Archive for year: 2014

In my first time ever watching an episode of Survivor, I saw that Chapter 2 applied in many different ways. The chapter, Group Development, played a vital role in the start of this year’s new tribes in that they have to go through the natural progression of forming groups. Forming, which is the first stage in the Bruce Tuckman’s Group Development Model, describes this stage as when members are being cautious and courteous to each other just like the members of  Survivor were doing with their new teammates. They all tentatively collect information about one another and start off by treating one another with utmost respect.  Storming, Tuckman’s next stage, may just be the most crucial stage in the model because members will start to compete for the title of Alpha and are not shy to let it be known. Members compete for status and usually conflict is involved. Some of the cast members displayed that on this week’s show because roles within the tribes are starting to take place. The blue team is undefeated in challenges which tells me that their storming phase is about finished and the norming phase is set to begin.  When success is achieved early in a group, I feel like it is easier for the Group Development process to take place just as fast as they achieved their success. I will be interested to see how the yellow team responds since they are experiencing a little bit of turmoil early in this season. The yellow team has to keep their goal in mind as a team. Sometimes when you can look at the big picture and keep together as a team to ultimately realize their goal, it can supersede the adversity that the yellow team are facing. If not, the blue team will be performing, then adjourning, which are the last two phases in Tuckman’s development model.

This was the first time I have ever seen the show Survivor and I was not disappointed. I thought this was going to be  a boring, fake reality show but I was wrong.

The theme of season 29 of Survivor is blood versus water. Being that family members are all playing against each other, this makes a lot of sense. Blood symbolizes the bond between the family members and water symbolizes their opponent… the unknown.

At the beginning of the show, the family members are split up into two teams, Hunahpu and Coyopa. This is when group development begins. The initial forming stage of development explores personal goals and group goals when each member of the group try to form alliances and work in groups to win the challenge. During the storming stage, we get a sense of who is seriously competing for social acceptance and leadership. Jeremy acts like everyone wants to form an alliance with him which makes him feel like a leader. There is also primary tension that is arising in Val because she is the first one to be sent to exile island. She does not feel the confidence that the rest of her team feels because she doesn’t get those first couple of days to form alliances. The norming stage is displayed a little bit in the first episode when the Hunahpu team communicates and works as a group to win the first challenge. I think they had better verbal communication and that’s why they won the challenge. The performing stage is just beginning at the end of episode one and into episode two. Each member is starting to realize their roles and adapt accordingly. I believe each group had group motivation because they want to be the team that is safe for another week without having to worry about being voted off. However, the Coyopa team might have lost a little motivation after they lost their second challenge. The whole point of this show is trying to reveal hidden agendas. Whether they want to or not, each member almost always has to have a hidden agenda to survive in this game. If that hidden agenda pays off is never for certain. In Val’s case in the second episode, she had an immunity idol that she was hiding which turned out to backfire on her and she was voted off.

I am extremely excited for the episodes to come. Can’t wait to see who gets voted off next!

 

Group development played a role when the shows creators were deciding what to do with the show; which was pinning family members and loved ones against each other. I thought this was very interesting because we knows what happens when compatible people come together in a group, tasks are accomplished successfully.  Just to remind you of some of the factors that are considered when you are talking about group development, like the stages of group development (forming,storming,norming,performing,adjourning), group goals (ask yourself the six C’s-Clarity,Challenge,Commitment,Compatibility, Cooperation,Cost), group norms (implicit,explicit, procedural,status,achievment) as well as rewards and motivators(meaningfulness,choice,competence,progress).  All of this information has a point I promise!

So as the first episode went on and everyone split up from their loved ones two teams formed; The Hanahpu(blue) and Coyopa(orange). On the blue team is Drew – 25, Sales Rep,Jeremy – 36, Firefighter, Jon – 26, Financial Assistant, Julie – 34, Owner of Spray Tan Business, Keith – 53, Fire Captain, Kelley – 28, Marketing Manager, Missy – 47, Owner of Cheerleading Gym, Natalie – 28, Crossfit Coach, Reed – 31, Broadway Performer. On the orange team is Alec – 22, Student, Baylor – 20, Student, Dale – 55, Farmer, Jaclyn – 25, Media Buyer, John – 39, Former MLB Pitcher
Josh – 32, Actor, Nadiya – 28, Crossfit Coach, Val – 35, Police Officer, Wes – 23, Firefighter.

