Motivating or organizing Groups

1. Motivating or organizing Groups Dr. J. V. Worstell April 11, 2011 Adapted from Fulbright Lectures Given in Melitopol Ukraine in January 2010 www.deltanetwok.org

2. Just a few teams I’ve helped build. Working with these teams has taught me everything I know about social motivation. You will only really learn social motivation if you go out and work with your own teams.

7. Emergent phenomena. What is water? Can you predict what water is from its components? Hydrogen oxygenwater Whole is greater than sum of parts. The magic of self-organizing groups. Ever been in a group which was communicating so quickly you have no idea were the ideas are coming from? How do you do it?

8. “The good leader talks little, And when his work is done, the people say, ‘Amazing, we did it, all by ourselves.’” If any one of you thinks he is wise, he should become a 'fool' so that he may become wise. The letter of the law kills, the spirit of the law gives life.

10. learned helplessness, depression one triallearning, fear, punishment, self-esteem attribution cognitive dissonance empowerment learning communities motivating teams hierarchy of needs curiosity & altruism drives Group dynamics, team-building

11. Selfish motivation • We all enter this world selfish. We cry as loud as we can when we are hungry. We demand whatever will satisfy our desires. Sometimes, in every culture, people never get out of this mode. They are called gangsters, oligarchs. • Sometimes an entire culture can become entranced with the value and glory of the individual. Then, everyone wants to be the star. The one who conquers all. The individual is glorified. Chiefs run the show, slapping down anyone who might challenge them. • In fact, for most of our species existence, we followed these basic survival instincts and our lives were short and brutal. • Being selfish, our first use of language is to get things for ourselves. Language is a tool we use for our own natural, selfish ends. So we lie. So, just as selfishness is natural, so is lying natural to young children. • We have to learn to use language to express truth and not just to use it to get what we want. However, higher motivation is also natural if the society permits.

12. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs • One of few things US MBA students remember: • 1.Physiological. Survival needs. Examples: Food, drink, health. • 2.Safety. Physical and emotional security. Such as clothing, shelter, protection against attack (unemployment benefits, old age pension). • 3.Affection needs. Affection and the need to belong. Examples: Family unit, other small groups such as work groups. • 4.Esteem needs. For self‑respect, for accomplishment, for achievement. The achievement must be recognised and appreciated by someone else. • 5.Self‑fulfilment needs. To utilise one's potential to the maximum working with and for one's fellow beings • Once primary needs are satisfied they cease to act as drives and are replaced by needs of a higher order. So that higher order needs are predominant when primary needs are satisfied.

13. Curiosity, Altruism and Cooperation alter Maslow • Hierarchy mostly true, partially not. • Curiosity. If bored enough, you’ll do anything for stimulation. Give up food. • Altruism. You’ll give up food to save a neighbor pain. • Cooperation. Children naturally cooperate without reward.

14. Altruism is an innate instinct • Rhesus monkeys were given a lever which dispensed food but at the same time as dispensing food, it gave the monkey in the next cage an electrical shock. • The monkeys with access to the 'shocking' food levers would not pull the lever, foregoing food for many days, rather than give the monkey next door a shock.

15. Helping is innate • Experiment 1. Experimenters performed simple tasks like dropping a clothes peg out of reach while hanging clothes on a line, or mis-stacking a pile of books. • Nearly all of the group of 24 18-month-olds helped by picking up the peg or the book, usually in the first 10 seconds of the experiment. • They only did this if they believed the researcher needed the object to complete the task - if it was thrown on the ground deliberately, they didn't pick it up. • Experiment 2. A box with a flap on it. Children shown the flap. When the scientists accidentally dropped a spoon inside, and pretended they did not know about the flap, the children helped retrieve it. They only did this if they believed the spoon had not been dropped deliberately. • Chimpanzees helped in finding lost object but not in the more complex box experiment.

17. From ape cooperation to human cooperation • —Leavens et al. (e.g. Leavens & Hopkins 1998) documented that for a human, many captive chimpanzees point reliably to food they cannot reach, so that humans will retrieve it for them, even though they never point for conspecifics. • —Warneken & Tomasello (2006) found that young chimpanzees help human adults to retrieve out of reach objects—but not as often or in as many situations as 1 year old human infants. • These findings suggest that when they are interacting with especially tolerant and helpful partners chimpanzees are able to behave in more cooperative ways, but normal human children are all cooperative by 1 year old.

18. Object choice task • Adult shows child something desireable (food or toy) is under a box. • Then second situation, adult points to box. • Child always picks right box. • Chimp only by chance. • But if adult starts to grab box, chimp picks it. • Chimp doesn’t assume cooperation, child does.

19. Natural for children to cooperate if domineering and aggressive children are removed.

20. Cooperative play • Situations were set up in which an adult did things like hold out a basket in which the infant was asked to place a toy. • After the infant complied, in the test for role reversal, the adult placed the basket within the infant’s reach and held up the toy herself. • All 18 month olds and even some of the 12-month-olds spontaneously held out the basket for the adult while at the same time looking to her face, presumably in anticipation of her placing the toy inside. • Chimps never do this.

