In a study completed by Robert Moore, an experiment was conducted to find the results of cohesion on levels of group creativity. Although the study is a bit out-dated, the results were still very relevant to current small group communication. The study showed that groups who have higher cohesion levels gave more creative answers when asked to critique music and artwork. A potential reason for this is that high cohesion reduces the risk of negativity among group members thus making it a more inviting environment to share ideas. The final findings showed that group work does not necessarily lead to increased group creativity. According to the study the group must be cohesive in-order for it to work effectively. Cohesion can be great but if it goes to far it can lead to groupthink which will in turn eliminate creativity.Moore, Robert M. 1997. The positive effects of cohesion on the creativity of small groups.International Social Science Review. Vol. 72 Issue 3/4, p84.
Cohesion is a tricky thing. You want everyone in the group to be on the same page but like you guys said, you want to avoid the groupthink. Recognizing when cohesion takes a turn toward groupthink is crucial and you guys made some really good points about increasing the creativity and cohesion but still avoiding the groupthink. Nice!
ReplyDeleteGetting cohension is the complicated part, while trying to avoid groupthink. Maybe adding more about cohesion would make this better, but it does make some good points.
ReplyDeleteWe agree that too much cohesion can cause groupthink and it will inhibit creativity. But on a positive note, group cphesion is very vital to a group. The more inviting the group is to everyone the more ideas, perspectives and thought go into each conversation. Which will create more creativity and help the group to complete their task ahead.
ReplyDeleteOur group found this post very interesting.Cohesion is a very tricky topic to understand and this post really helped our group understand it. But maybe if you guys could have added real life examples it would have help the readers to understand it a little better.
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