Group Member Satisfaction

Abstract

Self-reports representing three types of member satisfaction (decision-making activity, communication in the group, and leadership); perceptions of three conflict-management styles (i.e., solution orientation, control, and nonconfrontation); and motivation to work for the group were collected after 24 groups completed each of four different sets of tasks structured to represent different steps of the "standard agenda. " Propositions associating a variety of general group activities and facets of group life to the nature of group conflict were used to generate hypotheses that related the satisfaction measures to measures of style and motivation and that suggested how satisfaction measures were likely to change across the four periods of interaction. With the exception of the relationship between motivation and satisfaction with decision-making activity, data confirmed expectations and showed that the measures of satisfaction were positively related to solution orientation and motivation and negatively related to nonconfrontation. Repeated measures tests indicated that there were differences between groups in how levels of satisfaction changed over time and that satisfaction with both decision activity and communication in the group changed in curvilinear fashion.