Group Communication

Definitional

Small group communication typically occurs in a group of 3-12 people and takes place during the interactions because of the presence of the group. There are several types of small groups there are casual or social groups which usually include friends, family, neighbors etc, there are also learning or education groups which come together in an attempt to teach or lean something about a given subject. There are also work groups which are groups designed with specific goals to achieve within the context of a job. Lastly there are groups that are considered self directed meaning that they are formed naturally, usually have minimal supervision, weak leadership and everyone is considered an equal within the group (Tubbs & Moss 388). In order for group communication to occur there obvious has to be the group present but they must also have a purpose, the group usually then functions in the following manor: interdependence develops over time, the way the group communicates eventually becomes predictable, there is an emergence of roles and norms, the group begins to serve its function, the group should be rewarding for each member and lastly all members consider themselves as contributors to the group to be considered “in” the group. One of the most important factors that needs to be considered when dealing with small group communication is the group think factor, this is when a majority decision is made by the group without seeking any alternatives. This usually results in a poor quality decision when the group is under pressure or has to deal with a strict time constraint. The negative outcomes of group think extend to: the group not seeking alternative solutions, the members aren’t critical enough of each other’s ideas, they don’t seek out an expert opinion if it is available and they do not have a contingency plan. Groupthink can often be foreseen by communication experts because the tend to use the following trend: illusion of invulnerability (they think they are stronger than they are), the members begin to rationalize all decisions, the group shares stereotypes that guide their decisions, exercise pressure on other group members and the last symptom is usually that all opinions are sacrificed by the stronger voice who’s opinions usually result in the group’s decision. To avoid groupthink the group must first decide who the leader could be, divide the group into smaller groups if necessary, bring in outside experts, throw in the devils advocate for the sake of argument and lastly they must have more than one group meeting. By avoiding groupthink the group will most likely function smoother as well as be able to reach a much higher quality decision resulting in better group cohesion as well. What it all really comes down to is that if a group truly wants to be effective they must approach their decision in such a way that ensures commitment to the decision by all members of the group (Tubbs & Moss 418).

Application

Link to clip from episode of LOST:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cpp-XOBwt4

The application entry I have chosen to use fro Group Communication is a clip from the ABC show LOST. Although the clip does not appear to be group communication because only 2 people are talking it is an example of group communication. Before this actual clip started in this episode the group of about 9 was deciding whether or not it was appropriate to go out into the jungle at that time in search of Walt, a lost boy. The general censuses of the group is that they don’t really want to go because although it seems morbid, at this point they don’t think it is useful to look for him because he has been gone for so long. John Locke the bald man in the clip immediately takes on the role of group leader, by using propaganda saying that he saw Walt in a dream and that he needs to be saved it is much easier for the group to want to follow because they are emotionally touched by the group leaders experience. If John Locke had not taken the leadership position in this situation with the group most likely they would not have gone out to find Walt who is eventually saved. In all group situations a leader must emerge for the group to reach a quality decision, if this fails to happen the group may begin to travel down the path towards groupthink which will lead to a less quality decision.

Personal

For my personal application for Group Communication I am again going to relate this back to my theater experiences. As a stage manager I am constantly in a group communication setting, the cast sizes that I just recently dealt with was 9 actors with 3 faulty advisors and then separately a few designers. In my situation when dealing with group communication although it is not directly an education setting in a classroom I would consider college theater to be an educational setting. None of us are professionals yet and thus we are all still learning, this means that communication needs to be carefully worded so that no actors are offended by criticism but at the same time honesty is a big part of our job. When dealing with the cast I am the group leader (stage manager) dealing with all logistical aspects of the show, I did find it interesting that at the beginning of our experience I felt like it was a more formal setting and as the show went on and we became a much closer group, the setting became more casual and thus the communication varied. Our common goal is to put on a successful show which can be a stressful task, at times the group disagrees on common issues but in the end through mediation as the leader they are eventually resolved (hopefully by avoiding group think) and a successful show is put on stage.

