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COM 520, Spring 2007 – Reading Guide Questions for March 12

For Burtis & Turman, Ch. 5:

1. What are the different communication pitfalls identified on pp. 94-95?  What examples of these communication pitfalls have you experienced in groups you’ve been part of?  What is the advice they give for overcoming these pitfalls on the bottom of p. 95?  Would this advice have helped in the situations you mentioned above?

2. What are the different meeting pitfalls identified on pp. 96-97?  What examples of these meeting pitfalls have you experienced in groups you’ve been part of?  What is the advice they give for each pitfall in the italics on pp. 96-97?  Would this advice have helped in the situations mentioned above?

3. What are the four pitfalls identified in Gastil’s research in the box on p. 97?  Do they ring true for groups you’ve been part of?  What’s a demos?  How, according to Gastil and our authors, do you know one when you see one?  What is, and what isn’t, consensus?  What do your authors suggest are the benefits of consensus?  What is the argument against voting?

4. What are the four different types of norm pitfalls identified on pp. 103-105?  What examples of each do the authors provide?  How have they played out in groups you’ve been part of?  What’s the advice for each the authors provide (often in italics)?  Would this advice have helped in the situations you mentioned above?

5. What are the six different types of role pitfalls identified on pp. 105-109?  What examples of each do the authors provide?  How have they played out in groups you’ve been part of?  What’s the advice for each the authors provide (often in italics)?  Would this advice have helped in the situations you mentioned above?

6. What’s a process prize again?  What are the three deliberation process prize pitfalls they identify?  How have they played out in groups you’ve been part of?  What advice do they give for each?  Would that advice have helped in the situations you mentioned above?

7.  What do the authors say is so bad about jumping to solutions?  How do they say you know when it’s happening?  What do they suggest to deal with it?

For Burtis & Turman, Ch. 6:

1. What’s a group concomitant?  What’s a confusion pitfall?  What do the authors suggest (on p. 118) is good and bad about confusion?  Explain the different types of confusion pitfalls they identify.  How have they played out in groups you’ve been part of?  What’s the advice they give for dealing with confusion pitfalls?  Would it gave helped in the situations you mentioned above?

2. What is a conformity pitfall generally?  What do the authors suggest is good and bad about conformity?  What are the different problems the authors suggest can result from maladaptive conformity?  How have they played out in groups you’ve been part of?  What’s the advice (often in italics) the authors give for handling each of these problems?  Would it have worked in the situations you mentioned above?  What’s an idiosyncracy credit?  Have you seen it in groups you’ve been part of?

3. How do the authors define conflict?  What do they suggest is good and bad about conflict?  What do they suggest are examples of too little and too much conflict?  What do they suggest are maladaptive and preferred approaches to conflict?  What do they suggest are inappropriate responses to conflict?  What do they suggest are bad conflict outcomes?  Have any of these inappropriate responses and bad outcomes emerged in groups you’ve been part of?  What do the authors suggest for dealing with each of these?  Would this advice have helped in the situations mentioned above?

4. What do they mean by group consciousness, climate, cohesion and culture?  What are critical incidents and memorable messages?  What are the three types of consciousness pitfalls the authors identify?  What are the specific ways they suggest each can manifest itself?  How have they manifested themselves in groups you’ve been part of?  What advice do they give (often in italics) for each?  Would this advice have helped in the situations you mentioned above?

5. How does the advice the authors give on pp. 137-138 for dealing with grouping concomitants further each of the three general communication goals we’ve talked about: instrumental relational and identity?

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Last Updated: 27 February 2007
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