Cultural Mosaic Beliefs and Group Performance as Influenced by Attachment

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to test how group differences in attachment style interact with the degree of cultural mosaic beliefs present in multicultural groups to dramatically alteridentification, trust and cooperation among group members (Brodt, Adair & Lituchy, 2008). Firstly I hypothesize that priming attachment style among group’s members will lead to changes in their group experience, particularly their cultural mosaic beliefs. The three different attachment styles will have different effects on their cultural mosaic beliefs, measured using an existing scale (Chuapetcharasopon, Brodt, Adair, Lituchy, Neville, & Lowe, 2011). Secondly I hypothesize that priming attachment style among group members will lead to differences in the number of overall ideas and the number of culture-related ideas generated in a group brainstorming task. Attachment styles can change group interaction, causing these differences in group performance. Thirdly I hypothesize that the effect of attachment style on the number of overall ideas and number of culture-related ideas will be moderated by mosaic beliefs. If attachment style does have an effect on performance, it will depend on the interaction of attachment style and the process of establishing mosaic beliefs within a group. The data is currently being collected. The outcomes of this study are valuable for research as they will help our understanding of the cultural mosaic construct as it relates to multicultural groups in the Canadian workplace. It will also help our understanding of multicultural workgroups and the role attachment style plays in a group setting.