Cohesion is the degree to which group members bond, like each other, and consider themselves to be one entity. A cohesive group identifies itself as a single unit rather than a collection of individuals, which helps hold the group together in the face of adversity. In fact, cohesion is an important factor in generating a positive group climate, in which members take pride in the group, treat each other with respect, develop trust, feel confident about their abilities, and achieve higher success in accomplishing goals. Such positive climates can also foster optimism and confidence in the face of obstacles. A self-confident, cohesive group tends to minimize problems, eliminate barriers, and cope well with crises (Folger, Poole, & Stutman, 2001). In general, cohesive groups perform better than noncohesive groups on decision-making tasks (for example, selecting a course of action more quickly and making more informed choices) (Carless & DePaola, 2000; Welch, Mossholder, Stell, & Bennett, 1998). Nonverbal communication is also influenced by group cohesion; Yasui (2009) found that cohesive group members often repeat and build on one another’s gestures.

You can determine group cohesion in several ways. If you take a look at how the participants feel about their own membership in the group, you’ll see that the more satisfaction and fulfillment members feel, the more cohesive they are. Members of a cohesive group are also enthusiastic, identify with the purposes of the group (Tekleab, Quigley, & Tesluk, 2009), and tell outsiders about its activities. Even positive, constructive argumentation (as opposed to verbal aggressiveness) can be a sign of group cohesion (Anderson & Martin, 1999). Finally, consider how well the group retains members. A cohesive group will retain more members than a noncohesive group.

Gouran (2003) offers several practical suggestions individuals can use for increasing cohesion and fostering a more positive group experience:

Clearly, cohesion offers groups tremendous benefits, but unfortunately there is also a downside. Too much cohesion can actually cause the group to be unproductive. For example, if you and the other members of your study group enjoy each other’s company so much that you talk and laugh together about everything but the course material, you’ll never get your work done, which will hurt your goal of doing well on the exam! In addition, if your group members wish to maintain their cohesion at all costs, they may fail to question or criticize each other’s knowledge or ideas, even if they are incorrect. In this scenario, you could all end up with the wrong understanding of some key concepts that will be on your exam. In the next chapter, we’ll also see that excessive cohesion and the failure to express disagreement play a key part in groupthink, a serious problem in the group decision-making process. We now turn our attention to group norms.