Summer

CHAPTER 1 SY 2022-2023

INTRODUCTION TO
GROUP DYNAMICS
 CHAPTER 1: Introduction To Group Dynamics
THE NATURE OF GROUPS

What is a Group?
•Two or more individuals
•Who are connected
•By and within social relationships
 Chapter 1: Introduction to Group Dynamics
THE NATURE OF GROUPS

• Two or more individuals

- A group can range in size from two members to thousands of
members. Very small collectives, such as dyads (two
members) and triads (three members) are groups, but so are
very large collections of people, such as mobs, crowds and
congregations.
 CHAPTER 1: Introduction To Group Dynamics
THE NATURE OF GROUPS

• Who are connected

- The members of any given group are networked together like a
series of interconnected computers.
- These connections, or ties, may be based on strong bonds, like
the links between the members of a family or a clique of close
friends.
 CHAPTER 1: Introduction To Group Dynamics
THE NATURE OF GROUPS

• By and within social relationships

- Definitions of the word “group” vary, but many stress one key consideration:
relationships among the members.
- Thus, “a group is a collection of individuals who have relations to one another”
(Cartwright & Zander, 1968, p.46);
- A group is a social unit which consists of a number of individuals who stand in
(more or less) definite status and role relationships to one another” (Sherif &
Sherif, 1956 p.144)
- A group is a “bounded set of patterned relations among members” (Arrow,
McGrath, & Berdahl, 2000, p. 34)
 CHAPTER 1: Introduction To Group Dynamics
THE NATURE OF GROUPS

Characteristics of Groups

Feature Description
Interaction Groups create, organize and sustain relationship and task
interaction among members.
Goals Groups have instrumental purposes, for they facilitate the
achievement of aims or outcomes by the members.
Interdependence Group members depend on one another, in that each member
influences and is influenced by each other members.
Structure Groups are organized, with each individual connected to others
in a pattern of relationships.
Unity Groups are cohesive social arrangements of individuals that
perceives, in some cases, consider to be unified.
 CHAPTER 1: Introduction To Group Dynamics
Types of Groups THE NATURE OF GROUPS

Type of Group Characteristics Examples

Primary group Small, long-term groups characterized by face-to- Close friends, families, gangs,
face interaction and high levels of cohesiveness, military squads.
solidarity, and member identification.

Social groups Small groups of moderate duration and Co-workers, crew, expeditions,
permeability characterized by moderate levels of fraternities, sports teams, study
interaction among the members over an extended groups, task forces.
period of time, often in goal-focused situations.

Collectives Aggregations of individuals that form Audiences, bystanders, crowds,

spontaneously, last only a brief period of time,
have very permeable boundaries.
Categories Aggregations of individuals who are similar to
one another in some way, such as gender,
ethnicity, religion, or nationality.
mobs, waiting lines (queues)
Asian, Americans, Physicians, Social
Workers, Citizens, women
 CHAPTER 1: Introduction To Group Dynamics
THE NATURE OF GROUP DYNAMICS

• Group Dynamics describes both a subject matter and a scientific field of

study. When Kurt Lewin (1951) described the way groups and individuals
act and react to changing circumstances, he named these processes GROUP
DYNAMICS.
• Formal definition of GROUP DYNAMICS: “field of inquiry dedicated to
advancing knowledge about the nature of groups, the laws of their
development, and their interrelations with individuals, other groups, and
larger institutions.” (Dowrin Cartwright & Alvin Zander)
 CHAPTER 1: Introduction To Group Dynamics
THE NATURE OF GROUP DYNAMICS

THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF GROUP DYNAMICS: EXAMPLES OF

TOPICS PERTAINING TO GROUPS IN VARIOUS DISCIPLINES

Discipline Topics
Anthropology Groups in cross-cultural contexts; societal change; social and
collective identities; evolutionary approached to group living.
Architecture & Design Planning spaces to maximize group-environment fit; design of
spaces for groups, including offices, classrooms, venues,
arenas, and so on.
Business & Industry Work motivation; productivity in organizational settings; team
building; goal setting; management and leadership.
Communication Information transmission in groups, discussion; discussion;
decision-making; problem in communication; networks.
 CHAPTER 1: Introduction To Group Dynamics
THE NATURE OF GROUP DYNAMICS

THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF GROUP DYNAMICS: EXAMPLES OF

TOPICS PERTAINING TO GROUPS IN VARIOUS DISCIPLINES

Discipline Topics
Criminal Justice Organization of law enforcement agencies; gangs
and criminal groups; jury deliberations.
Education Classroom groups; team teaching; class composition
and educational outcomes.
Engineering Design of human systems, including problem-
solving teams; group approaches to software design.
Mental Health Therapeutic change through groups; sensitivity
training; training groups; self-help groups; groups
psychotherapy.
 CHAPTER 1: Introduction To Group Dynamics
THE NATURE OF GROUP DYNAMICS

THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF GROUP DYNAMICS: EXAMPLES OF

TOPICS PERTAINING TO GROUPS IN VARIOUS DISCIPLINES

Discipline Topics
Political Science Leadership; intergroup and international relations; political
influence; power.
Psychology Personality & group behavior; problem-solving; perceptions of
other people; motivation; conflict.
Social Work Team approaches to treatment; community groups; family
counselling; groups and adjustment.
Sociology Self and society; influence of norms on behavior; role
relations; deviance.
Sports and recreation Team performance, effects of victory and failure; cohesion and
performance.
 Prelim Coverage 1st Sem SY 2021-2022
CHAPTER 2
RESEARCH
METHODS IN GROUP
DYNAMICS
 CHAPTER 2: Studying Groups
RESEARCH METHODS IN GROUP DYNAMICS

3 CRITICAL REQUIREMENTS OF A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO THE

STUDY OF GROUPS

1. Researchers must use reliable and valid methods to measure

group phenomena.
2. Researchers must design research procedures to test their
hypotheses about groups.
3. Researchers must develop theories that organize their findings
conceptually and comprehensively.
 CHAPTER 2: Studying Groups
RESEARCH METHODS IN GROUP DYNAMICS

KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CASE,

EXPERIMENTAL & CORRELATIONAL STUDIES OF GROUP PROCESSES

1. A Case Study is an in-depth analysis of one or more groups

based on interviews with members, observation and so on.
- Case Study researchers can be more certain that the
processes they study are not artificial ones influenced by the
research process.
 CHAPTER 2: Studying Groups
RESEARCH METHODS IN GROUP DYNAMICS

KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CASE,

EXPERIMENTAL & CORRELATIONAL STUDIES OF GROUP PROCESSES

2. In an experiment, researchers examine cause-effect

relationships by manipulating aspects of the group situation
(independent variables)
3. In a correlational study, the investigator, rather than
manipulating aspects of the situation, gauges the strength of the
naturally occurring relationships between such variables.
 CHAPTER 2: Studying Groups
RESEARCH METHODS IN GROUP DYNAMICS

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF CASE, EXPERIMENTAL AND

CORRELATIONAL METHODS

• The conclusions drawn from CASE STUDIES can be highly subjective, but they
stimulate theory and provide detailed information about natural, bona fide groups.
• Groups studied in EXPERIMENTAL settings may not display the dynamics of
naturally occurring groups, but EXPERIMENTATION provides the clearest test of
cause-and-effect hypothesis.
• CORRELATIONAL STUDIES provide only limited information about causality, but
they yield precise statements of the strength of the relationship between two variables
and raise fewer questions of ethics for researchers.
 CHAPTER 2: Studying Groups
RESEARCH METHODS IN GROUP DYNAMICS

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN GROUP DYNAMICS

• Motivational and Emotional Perspective – theories that focus

on members’ motivations and emotions explain group behavior
in terms of members, wants, needs, drives and feelings.
- Members’ need to maintain self-esteem influences their
response to group outcomes. Groups can develop a collective
group affective tone.
 CHAPTER 2: Studying Groups
RESEARCH METHODS IN GROUP DYNAMICS

