Psychology 101: Reaction Essay on Group Discussion Performance

This reaction essay analyzes a group discussion conducted in a psychology course. The author reflects on the group's cooperative and inclusive manner, highlighting effective turn-taking facilitated by the group chair. The essay discusses the use of verbal and nonverbal communication, the importance of active listening, and the acknowledgment of diversity within the group. The author learned valuable communication skills, including the benefits of attentive listening, effective turn-taking, and polite objection. The essay provides an insightful perspective on the dynamics of group work and the impact of leadership and communication on achieving positive outcomes, including conflict resolution and agreement.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY 1
Psychology
Name
Institution
Author’s Note

PSYCHOLOGY 2
Reaction essay
The group discussion was well conducted, with all of the members participating in a very
cooperative and inclusive manner. Within the group discussion, turn-taking was very well
performed as the group's chair had quite skills in giving instructions and was giving chances to
one person after the other. When it happened that a group member wants to interrupt, then a
chance had to be requested from the chair. Despite the excellent job done by the group chair,
some two members of the group happened to have more chances than the others. This was not
biasness since they requested for more chances while the rest did not. These two group members
were so interactive and really made the discussion session alive. The use of verbal
communication made the group alive and helped in the sharing of many funny scenarios in the
discussion. The chair utilized the verbal communication in giving directives and bringing the
group back on track whenever we went out of topic. Within the group, a lot of nonverbal
communications were also involved in illustrations and descriptions.
Facilitation of the session was so good, and all members of the group were keenly
listening to properly get the diverse views from fellows. Good listening skills were displayed by
almost all members since the group's chair informed the members to be attentive and note points
as the discussion progresses. Listening skills helped so much in the discussion since all members
were actively involved in the discussion, and there was no room for unnecessary questions and
needs for repetitions. This made it easy for discussion and to be quickly conducted following that
there was no much time wasted on unworthy explanations repetitions. With the kind of attention
that existed within the group, there was thorough involvement of all the members, which led to
the coherence in the final results.

PSYCHOLOGY 3
There was an acknowledgment of diversity within the group since there were a lot of
different opinions that we managed to tackle with the guidance of the chair. This group did not
have a lot of conflicts but just a few cases of simple conflict that were brought about by unclear
explanations and examples given by some of the group members. Whenever there were needs for
clarity, the group chair was very keen on ensuring that anyone seeking clarification was able to
get it. He ensured that facts relating to the topic of discussions to be given but not an argument
based on personal feelings. This was later followed by a leveled ground of agreement that
produced the result. My group chair did a very recommendable work of guiding the members to
reach an agreement stage without chaos. Despite the little differences during the discussion, the
group work was not affected in any way. The diverse opinions helped the group to conduct a
better discussion and present good findings.
Working within the group, I learned much of the communication skills portrayed by
many of the group members majorly the group's chair. The chairperson was well packaged with a
lot of communication skills; among them was a good use of verbal language as well as the
correct utilization of nonverbal communication. I learned the need for and benefits of being an
attentive listener. Paying attention allowed each group member to bring their opinions on board,
which were understandable, and the group was able to discuss and agree on a sing point. Turn-
taking in communication was the other skill I gained from the group since I realized the need to
give time and only interrupt when there is a need. This made the group proceed with moderation,
and there was no unnecessary noise and yelling. In addition to these, there was a challenge I
encountered on the way i make my objection. Throughout my life, I have always been rough and
have been showing my dissatisfaction through both emotions, and by using a rough objective
language. But by the example set to the group members by the group's chair, I learned that polite

PSYCHOLOGY 4
objection is the best way to show the difference in opinions. The chair was able to politely show
his disagreement with an opinion given out by a group member and stop members like me who
was out to clearly pin down other members' opinions. I greatly learned from the well-packaged
group chair, both verbally and behaviorally.