Chapter 9 Communicating in Groups 253The Formation of Cliques
In the comedy series The Big Bang Theory, geniuses Leonard and Sheldon
are roommates and close friends. Sheldon, the quirky theoretical physicist, is
extremely socially awkward and rarely takes kindly to new people or situations.
Inevitably, when Leonard starts dating their neighbor, Penny, Sheldon has a
difficult time adapting to his friend’s new time commitments. In fact, he even
winds up trying to trail along on Leonard and Penny’s dates and frequently
interrupts them when they wish to enjoy time alone. Even if you’ve never
behaved quite like Sheldon, perhaps you’ve felt like he does—you love hang-
ing out with your best friend, but whenever her boyfriend is around, you feel
like you might as well be invisible. That’s because your presence has changed
the nature of the communication from dyadic to group communication, but
the other two people haven’t adjusted their communication behavior. They’ve
remained a dyad that leaves you the lone outsider.
As a group’s size increases, small subgroups of individuals often begin to
bond together within the group, forming cliques (or coalitions) (Wilmot,
1987). Cliques are a common part of group life—they’re a fixture in middle
school and high school. You have your marching band kids, your football play-
ers, the art students, and so on. Many people think that they will escape cliques
once high school ends, but this is rarely the case. In college, you might form
cliques with others in your major, your dorm, or a particular organization.
In office settings, members of cliques or coalitions typically sit next to each
other in meetings, eat lunch together, share similar opinions, and support one
another’s positions.
When cliques take shape in a group, communication becomes more chal-
lenging because members are no longer dealing only with other individual
members. Rather, they must navigate relationships and figure out how to com-
municate with entire subgroups. In addition, countercoalitions, in which one
subgroup positions itself against another on an issue, can leave anyone who isn’t
affiliated with a subgroup in a very awkward position.
This tendency for members of groups to organize themselves into coalitions
or cliques can have consequences for those who find themselves left out. Social
ostracism is the exclusion of a particular group member (or members)—for
example, when one clique or coalition limits the amount of information they
share with a particular member and exclude him or her from group activities and
the decision-making process (Kameda, Ohtsubo, & Takezawa,
1997). Ostracism can also occur in virtual groups, such as
online work teams or Facebook friendship networks. In online
environments, exclusion may occur through more subtle sig-
nals, such as reduced message frequency or an overall lack of
responsive communication (Cramton, 1997; Williams, Govan,
Croker, Tynan, Cruickshank, & Lam, 2002).
Rejection by one’s peers can lead to anxiety, anger, and sadness,
as targets of ostracism feel a decrease in belonging, control, and self-
esteem (Williams, 2001; Wittenbaum, Shulman, & Braz, 2010).
However, responses to social ostracism vary. Research on gender
differences (Williams & Sommer, 1997), for example, has found
that females who are ostracized are more likely to compensate, that
As you learn in Chapter 5,
we define ourselves by our
group memberships, with a
tendency toward favoring
our ingroup members and
comparing ourselves to
(and sometimes excluding)
outgroup members. Al-
though it may be a natural
tendency to form cliques
with those who share our
affiliations, competent com-
municators must remember
to be inclusive of various
groups and co-cultures—
particularly in team and
organizational settings.As you learn in Chapter5CONNECT
STUART FROMThe Big
Bang Theory wants to be part
of the gang, but often ends
up feeling ostracized. MONTY
BRINTON/CBS/Landov