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN GROUP DYNAMICS

• Behavioral Perspective – theories based on Skinner’s

Behaviorism assume that individuals acts to maximize their
rewards and minimize their costs.
• Systems Theory Perspective – assumes that groups are
systems. An input-process-output model (IPO) of group
performance exemplifies the systems approach.
 CHAPTER 2: Studying Groups
RESEARCH METHODS IN GROUP DYNAMICS

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN GROUP DYNAMICS

• Self-categorization theory – a cognitive process approach, for

it assumes that group members’ tendency to categorize other
people and themselves influences a wide range of group
behavior.
• Biological perspective – argue that some group behaviors,
including leadership, may be rooted in people’s biological
heritage.
 Prelim Coverage 1st Sem SY 2021-2022
CHAPTER 3

INCLUSION &
IDENTITY
 CHAPTER 3: Inclusion & Identity
FROM ISOLATION TO INCLUSION

DO HUMANS, BY NATURE, SEEK SOLITUDE

OR INCLUSION IN GROUP?

1. Much of human behavior is motivated by a basic need to

belong. Solitude is sometimes rewarding, but most adults
prefer the company of others.
• Most adults live with others, they spend most of their time
with others, and an enormous number of group exist.
 CHAPTER 3: Inclusion & Identity
FROM ISOLATION TO INCLUSION

DO HUMANS, BY NATURE, SEEK SOLITUDE

OR INCLUSION IN GROUP?

2. People react negatively if excluded or isolated from groups.

• The prospect of life alone triggers several negative social and
psychological reactions in people.
• Ostracism, or deliberate exclusion from groups, is highly
stressful, as indicated by self-reports of negative affect as well
as analyses of brain activity.
 CHAPTER 3: Inclusion & Identity
FROM ISOLATION TO INCLUSION

DO HUMANS, BY NATURE, SEEK SOLITUDE

OR INCLUSION IN GROUP?

3. People respond both reflexively and reflectively to ostracism and usually

exhibit one of the freezing, fight-or-flight, or tend-and-befriend responses.
• Extreme forms of violence, such as mass shootings in schools, have been
linked to ostracism by groups.
• Individuals also react negatively to exclusion from computer-mediated
interaction, or cyberostracism.
 CHAPTER 3: Inclusion & Identity
FROM INDIVIDUALISM TO COLLECTIVISM

COMMON ATTRIBUTES OF INDIVIDUALISM & COLLECTIVISM

Attribute Individualism Collectivism

Social Focus on establishing Focus on fostering
relations and maintaining nurturing and harmonious
relationships that yield relations with others with
personal rewards with less emphasis on
few costs; concern for exchange; resources are
maintaining equity in distributed on the basis of
relations with others. need.
 CHAPTER 3: Inclusion & Identity
FROM INDIVIDUALISM TO COLLECTIVISM

COMMON ATTRIBUTES OF INDIVIDUALISM & COLLECTIVISM

Attribute Individualism Collectivism

Social Individuals act to promote
obligations their own interests before
considering the needs of
others; satisfactions comes
from personal triumphs in
competition with others.
Members are obliged to
cooperate with others in the
pursuit of shared goals;
concern for group success;
behavior is guided by group
norms and roles.
 CHAPTER 3: Inclusion & Identity
FROM INDIVIDUALISM TO COLLECTIVISM

COMMON ATTRIBUTES OF INDIVIDUALISM & COLLECTIVISM

Attribute Individualism Collectivism

Social identity The interdependent self is
based on one’s personal,
idiosyncratic characteristics;
each self is autonomous and
unique.
The interdependent self is
based on group-level relations,
roles, and social identities
rather than on individual
personal qualities.
 CHAPTER 3: Inclusion & Identity
FROM PERSONAL IDENTITY TO SOCIAL IDENTITY

