Archive for year: 2014

The first episode of survivor was a bit intense. As everyone arrived to Nicaragua, either with a family member or a lover, the same night they were seperated and divided into two tribes, either blue and orange teams . Right after the seperation and the creation of the two tribes, chapter 2 of group development took place. Right away the host of the show Jeff, explained the tribe goals and the norms. Even though each member are seperated from their love ones, they each ahve the same goal and it is to win the competition.

Once the tribes were dismissed Tuckmans group development took place. Right of the bat, forming started to take action. Little by little each memner of the group started to communicate and get to know eachother. In each tribe different diversity, age, and gender took place. In one group there was an older man, Dale, which the rest of the group started to isolate because they saw him as a dad, for being older. It turns out as they were isloating Dale trying to create fire, Dale was working alone and sacrafised his own glasses to create fire for his team that was isloating him. After that the tribe took Dale more into consideration. This shows Dale’s motvation for being part of the tribe, and wanting to participate and have a voice.

In chapter 2 it talks about group goals, group norms and group motvation, and we see this happening through out the show. Once the tribe got comfortable poeple tried to become the leader and boss the rest around. The losing team had to eliminate a team member, and they decided to eliminate Nadiya because she was trying to take over. I think that was a good thing to do , because in a team, or tibe, no one to take over, but yet everyone should work together to win.

At the beginning of the season, they begin by introducing each member and each other’s relationships. You can already tell that there are a variety of personalities, which will make the tribe dynamics very different. This proves that groups are made up of a lot of different personalities.

Dale states “I am not used to being with a group of strangers” which demonstrates the 1^st stage of Bruce Tuckman’s Group Development, forming. It was very prominent because the groups are trying to get to know each other and they are at an awkward stage. The chapter discusses that in this stage, group members tend to be overly polite which is true in this case because each member is trying to find different alliances. They are trying to figure out the norms and rules of the tribes. They are also assessing each other’s strengths are weaknesses.

The primary tension for one of the groups occurred when Keith’s group was discussing each other’s ages. This made some of the team members feel uncomfortable specially Dale who is the older member. However after he made the fire, he felt like now he was socially accepted and the transition of the tensions releasing was obvious. For the 2^nd group, Jeremy is feeling like the “prom king” because both Missy and Natalie look up to him. Their group dynamic is very different from the other tribe.

In the 2^nd episode Josh demonstrates hidden motives. He forms a hidden alliance with Baylor but at the time of the counsel, he puts Baylor’s name down. His hidden motive is that he did not tell Baylor ahead of time because he does not want to make the guy alliance suspicious.

The phases of new members joining established groups is showed through Keith and Val. They are both nervous because they have been in isolation so they have less time to form any alliances or relationships before the counsel. This example exposes the socialize phase of newcomers.

The group goal is, in a way, very clear because all of their goals are to be the winner of survivor.

I am definitely hooked on the show, looking forward to the next blog.

Survivor is a great show to explore the dynamics of group work! I began watching Survivor back in season one and followed it for about eight seasons. I think that many dedicated fans like to analyze the aspects of the show, and my mom and I were defiantly dedicated fans. I’m stoked to be watching it again and being able to analyze it and its group work examples for a grade in a class.

In chapter two we went over group development which plays a huge part in the show and how or if tribe members progress in it.  As the episode began it was soon revealed that the contestants came to the show with a relative, so i was assuming that they would be pairing up in tribes together. As Jeff revealed the tribe breakdowns a huge turn was put on the group dynamics. The members that came to the show together would be on opposing tribes, competing against one an other. This turn of events threw a wrench in the game for the contestants forcing them into a new strategies for tribe member development.

In chapter two we go over Tuckman’s Group Development stages. The first stage being the “forming stage” is shown in great extent in the first episode . All members begin testing the waters of their new tribe with caution, worried about where they stand.  For example one tribe member, John Rocker, a professional baseball player, being socially cautions decides he wants to keep his true identity a secret. He may feel that revealing this level of information about himself at this point in the game could make him vulnerable to other players. Because the players are getting a feel for one another  tip toeing around what to say is a common “member caution” at work.

 

 

 

Get ready, as fireworks are about to fly as we delve into the current season of Survivor.  The game of outwitting and outperforming a group of complete strangers uses a vast amount of communication skills that correlate to Chapter 2 and about Group Development.

As we all know, developing a relationship with complete strangers may be a bit difficult with differences in personality traits, but in the game of Survivor it is extremely necessary to step out of your comfort zone and find similarities among your peers.

When beginning the game, the contestants are paired with a loved family member sent onto a deserted beach in the country Nicaragua.  The game is thrown a complete curve ball when the host, Jeff Probst, announces that loved ones are going to be paired against each other on opposite tribes for “Survivor: Blood is thicker than Water”.