Health Communication

Definitional

Human communication is categorized into five main categories: doctor-patient, parent-child, therapy, media (ads) and communication displayed on signs or logs. The purpose of studying health communication is to educate people how to be more effective when coping with diseases or other health related problems. If successful this would eventually save lives as well as improve the health of the general population. Because it is not the most obvious type of communication it is often referred to as a sub disciple of communication because it incorporates several types of communication that can be portrayed through various mediums. More specifically the things that contribute to health promotion and disease prevention are: doctor-patient, the individuals search for information, the individuals response to clinical diagnosis, public health campaigns, dissemination of health issues, visual images of health and the health care providers giving information. If these various promotions and preventions in health communication are successful, health communication is able to raise awareness to risks of diseases and solutions to those risks. Through the use of professional skills, prevention strategies and future implications, it may be possible to not only prevent the spread of various diseases but also help find cures to treat the people who are already infected. To allow ourselves to better understand these health concerns there are three models which have been developed: the planned behavior model which is born out of persuasion and portrays how we can think of behaviors, the health belief model which portrays how our behavior is completely depend on our vulnerability and lastly the stages of change model which deals with how we can specifically deal with a problem that has put us in a situation concerning our health.

Application

For my application blog I have chosen to use As The Band Played On as my model for health communication. One of the major things that appears in the movie is the mass media and the role that it plays in altering the general population’s opinion of the disease. Throughout the movie several clips from news stories are shown and are often blown out of proportion. The media felt that in order to portray the true danger of the disease they must make the story more interesting/appealing to the viewer. For example, in the beginning of the movie it was shown that AIDS was mostly appearing in gay males. The news stations took this possible fact and translated it into calling the disease gay cancer, this turned out to not only be false but also caused many problems within the gay community. Several other health communication examples were shown in the movie, for example the entire movie was focused around the research being done by the Center For Disease Control. This was an example of organizational communication between the doctors/researchers which where using horizontal communication to attempt to find a solution to the problem and then there was downward commutation between the manager figure of the organization who had to keep his researchers on task and prevent fighting that only got in the way of solving the problem. Doctor-patient commutation was also quite prominent and it was interesting to note that because the disease was proved to be so fatal it was quite difficult for many of the doctors to have to tell the patients that they were a positive match for the disease. Although there were several types of health commutation displayed in the movie I do believe that the most prominent example was media and the role that it played in mass commutation. The media was the main driving factor that led to each individuals perception of the disease which in turn altered their perceived threat and led to their action. According to the health belief model, an individuals likely action is based solely upon their perception of the diseased which is based upon their demographic, sociological, psychological and structural factors that lead to their perceived threat and severity. However, before the individual has decided on an action they are altered by the cues to action which mainly includes the media that can have a strong lasting impact before they decide if their action is likely. According to the Corcoran article, “ As with the criticisms of highlighted in the cognitive models, when dealing with the media people do not necessarily act in a rational or logical manner, and do not process information in a logical way” (25). Luckily in the end the team of scientists were able to correctly identify the disease even though no cure was developed. However I do find it interesting to note the way in which we communicate about disease now in our society compared to the past when not much was known about the vast amount of fatal diseases about and that today in our society we are able to much easier cope with them compared to other third world countries.

Personal

For my personal application I have chosen to discuss the way in which advertisements and drug companies have began to alter the way in which doctors treat their patients. We really can’t go a day without seeing some type of drug advertisement, whether it be on the TV, internet, billboard etc… Drug advertisements are everywhere and although we often notice them and immediately disregard them, they are changing the way in which the patient is viewed in the doctors eyes. Now a days doctors are so heavily influenced by incentives put forth by drug companies because there is a great deal of money involved in the pharmaceutical business. Personally I have encountered an experience when I have visited the doctor in search of medical health for an illness and been suggested a prescription that was outwardly suggested because it was currently “the hottest pill on the market”. Even the most basic medication such as cold or allergy medication is now seen as a commercial comity and will be pushed hard by the doctors because they know that the more they push certain medications the better their will be seen in the eyes of the drug companies. I do not think that this is particularly a good thing in the health industry, although it does promote the general well being of good health, it is being done in the wrong fashion. Doctors used to be individuals that you could look to in search of help, they are now being used by the drug companies (and mass media) as another medium to market medication for the sake of selling the pills rather than promoting the general well being of the patient.