PROCESSES THAT TRANSFORM AN INDIVIDUAL’S SENSE OF SELF

INTO A COLLECTIVE, SOCIAL IDENTITY

• Social identity theory traces the development of

a collective identity back to two key processes:
a. Categorization
b. Identification
 CHAPTER 3: Inclusion & Identity
FROM PERSONAL IDENTITY TO SOCIAL IDENTITY

PROCESSES THAT TRANSFORM AN INDIVIDUAL’S SENSE OF SELF

INTO A COLLECTIVE, SOCIAL IDENTITY

• Social categorization involves automatically classifying people

into categories.
a. Through self-categorization individuals classify themselves
into categories.
b. Self-stereotyping occurs when individuals apply the proto-type
(stereotypes) of those categories to themselves.
 CHAPTER 3: Inclusion & Identity
FROM PERSONAL IDENTITY TO SOCIAL IDENTITY

PROCESSES THAT TRANSFORM AN INDIVIDUAL’S SENSE OF SELF

INTO A COLLECTIVE, SOCIAL IDENTITY

• Identification involves bonding with and taking on the characteristics of

one’s groups.
a. When people identify strongly with a group, their self-descriptions
become increasingly depersonalized as they include fewer idiosyncratic
elements and more characteristics that are common to the group.
b. Identification and categorization become more likely when outgroups are
salient and when people are members of smaller groups.
 CHAPTER 3: Inclusion & Identity
FROM PERSONAL IDENTITY TO SOCIAL IDENTITY

PROCESSES THAT TRANSFORM AN INDIVIDUAL’S SENSE OF SELF

INTO A COLLECTIVE, SOCIAL IDENTITY

• Self-esteem is shaped both by individual’s personal qualities and

by the perceived value of the groups to which they belong.
a. Those who join prestigious groups often have higher collective
self-esteem than those who belong to less positively valued groups.
b. Individuals who identify strongly with a group, such as sports
fans, experience the group’s outcomes as their own.
 CHAPTER 3: Inclusion & Identity
FROM PERSONAL IDENTITY TO SOCIAL IDENTITY

PROCESSES THAT TRANSFORM AN INDIVIDUAL’S SENSE OF SELF

INTO A COLLECTIVE, SOCIAL IDENTITY

• Individuals are motivated to protect both their individual and

collective self-esteem.
a. Members of stigmatized groups, failing groups, or groups that
are derogated by nonmembers often protect their collective self-
esteem by rejecting negative information about their group,
stressing the relative superiority of their group, and selectively
focusing on their group’s superior qualities.
 Prelim Coverage 1st Sem SY 2021-2022
CHAPTER 4

FORMATION
 CHAPTER 4: Formation
JOINING GROUPS

WHO JOINS GROUPS?

• The tendency to join groups is partly determined by

individual’s personal qualities, including personality
traits, sex, social motives, and prior experiences.
• Personality traits such as extraversion and relationality,
influence who affiliates with others and who does no.
 CHAPTER 4: Formation
JOINING GROUPS

WHO JOINS GROUPS?

• Extraversion is a primary dimension of personality. Extraverts

are more likely to seek out groups than are introverts.
• Extraverts tend to be happier than introverts.
• Individuals who are high in relationality are, connectors, for
they are more attentive to their relations with others.
 CHAPTER 4: Formation
JOINING GROUPS

WHO JOINS GROUPS?

The Big Five Theory of Personality

Dimension Content

Extraversion Outgoing, friendly, gregarious, assertive, emotionally positive, active.

Agreeableness Sincere, thinks the best of people, frank, concerned with other’s welfare, conciliatory, modest,
sympathetic.
Conscientiousness Responsible, organized, achievement-oriented, self-disciplined, planned confident.

Neuroticism Emotional, anxious, easily angered, self-conscious, prone to feel depressed or sad, impulsive,
distressed.
Openness Intellectually able, appreciative of art and beauty, emotionally expressive, open-minded,
imaginative.
 CHAPTER 4: Formation
JOINING GROUPS

WHO JOINS GROUPS?

