roup members are nurses, and they had some acquaintance with one another prior to the group project, although none would refer to the others at that point as friends. While not strictly a random selection method, this was also not a group which came together with long shared personal histories.
The seating arrangement selection method meant that there were no strong bonds established prior to forming the group. This meant that individuals learned about each other, including the various abilities that each person brought to the group, as the group developed and evolved. As the project was discussed and various objectives were discussed, the dynamics and personalities of the various members began to emerge, and members were able to avoid working from preconceived notions about other members. However, if the group had been formed with individuals who knew each other better, it is possible that the work would have proceeded more efficiently since members would already know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Lacking this knowledge, members had to learn those things as the group moved along, but individual members might also have been able to take on different responsibilities than they would have been allowed if there were a higher level of familiarity among group members.
Because this was only a three-member group focused on a single specific task, there was a high level of cohesiveness and very little egocentricity (although egocentric roles were seen in the beginning). Amy, the group leader, was an effective leader and coordinator, who sought to clarify the ideas that were presented in the group and who showed respect to Virginia and Barbara, both of whom were considerably older than Amy. The two older group members, who might have had reservations about Amy being effective as group leader, found that the young pediatrics nurse listened to ideas, helped to refine them, and contributed significant contributions of her own ...