Introduction to Group Dynamics Chapter 1

1. Introduction to Group DynamicsChapter 1

2. Overview • What is a group? • What are some common characteristics of groups? • What assumptions guide researchers in their studies of groups and the processes within groups? • What fields and what topics are included in the scientific study of group dynamics?

3. Do You Consider These To be a Group? Individuals on a flight from Toronto to Montreal? Watching a Toronto Maple Leafs game at the ACC? Individuals taking the subway? 3 children playing in a sandbox? The American Idols? An executive board?

4. What is a Group? • Definition: • Two or more individuals who are connected to one another by social relationships. • Size: dyads and triads to large collectives (this class, mobs, audiences) • Connected: members are linked, networked • Social, interpersonal connection: not categorical

5. Types of Groups • Perceiving groups: people intuitively draw distinctions between intimate groups, task-focused groups, loose associations, and more general social categories. • Billions of groups in the world, but they can be classified into basic categories, or clusters • How are groups classified?

6. Types of Groups • Cooley (1909) drew a distinction between primary and secondary groups • Types of groups: • Primary • Secondary • Planned (concocted and founded) • Emergent (circumstantial and self-organizing)

7. Type of Group Characteristics Examples Small, long-term groups characterized by face-to-face interaction & high levels of cohesiveness, solidarity, & member identification Primary groups Families, close friends, tight-knit peer groups, gangs, elite military squads Larger, less intimate, more goal-focused groups typical of more complex societies Secondary groups Congregations, work groups, unions, professional associations Types of Groups (cont’d) (Cooley, 1909)

8. Concocted Founded Circumstantial Self-Organizing Types of Groups (cont’d) • Arrow and her colleagues (2000) offer a more fine-grained analysis • planned vs. emergent

9. Type of Group Characteristics Examples Planned groups Deliberately formed by the members themselves or by an external authority, usually for some specific purpose or purposes Concocted Planned by individuals or authorities outside the group. Production lines, military units, task forces, crews, professional sports teams Founded Planned by one or more individuals who remain within the group Study groups, small businesses, clubs, associations Emergent groups Groups that form spontaneously as individuals find themselves repeatedly interacting with the same subset of individuals over time and settings Circumstantial Emergent, unplanned groups arising when external, situational forces set the stage for people to join together, often only temporarily, in a unified group Waiting lines (queues), crowds, mobs, audiences, bystanders Self-organizing Emerge when interacting individuals gradually align their activities in a cooperative system of interdependence. Study groups, friendship cliques in a workplace, regular patrons at a bar

10. Type ofGroup Characteristics Examples Intimacy groups Small groups of moderate duration & permeability characterized by large levels of interaction amongst members, who value membership in the group Families, romantic couples, close friends, street gangs Task groups Work groups in employment settings and goal-focused groups in a variety of non-employment situations Teams, neighborhood associations Weak associations Aggregations of individuals that form spontaneously, last for brief periods, and have very permeable boundaries Crowds, audiences, clusters of bystanders Social categories Aggregations of individuals similar to one another in terms of gender, ethnicity, religion, or nationality. Women, Asian Americans, physicians, U.S. citizens, New Yorkers

11. What are some common characteristics of groups? • Interaction: task and relationship • Interdependence: sequential, reciprocal, mutual • Structure: roles, norms, relations • Goals: generating, choosing, negotiating, executing

12. Characteristics of Groups - Interaction • Groups are systems that create, organize, and sustain interaction among members • Task Interaction – actions performed by individuals pertaining to group’s tasks and goals • Relationship Interaction – actions performed by the group relating to emotional and interpersonal bonds

13. Characteristics of Groups - Interdependence • Experiences are determined by other members of the group and vice versa • Sequential – influence of one member to the next. • Reciprocal – two or more members may influence each other • Multilevel – the outcome of larger groups are influenced by the activities of smaller groups

14. Interdependence Diagram

15. Characteristics of Groups - Structure • Groups’ structure are often organized in predictable patterns • Roles – set of behaviours expected of people who occupy certain positions • Norms – a consensual standard that describes what behaviours should and should not be performed in a given context

16. Characteristics of Groups - Goals • Groups often strive towards some common outcome • McGrath’s Circumplex Model of Group Tasks • Generating • Choosing • Negotiation • Executing

18. Cohesiveness • Group Cohesion: the strength of the bonds linking individuals to the group • Attraction to specific group members and efforts to achieve goals • Entitativity is perceived groupness rather than an aggregation of independent, unrelated individuals

19. Cohesiveness Campbell’s Theory of Entitativity (1958) Common Fate – do individuals experience the same outcomes? Similarity – do individual perform similar behaviours or resemble one another Proximity – how close together are the individuals in the group

20. Group Dynamics • … the "field of inquiry dedicated to advancing knowledge about the nature of groups" • (Cartwright & Zander, 1968)

21. What Assumptions Can Be Made? • Group dynamics describes both: • Interpersonal processes in groups • The scientific study of groups and group processes (Kurt Lewin) • Level of Analysis • Individual level: focus on the individual (psychological) • Group level: focus on the group and social context (sociological) • Multilevel: adopts multiple perspectives on groups • Groups are influential • Groups shape society

22. Assumptions (cont’d) • The paradigm: Assumptions and Orientations • Groups are real • Group processes are real • Groupmind – hypothetical mental force linking group members together • Sherif's (1936) study of norm formation • Groups are influential • Groups shape society

23. Person A Convergence Person B Person C Average distance estimates Group Session 1 Group Session 2 Group Session 3 Alone

24. Assumptions (cont’d) • 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).

25. Group Development • Groups are living systems: Tuckman's (1965) theory of group development • forming • storming • norming • performing • adjourning

26. Performing Task Norming Storming Adjourning Forming

27. What Fields Study Group Dynamics? • Interdisciplinary: • psychology • sociology • political science • anthropology • business

28. Discipline Topics Anthropology Groups in cross-cultural contexts; societal change; social and collective identities Business / Industry Work motivation; productivity; team building; goal setting Clinical/Counseling Psychology Therapeutic change through groups; sensitivity training; training groups; self-help groups; group psychotherapy Communication Information transmission in groups; discussion; decision making; problems in communication; networks Criminal Justice Organization of law enforcement; gangs; jury deliberations Education Classroom groups; team teaching; class composition and educational outcomes Political Science Leadership; intergroup and international relations; political influence; power Psychology Personality and group behavior; problem solving; perceptions of other people; motivation; conflict Social Work Team approaches to treatment; counseling; groups & adjustment Sociology Self & society; influence of norms on behavior; deviance Sports & Recreation Team performance; effects of victory and failure; cohesion and performance

29. Fields and Topics (cont’d) • Action research: integrates basic and applied research. • Topics: group formation, cohesion, structure, influence, performance, conflict, etc.