As the first challenge begun preconceived expectations that have been in place for each individual about each of the other players based on first impressions, or in John’s case he was a professional baseball player so people had already seen him in a certain way. So these assumptions made it hard for players to work together and really get to know each other. You started to see right off the bat that some of the contestants were trying to advance to the storming stage (choosing roles essentially) and some were still in the forming stage. It makes it difficult when the external rewards are so heavy in this show and the consequences of not bonding is elimination. So group development is, I believe, a little difficult under these particlar circumstances.

A time where some were already in another stage than others was on the orange team when Dale, the oldest member on the team, started a fire and that was his role but when he tried to interject in something other than fire others said he was “too old” or “couldn’t connect with anyone because he was too old”. Dale conformed to the idea of just being the fire guy and leaving other challenges to the younger men or he faces non conforming which is being eliminated and on Survivor that’s really bad!

The last thing I wanted to discuss was about the elimination round, they voted Natalie off because she was too big of a threat; I believe if they had kept in mind the overall goal of winning Survivor it would be easier with competent and capable to get further and win more challenges therefore making it easier for you to survive as long as possible. So basically I don’t think they really understand how groups work and a way to make it work better more towards one way or the other( more towards yourself or for everyone and in the case of survivor it’s more beneficial towards the individual).

Episode 1
This first episode shows the introduction of the competitors and their first nights in Nicaragua. The groups of couples are quickly assembled and divided into two different groups splitting up the couples between the two separate tribes. They are immediately thrown into a challenge that will result in the losing member being banned to Exile Island. The producers are immediately playing on a key concept of social group dynamics, the formation, by sending a member to the island on the first night they are isolating them from the first real social interaction between the group members. This will prevent them from being able to establish themselves in the groups as well as help with the all-important facet of alliance formation, without being able to meet her group mates and make friends she runs the risk of being ostracized from her entire team which will give her a severe disadvantage in the games to come.

After the conclusion of the first challenge groups are sent back to their camps and begin to establish themselves both as a team and as survivalist. Coyopa (Orange) group was immediately separated by age, they immediately began their storming phase attempting to create fire for their tribe, however their age separation left them divided unintentionally, however it provided them two different routes to fire generation that lead to their early success in fire generation. Their oldest member AKA Dad, was successful at starting a fire and earned his way back into the main fold of the group, he was motivated intrinsic to start fire, so much so that he broke his glasses in half to help attain his group’s goal. He was motivated intrinsically by his need for group acceptance in order to succeed in the game which leads to his extrinsic motivation to win the prize money.

This was the first time I have ever watched Survivor, and I am already hooked. I wish I had gotten into the show in previous seasons. During the first episode of Survivor, the groups are introduced as couples, such as husband wife, father and son, mother and daughter and partners. They then give background information about themselves and the skills they have. After this, they were separated into two different tribes, Coyopa and Hunahpu. Each tribe then began the group development process. Once the first challenge began it had split a couple that were once together and now opponents pit against each other. The losing member was then sent to Exile Island with one other member from the winning tribe. They missed out on the opportunity to show the vital skills they are able to contribute to their tribe during the group development process. The husband and wife involved in the challenge had to compete for what is an overly important item in the game of Survivor: fire in the form of flint. Fire can be a large group development tool that can either make or break a tribe. As the losing tribe had learned the hard way, building a fire without flint is a challenge, the tribe split into two groups the younger ones and a single older man. As the young group attempted to build a fire together using great team work switching from each person to the other trying to make a single spark the older man then sacrificed his sight in the form of glasses to prove to his tribe he was a key contender and not just an older man to be pushed aside. This was a game changer in the later challenge, as this tribe lost they had to then go to tribal council where each tribe member casts a vote to strategically remove someone from their tribe. Whether the person lacked teamwork or was untrustworthy, there is always someone who must fall. This decision was to vote off one of the younger girls on the team who the older man had declared a backstabber due to her previous actions on a popular show, The Amazing Race. He earned the respect from his fellow tribe mates by building a connection and earning a proper mutual respect.