. The study also investigated how group member characteristics would affect group development and group outcomes, and the impact of negative disconfirming feedback on future group development. A multi-phase research process was used. The purpose of the first phase was to develop and assess the reliability and validity of a questionnaire which could be used to measure models of group development. This questionnaire was then used in the second phase to test the research hypotheses. In the primary study, questionnaire data measuring individual characteristics, group development processes, satisfaction, and outcome expectancies was collected from 42 student task groups. Performance measures were obtained from project marks. In addition, groups taped meetings on audio cassettes. This provided qualitative data on group development to support the questionnaire results. The research results indicated that group development processes are related to group effectiveness. The questionnaire data also provided evidence of the midpoint transition which was hypothesized in Gersick's punctated equilibrium model. In addition, group development results supported the multi-sequence models of group development suggesting that actual group processes can occur in a variety of patterns. Analyses of member characteristics showed that group composition was related to group development and to effectiveness. The theoretical and practical implications of these results were discussed.Ph.D