Men, Women and Groups

• Women seek membership in smaller, informal, intimate groups, whereas

men seek membership in larger, more formal, task-focused groups.
• The strength of social motives, such as the need for affiliation, the need for
intimacy, and the need for power also predict one’s group-joining
proclivities.
• Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation Theory explains
how people use groups to satisfy their need to receive and express
inclusion, control, and affection.
 CHAPTER 4: Formation
AFFILIATION

FORMS OF SOCIAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY GROUPS

Type Definition Examples
Belonging Inclusion in a group • Expressing acceptance
• Reassurance of belonging
• Re-affirming membership
• Encouraging identification
• Group activities
Emotional support Expressing caring and concern for • Expressing respect and approval
one another • Encouragement
• Listening
• Sharing feelings
• Responding nonverbally in positive
ways
 CHAPTER 4: Formation
AFFILIATION

FORMS OF SOCIAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY GROUPS

Type Definition Examples
Informational Providing advice and • Sharing helpful information
support guidance • Giving directions, advice, suggestions
• Demonstrating a way to perform a task
• Problem-solving

Instrumental Providing tangible • Doing favors

support resources • Lending money or possessions
• Assisting with work, duties
• Transportation
• Providing a place to stay

Spiritual support Addressing issues of • Explaining challenging events

meaning and purpose • Allaying existential anxiety, fear of death
• Sharing faith
• Re-confirming one’s world view
 CHAPTER 4: Formation
ATTRACTION

WHEN DO PEOPLE SEEK OTHERS?

• The theory of SOCIAL COMPARISON assumes that people seek the company
of others when they find themselves in ambiguous, frightening, and difficult
circumstances.
- People prefer to affiliate with individuals who likely have useful information
about a situation and others who are in a similar situation. (“misery loves
miserable company”)
- When people worry they will be embarrassed when they join a group, they
usually do not affiliate with others (“embarrassed misery avoids company)
 CHAPTER 4: Formation
ATTRACTION

WHEN DO PEOPLE SEEK OTHERS?

• Groups provide their members with social support during times of stress
and tension.
- Group behaviors facilitate “fight-or-flight” responses to stress, but also
the kinds of “tend-and-befriend” responses.
- Basic types of support from groups include a sense of belonging and
emotional, information, instrumental, and spiritual support.
• Groups help members avoid two basic forms of loneliness: social and
emotional
 CHAPTER 4: Formation
ATTRACTION

PROCESSES THAT GENERATE BONDS OF INTERPERSONAL

ATTRACTION BETWEEN MEMBERS OF GROUPS

• Proximity principle: people tend to like those who are situated nearby, in part
because it increases the likelihood of increased social interaction.
• Elaboration principle: from a systems perspective, groups often emerge when
additional elements (people) become linked to the original members.
• Similarity principle: people like others who are similar to them in some way.
In consequences, most groups tend toward increasing levels of *homophily.
(*Homophily is the tendency of individuals to associate and bond with similar
others, as in the proverb "birds of a feather flock together.“)
 CHAPTER 4: Formation
ATTRACTION

PROCESSES THAT GENERATE BONDS OF INTERPERSONAL

ATTRACTION BETWEEN MEMBERS OF GROUPS

• Complementary principle: people like others whose

qualities complement their own qualities.
• Reciprocity principle: liking tends to be mutual.
• Minimax principle: individuals are attracted to groups
that offer them maximum rewards and minimal costs.
 Prelim Coverage 1st Sem SY 2021-2022
CHAPTER 5

COHESION &
DEVELOPMENT
 CHAPTER 3: Cohesion & Development
THE NATURE OF COHESION

GROUP COHESION
A Sampling Definition of Cohesion
• The strength of the bonds linking members to a group. Cohesiveness is an indication of
the health of the group and is related to a variety of other group processes.
Core concept Definition and Source
Attraction among the members To cohesiveness of small groups is defined in terms of intermember
of a group attraction…that group property which is inferred from the number
and strength of mutual positive attitudes among the members of a
group.
Attraction of the members to Cohesiveness refers to attraction of members to a group as a whole…
the group as a whole a kind of synthetic or aggressive property of the sum of the feelings
of attraction to the group of each of the individual group members.

