Influences of the Presence of an Introducer on Group Members' Acceptance of a Newcomer: Effects of the Presence of an Introducer on Anxiety about the Maintenance of Group Structure and Trust in a Newcomer

Abstract

This study examined the effects of the presence of an introducer who knew a newcomer on anxiety about the maintenance of group structure and trust of the newcomer in a group entry situation. In the condition of the presence of an introducer, a confederate (the introducer) in the experiment informed the group members that he knew the newcomer, but he gave no further information. In the condition of the positive introduction, a confederate introduced the newcomer positively to the group members. In the condition of the absence of an introducer, the group members were not given any information concerning the newcomer. The experiment consisted of three sessions, but the third session was a dummy one. After the second session, the group members were asked to evaluate their attitude toward the newcomer. The results were as follows: 1) Anxiety about the maintenance of group structure was lower and trust in the newcomer was higher in the condition of the presence of an introducer and in the condition of the positive introduction than in the condition of the absence of an introducer. 2) No obvious differences were found between the condition of the presence of an introducer and the condition of the positive introduction in the degree of anxiety about the maintenance of group structure and trust in the newcomer. These results suggest that the presence of an introducer decreased anxiety about the maintenance of group structure and improved trust in the newcomer.View full abstract