Small-group communication
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In the context of interpersonal communication, it is futile to attempt an exact definition of a small group. Scores have appeared in publications, most concentrating on one aspect of small groups at the expense of others. Similarly, attempts to distinguish small groups from large groups through number of members is arbitrary; social psychologist Robert Bales claimed that the former differ from the latter in that each participant in a small group can remember each other participant's presence.
The factors that significantly impact on small-group communication are best conceived of in terms of the "input-process-output" (hereafter I-P-O) model. Input factors are those that exist before a group meets; process factors are those that come into play during a group meeting; output factors are the results of the meeting.
There are any number of important input factors; perhaps the most important is the group's task. Group tasks run the gamut from making decisions to performing projects to helping group members learn skills (training, or T-groups) to encouraging self help for members (sensitivity training groups; 12-step groups) to education; even informal groups of friends can be said to have a task if they perform activities together. Other input factors include the personality mix among the members, the length of time the group has existed, and the extent to which the group follows a formal procedure for performing its task.
The most important process factors is the communication that occurs during group meetings, although there are other (e.g., a group working together building a shed must coordinate their shed-building actions and not get in each other's way).
Output factors include those relevant of the task (such as how much is accomplished, the speed at which the task is completed, and the quality of the finished product), those relevant to the group as a whole (most notably cohesiveness, which can be defined as the extent to which group members are attracted to and identify with the group), and those relevant to the individual (such as degree of satisfaction with the experience). In addition, groups develop role and leadership structures over time; and these structures along with group cohesiveness impact on later group meetings and, as a consequence, also serve as input factors.