Do I fit with my group? Within-member and within-group fit with the group in engaged group climate and group members feeling involved and valued.

A longitudinal design was used to examine (a) the relationship between group member perceptions of engagement at the session (within-member), member (within-group), and group (between-groups) level and members’ feeling involved and valued, and (b) how the person– group fit and misfit at the session and member level predicts members feeling involved and valued. Data came from 112 students in 18 groups enrolled in an undergraduate group dynamics class. At each session, group members completed measures of the group’s engagement climate and items that assessed members feeling involved and valued. The engagement ratings were decomposed into between-group, within-group, and within-member components. Hierarchical Linear Modeling and Response Surface Analysis were used to analyze decomposed engagement and Involved/Valued scores. Results indicated that (a) members’ Involved/Valued scores were related to an engaged group climate at the session (within-member), member (within-group), and group (between-group) level; (b) within-group and within-member fit in perceptions of engaged climate positively predicted members feeling involved and valued; and (c) within-group and within-member misfit, interpreted as an “optimistic bias” (a member’s general rating of the group or her/his rating of a session is high but the group’s general rating is low) was associated with members feeling more involved and valued, than a “pessimistic bias.” Study results highlight the importance of decomposing engagement, and examining person– group fit in engagement perceptions, at the intraindividual, interpersonal, and group-as-a-whole levels to best understand its nuanced relationship between engagement and members feeling involved and valued.