The Symbolic Convergence Theory is the sharing of stories and fantasies thus creating stronger group cohesiveness. In revealing information about yourself and sharing experiences it starts a chain reaction of fantasies. A great example of this theory is when I first arrived at Wake Forest and met my full recruiting class. We did not know much about each other other than we were all soccer players. After small talk we began to talk about stories and express fantasies about our hopes for the upcoming season and sharing stories about the previous team we had played for. After a while of talking about these experiences a cohesion between the freshman class was developed and the players started using words like “we” and “us” instead of words like “me” and “I.” In order for this to have worked each individual had to do some self disclosure and share experiences. Eventually sharing our experiences and stories stopped and the cohesion from this particular theory had ended.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_Vg4uyYwEk

According to Professor Ernest Bormann, the Symbolic Convergence Theory’s central principle is “sharing group fantasies creates symbolic convergence” (247). Symbolic convergence is when a group of people is brought closer by sharing the same interests or ideas. This concept can be seen in groups of people quite frequently. For example, students at Wake Forest often watch sporting events together, whether it is at the game or on television. At the games, a student section is always present to allow students to all root for the same team together. In Wake Forest’s case, we have the Screaming Demons. Many times, student sections are close enough to form their own unique gimmicks, or rituals, to make watching the games more enjoyable. These gimmicks often include specific chants or hand gestures during certain points of the game. Some fans are enthusiastic enough to even dress up in funny costumes or paint themselves in the team’s colors. Whenever a game is on television, students will gather together to watch their team in dorm rooms, dining halls, or local bars. Watching sporting events with everyone rooting for the same team is usually a very fun experience.

In their theory describing the factors necessary for a group to make “high quality decisions,” Randy Hirokawa and Dennis Gouran define four important dynamics: “problem analysis, goal setting, identification of alternatives, and evaluation of positive and negative consequences.” While the Functional Perspective theory accounts for the fact that groups making “low quality” decisions often fail to enact these four factors, it poses that counter arguments and constructive dialogue leads to rational and effective choices. In the 2012 film adaptation of Marvel Comics’ The Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) assembles a group of highly successful and multi-talented superheroes to stop an attack that threatens the safety of the entire world. While the Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Thor are all forces to be reckoned with, they have each existed as individuals and certainly do not understand the concept of Group Decision Making. However, when they are able to put their differences aside and offer constructive criticism rather than petty insults, the group begins to act cohesively and successfully prevents the evil Loki from utilizing the “Tesseract device” to destroy Earth. I have attached a video of the group failing to follow the four factors for positive Group Making Decisions, and another video of the group later, working together and combining their powers for maximum efficiency.

Avengers Arguing

Avengers Fighting Together

The Symbolic Convergence Theory states that “sharing group fantasies creates symbolic convergence” (247). Bormann further explains that one common way for such group fantasies to converge is through a fantasy change, or “a symbolic explosion of lively agreement within a group in response to a member’s dramatizing message (250). A good example of such a fantasy chain is before sporting events when players huddle together to get excited to play the game. I have attached a good example of such fantasy chain in which Ray Lewis pumps up his fellow teammates before a big game. Lewis starts chanting “we ready,” which his fellow teammates repeat. Next, he asks them “What time is it?” to which they reply “game time!” Finally, Ray Lewis asks “are the dogs in the house?” to which his teammates reply with barking noises. All three of Lewis’ questions resemble symbolic cues, as they are predetermined triggers that set off group fantasy. Such group interaction is also a great example of how the group “comes alive” (249) during a fantasy chain. As well, the “common response to imagery” (250) is clear during the scene; Lewis does not actually care to know what time of day it is, nor does he believe his teammates are canines – instead, the group is sharing dramatizing messages in order to rally together. Finally, it is clear how the symbolic convergence can seem strange to outsiders who do not share in the fantasy, and may even been the reaction to those watching this video of Ray Lewis, which is posted below.

Baltimore Ravens Pregame Chant

The Symbolic Convergence Theory implies that when group members use imaginative languages to describe past, future, or outside events, symbolic convergence would be created. This theory also contains the idea of fantasy chain reactions. Fantasy chain reactions are symbolic explosions of lively agreement within a group in response to member’s dramatizing messages. The Chinese movie American Dreams in China is a good example of how the idea of fantasy chain reactions works. In the movie, Cheng, Meng, Wang are friends with totally different backgrounds, personality and attitude towards life. However, they have the same the dream of going to America. Though they always have conflicts with each other because of the differences among them, conversations among them cannot be stopped as long as one of them starts talking about the life in America. Despite the fact that none of them have ever been to America, they use their very limited knowledge of America to imagine the beautiful life in America. During most time, this action immediately causes the rest of them to join the process of imagination. Sometimes, it even keeps up their conversations into the night. This is because the fantasy of their future life in America causes a symbolic explosion of lively agreement within this group.