21. Motivation from within • The team-builder has: • No rigid programs or structure • (to select against the entrepreneur, the innovator) • Starts with a stance, not a plan • Help them create a vision • The vision attracts the group • The group creates the plan.

22. Developing a motivated team: what does the agent do? • First, do nothing • except look for commitment to an idea • then help build a group around the idea • and fan that flame

23. The team-builder is: As passive as a loaded spring no programs

24. Motivating teams • Depressed, fearful people seldom accomplish much. • Depression: learned helplessness. People learn they will be punished no matter what they do, so they do nothing. • Out of the frying pan into the fire. • To eliminate this attitude: • no criticism • Do something silly • Make the group laugh • Make a mistake and don’t worry about it • Elicit other motivations than fear: curiosity, altruism, cooperation.

25. Skills of successful facilitators

26. Goal: creating lasting (sustainable) rural development One indicator of success:creation of new locally-owned enterprises So, How?

27. learned helplessness, depression one triallearning, fear, punishment, self-esteem attribution cognitive dissonance empowerment learning communities motivating teams hierarchy of needs curiosity & altruism drives Group dynamics, team-building

28. You are fanning their motivation. • Finding the spark is key. • You find what they are interested in and encourage it. • Enthusiasm is infectious.

29. Motivating groups to create new enterprises • Must use both selfish and non-selfish drives • Selfish: get money or won’t be successful enterprise • Non-selfish: • Curiosity • Altruism • Cooperation • If don’t develop these impulses, group never becomes solid.

30. Motivating group success: labor unions

31. Obama’s method for organizing groups Hillary Clinton’s Senior Thesis • Alinsky's Thirteen Rules for Radicals • Very successful with labor organizing, civil rights • Power is not only what you have but what the enemythinks you have. • Never go outside the experience of your people. It may result in confusion, fear and retreat. • Wherever possible go outside the experience of the enemy. Here you want to cause confusion, fear and retreat. • Make the enemy live up to his/her own book of rules. • Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. • A good tactic is one that your people enjoy. • A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag. • Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions and utilize all events of the period for your purpose. • The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself. • The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition. • If you push a negativehard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside. • The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative. • Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it and polarize it.

32. Make the enemy live up to his/her own book of rules. • All men should have equal rights. • Civil Rights movement. • Women should not be second class citizens: • Women’s Right to Vote • All men should be brothers. • Anti-apartheid movement • Doesn’t work if enemy is flexible and has allegiance to natural law deeper than rules.

33. New Generation Rules for Organizing • A community of interest (central business proposition) can be found that is not based on an external enemy, but on an economic opportunity. • This community of interest can be so powerful as to engender sacrifice, commitment, and loyaltyto the business cooperative, and help it survive. • The only fear needed in organizational efforts is the fear of missing the opportunity to invest. • The character of leadershipcounts greatly in evaluating potential for successful cooperative development and equity commitments. The organizing board must consist of individuals who are also trusted by colleagues. • Competitors are not enemies and need not be defeated. Alliances are possible with competitors. • Customers are natural alliesand worthy of products that are safe, wholesome, and fairly priced. • Government is neither an enemy nor a friend, but a tool in the conduct of business that is necessary to ensure fair play. It is not responsible for "saving us.” • People make investments for more than economic reasons-they want to be part of a cause.

34. Having a common enemy can motivate • Power is not only what you have but what the enemythinks you have. • Wherever possible go outside the experience of the enemy. Here you want to cause confusion, fear and retreat. • Make the enemy live up to his/her own book of rules. • Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. Curiosity and altruism are stronger • A community of interest (central business proposition) can be found that is not based on an external enemy, but on an economic opportunity. • This community of interest can be so powerful as to engender sacrifice, commitment, and loyaltyto the business cooperative, and help it survive. • Competitors are not enemies and need not be defeated. Alliances are possible with competitors. • People make investments for more than economic reasons-they want to be part of a cause.

35. Competitors are not always enemies. • We often use metaphor of war in business. But competitors may be your future partners. • Competition can produce a very strong incentive for cooperation, as certain players forge alliances and symbiotic relationships with each other for mutual support. It happens at every level of, and in every kind of, complex adaptive system, from biology, to economics, to politics.

36. Testing competitive strategies using computer simulations • Testing strategies of cooperation and competition against all possible options. Simple “Tit for Tat” strategy won every time. • “Tit-for-Tat” program started out by cooperating on the first move, and then simply did exactly what the other program had done on the move before. • The program was “nice” in the sense that it would never defect first. It was “tough” in the sense that it would punish uncooperative behavior by competing on the next move. • It was “forgiving” in that it returned to cooperation once the other party demonstrated cooperation. And it was “clear” in the sense that it was very easy for the opposing programs to figure out exactly what it would do next. • Not “nice guys finish last” • Instead “nice, tough, forgiving and clear guys finish first.”

