Group Potency

Group potency is the collective belief within a group that it can be effective. There are two important aspects of group potency: (1) it is a belief of mutual confidence that is shared by the members of the group and (2) it is a general belief that the group is effective across a variety of tasks or situations, rather than only in a specific context. Group potency is an important concept in fields such as group dynamics, management, and industrial/organizational psychology, because a large volume of research suggests that group potency and performance are positively and reciprocally related. However, when groups are overconfident, or possess too much group potency, their performance can suffer. This entry begins with a brief history of such research, then looks ...