The Functional Perspective on Group Decision Making describes how successful decision-making among groups is achieved. The perspective, thereby, is a “perspective approach that describes and predicts task-group performance when four communication functions all fulfilled” (233). These four functions are problem analysis, goal setting, identification of alternatives, and finally evaluation of positive and negative characteristics. Further, the theory states that, through effective communication, actual group productivity can equal potential productivity. An example of the theory in practice is during a scene in the movie Argo. The movie takes place in 1979 during the beginning of the Iranian Revolution. Following riots within Tehran, the CIA is tasked with extracting six Americans who are stuck hiding within the city. During the scene, Problem Analysis occurs frequently. Ben Affleck’s character uses Problem Analysis while exposing many flaws in the plan of delivering bicycles. He mentions the weather, distance needed to be traveled, and roadblocks all as limitations to the plan. In this situation, problem analysis has followed Goal Setting, as the criteria used to judge proposed situations has already been established – getting the Americans out of Iran at any cost. Affleck’s character then uses Identification of Alternatives to generate other options for how to extract the Americans. During the scene, the alternative he identifies is creating fake identifies for the Americans and flying them out of the Country commercially. Finally, the group uses Evaluation of Positive and Negative traits to weigh the benefits and costs of Affleck’s plan. Such testing of the relative merits of the criteria for the “new-identity” plan occurs in a scene following the one I have attached, but the viewer can still see Ben Affleck’s questioning of the original bicycle plan as an example of both the “Analysis of the Problem” and “Evaluation of Positive and Negative Traits.” Finally, during an exchange in the scene when the director of the group questions Affleck’s credibility, demanding to know “who he is,” the viewer understands that this is an example of Losses Due to Processes, as it is wasting potential productivity and slowing-down the group decision-making process.

Argo Movie Clip – Bicycles

In Functional Perspective on Group Decision Making Theory, scholars Randy Hirokawa and Dennis Gouran believe that communication is a key element that allows a group to make the best decision possible on any given topic. When a group tries to come up with a decision, Hirokawa and Gouran state that the group must meet four requirements. These requirements are analysis of the problem, goal setting, identification of alternatives, and evaluation of positive and negative characteristics. While reading through the chapter, I immediately thought of the process of a student government fixing or reforming a situation in school. First, members discuss the issues and problems with the current situation. Here they determine whether the situation is worthy enough for reformation. If so, students are then reminded of their ultimate goal or ideal circumstance. They may think of smaller objectives that will contribute to their much larger goal. Next, the students will come up with alternatives, or different courses of action, to the problem. This step is where students will brainstorm as many new ideas as possible. After a good amount of new solutions have been created, the group will move on to considering the positives and negatives for each scenario. After discussion, this last step will decide which solution is the best fit for fixing the current problem.

For groups of two or more people that experience a “story lived,” Ernest Bormann’s theory of symbolic convergence tends to occur. This theory accounts for the propensity of large group, such as a mob or sporting crowd, to appear and function as one unit with shared goals. In addition, Bormann’s theory helps explain the idea of group fantasies i.e. “stories told,” the dramatization of an event to help solidify a memory and allocate significance. In certain cases, “fantasies chains” occur where a group unanimously and at times sub-consciously assigns meaning to a material item and perceives the message in the same way. In my favorite movie “The Usual Suspects,” Kevin Spacey plays the character of Roger “Verbal” Kint, a con-artist who apparently has cerebral palsy. Throughout, he narrates the past from six weeks in the future while being interrogated, regarding the events that lead up to a brutal mass murder connected with the notorious Keyser Sozë. The intricate and riveting story follows five criminals who are strangers to each other until they meet in a NYPD holding cell. Nobody is charged with a crime and the men leave, but before doing so they decide to join forces to commit more crimes. After a few small-time robberies, they look to hijack an Argentinian drug-smuggler’s boat and take his cocaine. The whole time, Verbal Kint acts as the brains behind the plans but is viewed as a weakling by the group; regardless, Verbal excites the group through symbolic convergence and the prospect of a final pay day that will make them all so rich that they can retire from a life of crime. However, there is no cocaine on the boat. In actuality, Verbal Kint is Keyser Sozë, using the false identity of a cripple to create a “group fantasy” to get access to the Argentinian boat and a murder a witness.

Usual Suspects

Symbolic Convergence Theory is a communication theory that seeks to explain how groups of people have consistency in their interpretation of emotions, motives and meanings. Its usefulness comes from the fact that it describes how their expectations of meaning come into play when people of common experience interact. Quite obviously this idea plays in every one of our lives each day, the fact that we interpret things certain ways can have huge results on how we live our every day lives. The chapter talks a lot about fantasies or dramatizations. When a group of people connects over the meaning of something that has been dramatized it can have a very significant effect. For example when motivating an athletic team the coach may fixate an enthusiastic speech on something like winning a championship or a trophy. That trophy has a specific meaning to the group and when thinking about it they may be inspired to go on and win a championship.

The idea of symbolic convergence in the symbolic convergence theory is “two or more private symbol worlds incline toward each other, come more closely together, or even overlap” and it is the idea of “group consciousness and cohesiveness”. Symbolic convergence is evident in many groups. When people in a group fantasize together (ie- think the same things and share interests and beliefs), they are drawn closer together. For example, in the movie “Mean Girls” there is a clique of girls that are very close and similar people. In this clip they are discussing similar topics and then bond over making fun of people at their school. When the girls are talking about their weight, they are saying very similar, negative things about themselves and don’t ever reassure each other. They create a negative environment. They further this negative environment when they bring out a book that has harsh and demeaning comments about their peers. They all agree upon these negative statements and laugh in enjoyment. This support for a negative environment makes them a very cohesive, yet undesirable group. Their spiteful attitudes and comments are all mutually respected and shared and prove that a group doesn’t have to share positive fantasies to have symbolic convergence.Mean Girls