When the contestants for the show first meet each other is a prime example of the early stages of Tuckman’s Group Development Stages.  In the forming of stage of Tuckman’s model, “members are socially cautious and polite”. This is the stage, as stated in Working in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies, Sixth Edition, where members explore both their personal goals’ as well as their groups’ goals.  First impressions are extremely important when creating strong relationships and, if you want someone to like you, and in this sense, not vote you off the island, you want to start off on a good foot.  In this case, the contestants briefly chatted and politely introduced themselves when they opened up their bags showing them the tribe they were in.

After the first challenge, a member of the Hunahpu tribe named Jeremy, wins the challenge for his team and is forced to send the loser, his wife, to Exile Island with one of his own teammates. One of the first concepts of Chapter 2 and group development, and second stage of Tuckman’s Model, is the storming stage.  This can be defined by Tuckman, as the time when “members compete for status and openly disagree.”

On Exile Island, Jeremy’s wife Val, and her opposing tribe member Keith, are sent to a camp by themselves.  Since Group Communication means three or more people forming a group, this initial contact would not count.  However, back at the tribe camps of Hunahpu and Coyopa, members of these tribes are forced into close quarters with each other and must form bonds to promote a solid work ethic as well as the goals of trust and comfort.  In a physical game, older members are deemed to be the weakest link.  For Dale, a 55 year old farmer, he feels the heat of being the easy target.  He pairs up with a few of the other tribe members to try and create the number one resource of survival, fire.  While the young guys attempt to rub bamboo together to create fire, Dale uses his creativity and the magnifying ability of his glasses, to create enough heat to ignite some branches.

Primary tension as described by Engleberg and Wynn, is “the social unease and stiffness that accompanies the getting-aquainted stage in a new group”.  An example of this in episode 1 of Survivor is when Wes approaches John Rocker about John being an ex-professional baseball player for the Atlanta Braves.  The awkward tension between the two is completely visible because John doesn’t want to reveal his real identity, and Wes just wants to make a friend/connection/ally.  Unfortunately for him, John now regrets telling Wes his real name and now may scheme to vote him out for knowing too much.

During the debate over replacing the lost flint or receiving the fishing equipment in episode 2, we see how group communication works in a time crunch.  Forced with the decision to chose between having fire during cold rainy nights, or to have a sufficient way to get much needed food and protein, we see a bit of constructive nonconformity during the decision making. Constructive nonconformity is defined as, “when a member resists a norm while still working to achieve a group goal.  Two members of the tribe greatly want the fishing equipment so they can eat more than just beans to be stronger for competition, so they rattle off a series of ideas for what they could do without the fire, keeping the groups main goal of succeeding in mind.

Stay tuned for what seems to be a very interesting season.

 

 

Survivor is a show of true adaptation and rule. What I mean by that, is the new environment these contestants are dropped into challenge their abilities to mentally adapt to a new setting and group of people. This group will gradually organize the rule and goal of their tribe.
I was able to identify early group developmental stages, such as forming and norming. It was obvious some group members were confident enough to take the lead and compete for social acceptance. Jeremy stated “I feel good, everyone wants to date the prom king.” after he had three private conversations with Kelley, Natalie, and Missy regarding the group dynamics. This paves the way for a group leader in the Hunahpu tribe.
The primary tension is also obvious in the Coyopa tribe, where group dynamics have been ordered early on. Nadiya has already begun to weigh her competition within her own group by clearly stating the totem pole of age. She describes the younger ones in a happy-go-lucky tone, her own age group as capable, and speaks of the older two men in an uninterested and patronizing tone. This tension seems to be felt with other Coyopa group members, such as Dale who comments on his old age and lack of ability to connect with the others. Dale is exhibiting a clear example of the forming stage, where he determines what behaviors are accepted by the group. He succeeds and is the self-proclaimed “fire starter that’s moved up the food chain!”.The underlying arrangement of these players is something you can see all of them trying to work through individually.
Hidden Agendas are practically procedure for the game Survivor, and Val is keeping her goal from Keith; disrupting their communication even when he is all she has on exile island. Her goal is to save the clue she was given, in the hopes of finding an idol. John is keeping an agenda as well from his tribe member Wes when he is identified by him as a famous baseball player on the Braves. Although Wes was pleased to meet such an athlete, John was annoyed that this could possibly be shared with group members that are unaware. He states, “Come time, Wes is being voted off and I’ll make sure of it”, leaving Wes with no indication of his hidden agenda. The dynamics are constantly changing, and each stage varies from tribe to tribe according to their ability to become comfortable and work together.

The suspense is eating at me!