Group Diversity in Blood vs. Water

The competition is heating up as teams have become more devoted to their goals as a tribe. The book says “effective group members develop strategies for interacting with others from diverse backgrounds”(75) and this is what we are watching in this series. We see them resist to make alliances and some succeed, and it is true that it all lies within their willingness to find commonalities with group members to be able to work with each others strengths. In the process of becoming an effective group they will face some obstacles such as stereotyping, which is having a generalization about a group of people that oversimplifies their characteristics. Another term we may be familiar with is hidden agenda, and Drew is deviously rigging the outcome of the challenge; resulting in the first lose of the Hunahpu tribe….to which later he was eliminated off of. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was a useful tool to map out the diversity of the cast members, and this is where I could identify Jeremy and Drew. Jeremy relates most closely to the ‘Feeler’ which is a Motivational Strategy. I felt this was obvious when he was so quick to jump on the lie that Keith told, and decided he was establishing a level of respect for himself. Jeremy also wanted to make himself appealing and feel as though he is in the “Prom King” position again. Drew also gave himself the tag as “King Pin” which hints at his type as the ‘Judger’, because he feels he sets the standards and is able to do anything that is thrown his way. Drew comes off as if he has it all figured out, and he wants you to think that.

Overall, the season has progressed in a competitive light, and I find it very interesting to be able to apply this information to a diverse series.