CT Group Dynamics 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A trainer notices subgroups forming along departmental lines, reducing cross-team learning. The BEST intervention is to:
- Allow the subgroups since people learn best with familiar peers
- Restructure small groups to mix departments deliberately (Correct answer)
- Remove the activity causing subgroup formation
- Report the behavior to HR as a conflict
Correct answer: Restructure small groups to mix departments deliberately
Deliberately mixed groupings break down silos and promote diverse perspectives essential for transfer of learning.
Question 2: Which of the following is a characteristic of a cohesive training group?
- High levels of individual competition and secrecy
- Shared commitment to goals and mutual support among members (Correct answer)
- Frequent turnover of group membership
- Avoidance of any form of disagreement
Correct answer: Shared commitment to goals and mutual support among members
Cohesive groups are marked by trust, shared purpose, and members actively supporting one another's learning.
Question 3: When a group member takes on the 'devil's advocate' role, the trainer should TYPICALLY:
- Remove the individual from group discussions
- Recognize the value in challenging assumptions and channel it constructively (Correct answer)
- Ask the rest of the group to ignore the comments
- Pair the individual only with similarly critical thinkers
Correct answer: Recognize the value in challenging assumptions and channel it constructively
Devil's advocates prevent groupthink and, when channeled well, deepen critical analysis of training content.
Question 4: In Belbin's team roles framework, which role focuses on ensuring the group completes tasks on time and to standard?
- Plant
- Resource Investigator
- Completer Finisher (Correct answer)
- Shaper
Correct answer: Completer Finisher
The Completer Finisher ensures quality and timeliness by attending to detail and following tasks through to completion.
Question 5: A trainer observes that after a break, the group's energy and engagement have dropped significantly. The BEST immediate strategy is to:
- Continue with the planned lecture to stay on schedule
- Use a brief energizer or change the activity format to re-engage learners (Correct answer)
- Give the group another break immediately
- Dismiss the group for the day
Correct answer: Use a brief energizer or change the activity format to re-engage learners
Energizers and activity format changes quickly restore attention and re-establish group momentum.
Question 6: The 'risky shift' phenomenon in groups describes the tendency for groups to:
- Become more conservative than individual members alone
- Make riskier decisions collectively than members would individually (Correct answer)
- Avoid any decision-making to reduce conflict
- Assign risky tasks only to the most experienced member
Correct answer: Make riskier decisions collectively than members would individually
Diffused responsibility and social influence in groups often lead to riskier collective decisions than individuals make alone.
Question 7: Which factor MOST directly influences the transition from the 'storming' stage to the 'norming' stage?
- The trainer reducing session length
- The group developing agreed-upon norms and resolving initial conflicts (Correct answer)
- Replacing resistant participants
- Increasing the number of individual assessments
Correct answer: The group developing agreed-upon norms and resolving initial conflicts
Movement to norming occurs when the group negotiates expectations and achieves initial resolution of interpersonal conflicts.
CT Group Dynamics 4
A trainer notices subgroups forming along departmental lines, reducing cross-team learning.
The BEST intervention is to: