GROUP DYNAMICS

Group Dynamics
Communication and Interaction Patterns

Cohesion

Social Integration and Influence

(Social Control Mechanisms)

Group Culture
 Communication and Interaction
Patterns

“Whenever people are together in a group,

they are communicating.” (T & R)

* Communication patterns can be helpful or

harmful. *
 Communication and Interaction
Patterns
Why people communicate:
1. Understanding other people
2. Finding out where they stand in relation to
other people
3. Persuading others
4. Gaining or maintaining power
5. Defending themselves
6. Provoking a reaction from others
7. Making an impression on others
8. Gaining and maintaining relationships
9. Presenting a unified image to the group
 Communication and Interaction
Patterns

** OBSERVE, ASSESS, and UNDERSTAND

COMMUNICATION AND INTERACTION
PATTERNS.**
 Communication and Interaction
Patterns
Selective Perception influenced by:
1. Life positions that result from experiences
in early childhood
2. Values
3. The status and position of the
communicator
4. Previous experiences
5. Assumptions
6. Stereotypes

** Feedback **
 Communication and Interaction
Patterns
Interaction Patterns:
1. Maypole – leader to member &
member to leader
2. Round Robin – members take turns
3. Hot Seat – extended back and forth
exchange between leader and a
member
4. Free Floating – all members take
responsibility for communicating
 Communication and Interaction
Patterns
Patterns of Interaction are influenced by:
1. Cues and Reinforcers
2. Emotional Bonds
3. Subgroups
4. Size and Physical Arrangements
5. Power and Status
 Cohesion

The result of all forces acting on members to

remain in a group.
 Cohesion
Four interacting sets of variables determine a
member’s attraction to a group:

1. Need for affiliation, recognition, and security

2. The resources and prestige available through
participation
3. Expectations of the beneficial and detrimental
consequences of the group
4. Comparison of the group with other group
experiences
 Social Integration and Influence
(Social Control Mechanisms)
How members fit together and are accepted in a
group.
* Groups are not able to function effectively unless
there is a fairly high level of social integration among
members
Social Control Mechanisms – the processes by which the
group-as-a-whole gains sufficient compliance and conformity from
its members to enable it to function in an orderly manner.

“Social order and stability are prerequisites for the formation and
maintenance of a cohesive group.”
Social Integration and Influence
Norms – shared expectations and beliefs
about appropriate ways to act in a social
situation such as a group.
increase predictability, stability, and
security
result from what is valued, preferred, and
accepted behavior
overt or covert
Social Integration and Influence

Changing Norms:

Disequilibrium = “unfreezing”
Return to equilibrium – new norms replace
old norms = “refreezing”
Social Integration and Influence
Roles – shared expectations about the
functions of individuals in the group

Status – an evaluation and ranking of each

member’s position in the group relative to
all other members
 Group Culture

Values, beliefs, customs, and traditions held

in common by group members.
 Acknowledgment
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