Introduction to Group Dynamics
BLAST – RAINS
Tuesday, December 8
John Huber – Asst. Dir. of Student Activities
Groups, groups, groups
The Impressionists: a group of painters
The 1980 Olympic Hockey team: a team
The Andes Rugby Team: a group of survivors
The Apollo 13 crew: 3 astronauts
Questions to consider
Overview
What is a group?
What are some common characteristics of groups?
What fields and what topics are included in the scientific study of group dynamics?
What is a Group?
Definition of a group:Two or more individuals who are connected to one another by social relationships.
Two or more individuals who are connected to one another by social relationships.
• Size: dyads and triads to large collectives (this in-service, mobs, audiences)
Two or more individuals who are connected to one another by social
relationships.
• Connected: members are linked, networked
Two or more individuals who are connected to one another by social relationships.
Social, interpersonal connection: not
categorical only
Billions of groups in the world, but they can be classified into basic categories, or clusters
Cooley (1907) drew a distinction between primary and secondary groups
Types of groups
Congregations, work groups, unions, professional associations
Larger, less intimate, more goal-focused groups typical of more complex societies
Secondary groups
Families, close friends, tight-knit peer groups, gangs, elite military squads
Small, long-term groups characterized by face-to-face interaction and high levels of cohesiveness, solidarity, and member identification
Primary groups
ExamplesCharacteristicsType of Group
(Cooley, 1907)
Cooley (1907) primary secondary
Arrow and her colleagues offer a more fine-grained analysis planned vs. emergent
Types of groups
Concocted Founded Circumstantial Self-organizing
Study groups, friendship cliques in a workplace, regular patrons at a bar
Emerge when interacting individuals gradually align their activities in a cooperative system of interdependence.
Self-organizing
Waiting lines (queues), crowds, mobs, audiences, bystanders
Emergent, unplanned groups that arise when external, situational forces set the stage for people to join together, often only temporarily, in a unified group
Circumstantial
Groups that form spontaneously as individuals find themselves repeatedly interacting with the same subset of individuals over time and settings
Emergent groups
Study groups, small businesses, expeditions, clubs, associations
Planned by one or more individuals who remain within the group
Founded
Production lines, military units, task forces, crews, professional sports teams
Planned by individuals or authorities outside the group.
Concocted
Deliberately formed by the members themselves or by an external authority, usually for some specific purpose or purposes
Planned groups
ExamplesCharacteristicsType of Group
Perceiving groups: people intuitively draw distinctions between groups—some look groupier than others
Lickel, Hamilton, Sherman, and their colleagues asked people to rate many kinds of aggregations on a scale from 1 (not at all a group) to 9 (very much a group).
Women, Asian Americans, physicians, U.S. citizens, New Yorkers
Aggregations of individuals who are similar to one another in terms of gender, ethnicity, religion, or nationality.
Social categories
Crowds, audiences, clusters of bystanders
Aggregations of individuals that form spontaneously, last only a brief period of time, and have very permeable boundaries
Weak associations
Teams, neighborhood associations
Work groups in employment settings and goal-focused groups in a variety of nonemployment situations
Task groups
Families, romantic couples, close friends, street gangs
Small groups of moderate duration and permeability characterized by substantial levels of interaction among the members, who value membership in the group
Intimacy groups
ExamplesCharacteristicsType of Group
Interaction: task and relationship
Interdependence: sequential, reciprocal, mutual
What are some common characteristics of groups?
Structure: roles, norms, relations
Goals: generating, choosing, negotiating, executing
McGrath’s Taxonomy of Group Tasks is based on 2 key dimensions:
Choosing vs. Executing (Doing) and Generating vs. Negotiating
Common characteristics of groups (continued)
McGrath’s Taxonomy of Group Tasks is based on 2 key dimensions:
Choosing vs. Executing (Doing) and Generating vs. Negotiating
The Paradigm: assumptions and orientations
Groups are real Group processes are real
–groupmind, collective conscious–Sherif's (1936) study of norm
formation
Person A
Person B
Person C
Convergence
Alone GroupSession 1
GroupSession 3
GroupSession 2
Ave
rage
di
stan
ce e
stim
ates
•Groups are more than the sum of their parts –Lewin's (1951) field theory: behavior is a function of the person and the environment
–B = f(P, E).
Assumptions (continued)
•Groups are living systems: Tuckman's (1965) theory of group development
–forming–storming–norming–performing–adjourning
Assumptions (continued)
What fields and what topics are included in the scientific study of group dynamics?
Interdisciplinary: psychology, sociology, political science, anthropology, business, etc.
Team performance; effects of victory and failure; cohesion and performanceSports and Recreation
Self and society; influence of norms on behavior; role relations; devianceSociology
Team approaches to treatment; family counseling; groups and adjustmentSocial Work
Personality and group behavior; problem solving; perceptions of other people; motivation; conflict
Psychology
Leadership; intergroup and international relations; political influence; powerPolitical Science
Classroom groups; team teaching; class composition and educational outcomes
Education
Organization of law enforcement agencies; gangs; jury deliberationsCriminal Justice
Information transmission in groups; discussion; decision making; problems in communication; networks
Communication
Therapeutic change through groups; sensitivity training; training groups; self-help groups; group psychotherapy
Clinical/Counseling Psychology
Work motivation; productivity; team building; goal setting; focus groupsBusiness and Industry
Groups in cross-cultural contexts; societal change; social and collective identities
Anthropology
TopicsDiscipline
Action research: integrates basic and applied research.
Topics: group formation, cohesion, structure, influence, performance, conflict, etc.
Collective Behavior
Groups and Change
Groups in Context
Intergroup Relations
ConflictLeadershipDecision MakingPerformance
PowerInfluenceStructureCohesion and Development
Group Formation
Individual and the Group
Research Methods
Introduction to Group
Dynamics
… the "field of inquiry dedicated to advancing knowledge about the nature of groups"
(Cartwright & Zander, 1968, p. 7).
Group Dynamics!