Familiarity in groups: Exploring the relationship between inter-member familiarity and group behavior

This paper reviews the effects of familiarity on the group process. Previously, familiarity has been defined as interpersonal knowledge of another individual. Familiarity is a dyadic construct, based on the relationship between two individuals. We consider familiarity from a phenomenological perspective, exploring how the experience of the individual affects the group and how the group affects the individuals experience. We believe that part of this experience is based on knowledge, but we propose that the experience of familiarity is also made up of affective and behavioral components. In order to gain a better understanding of familiarity, we gathered data from groups that worked on a semester long project. It was found that individuals rely on affect as well as cognition when determining familiarity. Positive, negative, and neutral affect all had interesting implications for the group. Individuals who know and like one another are more likely to engage in positive, team-building behaviors than those who do not know or like one another. It was also found that dyadic relationships can directly impact the group. Dyadic relationships that are positive create an open, friendly environment for other group members while dyadic relationships that are negative create tension and conflict in the group.