37. Chaotic systems • Weather • All our computers, we can’t predict. • Managed Chaos • Brain waves: • normal is irregular firing of neurons • Epilepsy: all fire at once • Sleep • Brain waves chaotic unless coma • Heart beat on cardiogram • Healthy: irregular, wrinkly appearance – not a smooth, regular tracing. • Heart attack coming: consistency and regularity • All resilient systems are chaotic.

38. You are a mass of competing impulses • One part wants to listen to this lecture • Another part wants to go out for a walk with that beautiful girl • Another is mad at enemy and wants to punch him • Another wants to help your friend understand English and this lecture

39. Let each motivation be expressed at proper time • What won in cooperation/competition simulation? • Cooperate if other cooperate, selfish if other selfish. • But very clear about what doing. And don’t hold a grudge. If other becomes cooperative, you do too.

40. Managed Chaos = Complex adaptive system (CAS) “кас”

41. Managed Chaos = Complex adaptive system (CAS) “кас” • Chaos is not absence of energy, its energy pushing in lots of different directions. • Chaotic system of 15-16 yr old: • Hormones go wild. • Lots of different competing impulses. • Lots of potential if can control • Key CAS quality: • Multiple competing impulses • Let each out in response to appropriate stimulus.

42. Facilitator’s фасилитатор:Coordinate group impulses • In traditional facilitation, might explicitly tell group, let’s let specific impulses take over • In facilitation of enterprise groups: have to be more subtle. • Basic idea: • Bring right attitude to bear when needed • Maintain all possible responses

43. GO Green --creativity, alternatives, proposals, what is interesting, and changes. • GO Black -- is the cold-hearted, logical judge. It is a crucial impulse to employ at the right time, but often over-used. • GO White --Ignore arguments and proposals. Just look at the facts, figures and information.” • GO Red --feelings, hunches, intuition. Put forward an intuition without any need to justify it • GO Yellow --logical optimism. How can we make this work? • GO Blue --process control. It looks not at the subject itself but at the 'thinking' about the subject.

44. Chaos is good, if managed • Resilient systems are chaotic. • Facilitator maintains all motivations for use at the proper time. • Until, eventually, the group knows to use the right motivation themselves. • All living systems have this principle carved into their being.

45. Skills for facilitators V: communication beyond words Body language/ Mehrabian kinesics/eye contact Birdwhistle Proxemics/ personal space Hall Touch Morris Social intelligence Gardner Emotional intelligence Goleman Dominance/power Lorenz Innate releasing Wilson mechanisms Tickbergen

46. We’ve gone beyond instinctual response to stimuli. Haven’t we gotten away from the reaction to steatopygia (which stimulated our cousin the Bushmen) and similar innate releasing simuli? Or have we?

47. Our brain evolved in response to social stimuli. Competition and cooperation within our tribal bands, villages is the source of our human intelligence. One of first of these new brain areas: facial nucleus controls reaction to facial expression.

48. Genetic control of perception of facial expressions of emotion • Gene which helps produce a neurotransmitter ( serotonin) transporter and maps to chromosome 17, has two alleles (or gene variations) short (S) and a long (L) alleles • S results in increased amygdala and bodily response to facial expressions of emotion—especially anger. • Dannlowski et al., 2008. Neuropsychopharmacology • So a human gene responds specifically to facial expressions! • Maybe our instincts still control us. • Amygdala damage from another mutation results in an inability to recognize fear in people's facial expressions. • However, they are able to recognize fear if instructed to concentrate attention on a person's eyes. • People with normal brains always looked immediately at the eye region of a face—even more so when the face was fearful.

49. Single gene for social anxiety • People with S variant mentioned before are much more responsive to angry faces. • Psychologists diagnosis of social anxiety didn’t predict response to angry faces, S allele did. • Dominance hierarchies hard to specify in humans, but rhesus monkeys with the short allele spent less time gazing at images of the face and eyes of other monkeys and less likely to want to view a picture of a high-status male. • Monkeys were observed while being shown images of high status faces or faces of familiar monkeys. In addition to spending less time looking at faces and eyes, the S/L monkeys also had larger pupil diameters when gazing at photos of high-status male macaques, indicating higher arousal. • S monkeys were less willing to take risks after they were primed with the faces of high-status males. Previous studies have found that inducing fear in human with S gene makes them more risk-averse. Faces of high-status males cause greater fear in the S monkey. • The S monkeys actually had to be paid juice to view the dominant males, while the L monkeys gave up juice for a look at these faces. • Platt et al., 2009 J Psychiatry Neurosci

50. Weeds vs Orchids • Such an allele would not survive if it only had bad effects—basic natural selection. • S allele makes more susceptible to social anxiety if have poor maternal attention • S allele makes less susceptible to social anxiety/depression if have good maternal attention as child. • Facilitator needs take nurturing role if group members shy, anxious.