Core concept
Belonging and morale
Strength of the social forces
that keep an individual from
leaving a group
CHAPTER 3: Cohesion & Development
THE NATURE OF COHESION
GROUP COHESION
A Sampling Definition of Cohesion
Definition and Source
Perceived cohesion encompasses an individual’s sense of
belonging to a particular group and his/her feelings of morale
associated with membership in the group.
Cohesiveness of a group is here deemed as the result of all the
forces acting on the members to remain in the group. These forces
may depend on the attractiveness or unattractiveness of either the
prestige of the group, members in the group, or in the activities in
which the group engages.
 CHAPTER 3: Cohesion & Development
THE NATURE OF COHESION

GROUP COHESION
A Sampling Definition of Cohesion

Core concept Definition and Source

Tendency to stick Social cohesion should also be understood as a state of
together (cohere) affairs concerning how well people in a society
“cohere” or “stick” to each other.
Trust and teamwork The essence of strong primary group cohesion, which is
believed to be generally agreed on, is trust among
group members, together with the capacity for
teamwork.
 CHAPTER 3: Cohesion & Development
THE NATURE OF COHESION

MULTICOMPONENT CONCEPTION OF COHESION IN GROUPS

Component Description Examples
Social cohesion Attraction of members to one another and • I have many friends in this group.
to the group as a whole. • I love this group.
• This group is the best.
Task cohesion Capacity to perform successfully as a • This group is effective.
coordinated unit and as a part of the group. • This group is the best at what it does.
• I do my best for this group.

Perceived cohesion The construed coherence of the group; • United we stand.

sense of belonging to the group; unity
Emotional cohesion Emotional intensity of the group and
individuals when in the group.
• This is a unified groups.
• I am one with this group.
• This group has tremendous energy.
• This group has team spirit.
• I get excited just being in this group.
 CHAPTER 3: Cohesion & Development
COHESION & COMMITMENT OVER TIME

STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT

Stage Major Processes Characteristics
Orientation: Forming Members become unfamiliar Communications are tentative,
with each other and the group; polite; concern for ambiguity,
dependency and inclusion group’s goal; leader is active;
issues; acceptance of leader and members are compliant.
group consensus.
Conflict: Storming Disagreement over procedures; Criticism of ideas, poor
expression of dissatisfaction; attendance; hostility,
tension among members; polarization and coalition
antagonism toward leader. formation.
 CHAPTER 3: Cohesion & Development
COHESION & COMMITMENT OVER TIME

STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT

Stage Major Processes Characteristics
Structure: Norming Growth of cohesiveness and Agreement on procedures;
unity; establishment of roles, reduction in role ambiguity;
standards, and relationships; increased “we-feeling”.
increased trust, communication.
Work: Performing Goal achievement; high task- Decision making; problem-
orientation; emphasis on solving; mutual cooperation.
performance and production.
Dissolution: Adjourning Termination of roles; Disintegration and withdrawal;
completion of tasks; reduction increased independence and
of dependency. emotionality; regret.
 CHAPTER 3: Cohesion & Development
COHESION & COMMITMENT OVER TIME

POSITIVE & NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF COHESION

• In most instances, cohesion is associated with increase in member satisfaction and
decrease in turnover and stress.
• Cohesion intensifies group processes. Cohesive groups can be psychologically
demanding that they cause emotional problems for members. Dependence, pressure
to conform, and acceptance of influence are greater in cohesive groups, and can
result in the mistaken decisions.
• Cohesion and performance are linked, both, because success increases a group’s
cohesion and because cohesive groups tend to outperform less cohesive groups.