“The Play has been used to teach students about group behavior and the role of individual influence in group settings. What does the play have to offer as a representation of group behavior and the influence that individuals can have in group settings? Connect this idea to the Play and other life scenarios.”
The Play as a representation of Group behavior
Groups or teams are usually characterized by individuals with different characteristics, behavior and cultural backgrounds. The existence of these characteristics as well as behaviors means that people tend to think differently, a scenario that has a significant impact on group decision-making process. In the play, “Twelve Angry Men”, Reginald Rose exposes her audience to 12-man jury that has been tasked with decision-making or deliberating a murder case involving a 18-year old boy who has been accused of killing his father (12 Angry Men). After filing in, the 12-man jury takes a break to deliberate on issues ascribed to the case. However, the most evident issue that emerges as they deliberate on whether the boy is guilty or not is that even though eleven out of twelve jury members have a unanimous agreement that the boy was guilty, the 8th Juror is of a dissenting opinion (12 Angry Men). This is one of the characteristics of group behavior; as mentioned, groups are usually composed of individuals who tend to think differently, hence may make different decisions especially when they are engaged in activities that focus on reaching a common goal.
The dissenting opinion raised by the 8th Juror also elicits anger among other jurors; in fact, the other jurors exhibit violent reactions towards the dissenting opinion leading to a round-table discussion with a sole purpose of convincing juror #8 that indeed the accused person was guilty (12 Angry Men). The reactions exhibited towards the 8th juror also indicate an essential characteristic of groups. Research indicates that groups are usually characterized by existence of conflicting ideas; this behavior is majorly caused by the fact that individuals within a group have unique and varying capacities, meaning that the manner in which they process ideas and reach decisions is different (Mellers, et al 8). From a personal perspective, I believe that this could one the major reasons eleven jurors arrived at a similar opinion only to have a dissenting opinion from one group member.
The other key characteristic or group behavior that emerges from the play is the pertinence of discussion as a strategy to resolve conflicts within groups. Even though there is violent reaction from other 11 jurors after learning that one member of the jury had raised a dissenting opinion, the group decides to engage in a round-table discussion so that they can explain to the member the reasons they had arrived at a guilty verdict. Researchers have indicated that through discussions, groups are usually able to resolve incidences of conflicting opinions that may arise among the members, hence leading to the development of an effective decision (Mentha and Christian 18). Besides, groups/teams tend to resolve their differences through secret ballot voting process; in fact, this is a technique that has been used in various contemporary companies, particularly when making decisions regarding allocation of roles and other vital group activities (Mentha and Christian 18).
Influence that Individuals have on Groups
In most cases, groups are usually characterized by existence of individuals whose opinions or actions tend to influence the overall behavior of their teams (Heerdink et al 262). The behaviors or characters of such individuals may change the attitudes of opinions of other group members regarding a particular decision or process. It has been indicated in different researches that the opinions of an individual may affect the manner in which a group of people perceive and comprehend issues. Many researchers postulate that the influence of a single individual towards a group’s decision may generate positive or negative outcomes (Heerdink et al 262). In the case of the play, “Twelve Angry Men”, the dissenting opinions of the 8th Juror appears to have affected the initial decisions that had been made by the other 11 members of the jury. His different opinion elicits anger and violent reactions from other members who conclude that his opinion is based on sympathetic feelings he had towards the accused. However, after thoughtful discussion, it appears that the opinions and ideas of the 8th Juror are shared by other Jurors such as, the 5th, 9th and 11th juror members (12 Angry Men). He exposes other members to the reasons why he believed the accused could have been innocent of the murder charges. His dissenting opinion also changes that manner in which decisions are made within the jury; his ideas compels the team to engage in a secret ballot voting process as a means of arriving at what is considered a fair trial.
Conclusion
As mentioned earlier, groups are characterized by existence of individuals with different opinions or ideas. This feature usually affects group decision-making process, particularly due to conflicting ideas. The play, “Twelve Angry Men”, presents a scenario whereby 11 jurors have arrived at a unanimous opinion that an accused person is guilty of murder charges; however, they are presented with a dissenting opinion from the 8th juror who believes that the boy is innocent. This compels the group to engage in a round-table discussion and secret ballot voting process so that they could make a fair decision.
Works Cited
12 Angry Men. Dir. Sidney Lumet. Prod. Henry Fonda and Reginald Rose. By Reginald Rose and Kenyon Hopkins. Perf. Henry Fonda, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Lee J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Begley, Jiří Voskovec, and Mark Rodgers. United Artists Corp., 1956. DVD
Heerdink, Marc W., et al. "On the social influence of emotions in groups: interpersonal effects of anger and happiness on conformity versus deviance." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 105.2 (2013): 262.
Mellers, Barbara, et al. "The psychology of intelligence analysis: Drivers of prediction accuracy in world politics." Journal of experimental psychology: applied 21.1 (2015): 1-10.
Mentha, Gilles, and Christian Toso. "Collective intelligence for a more efficient patient management." Swiss Knife 3 (2014): 18-19.
