Understanding Group Dynamics

History of Group Dynamics

• "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"

A social group is an entity that has qualities which

cannot be understood just by studying the
individuals that make up the group. In 1924,
Gestalt psychologist Max Wertheimer identified
this fact, stating "There are entities where the
behaviour of the whole cannot be derived from
its individual elements nor from the way these
elements fit together; rather the opposite is true:
the properties of any of the parts are determined
by the intrinsic structural laws of the whole".
History of Group Dynamics

• Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920), credited as the

founder of experimental psychology, had a
particular interest in the psychology of
communities, which he believed possessed
phenomena (human language, customs, and
religion) that could not be described through a
study of the individual.

• Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), who was

influenced by Wundt, also recognized collective
phenomena, such as public knowledge.
History of Group Dynamics

Other key theorists:

• Gustave Le Bon (1841–1931) who believed that

crowds possessed a 'racial unconscious' with
primitive, aggressive, and antisocial instincts,
and William McDougall (psychologist), who
believed in a 'group mind,' which had a distinct
existence born from the interaction of
individuals.
History of Group Dynamics

Other key theorists:

• Gustave Le Bon (1841–1931) who believed that

crowds possessed a 'racial unconscious' with
primitive, aggressive, and antisocial instincts,
and William McDougall (psychologist), who
believed in a 'group mind,' which had a distinct
existence born from the interaction of
individuals.
History of Group Dynamics

Other key theorists:

• Ultimately, it was social psychologist Kurt Lewin

(1890–1947) who coined the term group
dynamics to describe the positive and negative
forces within groups of people. In 1945, he
established The Group Dynamics Research
Center at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, the first institute devoted explicitly to
the study of group dynamics. Throughout his
career, Lewin was focused on how the study of
group dynamics could be applied to real-world,
social issues.
History of Group Dynamics

Other key theorists:

• An increasing amount of research has applied

evolutionary psychology principles to group
dynamics. Humans are argued to have evolved
in an increasingly complicated social
environment and to have many adaptations
concerned with group dynamics. Examples
include mechanisms for dealing with status,
reciprocity, identifying cheaters, ostracism,
altruism, group decision, leadership, and
intergroup relations.
Group Dynamics
• Communication patterns - the flow of information
within the group and they are typically described as
either centralized or decentralized.

a. Centralized pattern communications tend to flow from

one source to all group members. Centralized
communications allow standardization of information, but
may restrict the free flow of information.

b. Decentralized communications make it easy to share

information directly between group members. When
decentralized, communications tend to flow more freely,
but the delivery of information may not be as fast or
accurate as with centralized communications. Another
potential downside of decentralized communications is
the sheer volume of information that can be generated,
particularly with electronic media.
Group Dynamics

• Group Cohesion - sum of all the factors

causing members of a group to stay in the group
or be attracted to the group. You can think of
group cohesion as the social glue that binds a
group together.

• The bonds that link group members to one

another and to their group as a whole are not
believed to develop spontaneously. Over the
years, social scientists have explained the
phenomenon of group cohesiveness in different
ways. Some have suggested that cohesiveness
among group members develops from a
heightened sense of belonging, teamwork,
interpersonal and group-level attraction.
Group Dynamics

Culture of a Group

1. the intellectual purpose - "reason" for being

together.
2. the emotional attractor - connects people's
hearts to the work
3. the artifacts they create, collective knowledge
they acquire, and practices they develop
together
4. the deeper spiritual connection or intention that
unifies the group
STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT

Theories of Group Development

1. Linear Model - groups develop progressively as

if in a straight line.

2. Cyclical Model - groups development follows a

cycle, going around and around through th e
various stages but usually reaching a higher
level development each time.
STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT

Bruce Tuckman
(Nov 24, 1938 - Mar 13, 2016)

He proposed the model of group

development. He said that these
phases are all necessary and
inevitable in order for the team to
grow, face up to challenges, tackle
problems, find solutions, plan
work, and deliver results.
STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
1. Forming
The team meets and learns about the opportunities and
challenges, and then agrees on goals and begins to
tackle the tasks. Team members tend to behave quite
independently. They may be motivated but are usually
relatively uninformed of the issues and objectives of the
team. Team members are usually on their best behavior
but very focused on themselves. Mature team members
begin to model appropriate behavior even at this early
phase.
STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
1. Forming

The meeting environment also plays an important role to

model the initial behaviors of each individual. The major
task functions also concern orientation. Members
attempt to become oriented to the tasks as well as to
one another. Discussion centers around defining the
scope of the task, how to approach it, and similar
concerns. To grow from this stage to the next, each
member must relinquish the comfort of non-threatening
topics and risk the possibility of conflict.
STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
1. Forming

a. Acceptance Anxieties - "Will I be liked,

wanted or rejected or will I be disliked, unwanted
or rejected?"

b. Orientation Anxieties - "Will I understand or

make sense; and can I find my identity in the
group?"

c. Performance Anxieties - "Will I be

competent and be able to have control or
personal power here?
STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
2. Storming
As a group members begin to feel more comfortable and
self-assured in the group, members start to seel
individual roles and spaces. At this stage, there is
uncertainty about what can be achieved. Facilitator must
know why he is doing what he is doing.

To help with storming, plenty of group activity can be

used in which everyone can get involved and that
members/people experience success in what they do.

*Easy, safe but interesting activities and exercises are

useful in creating sense of achievement.
STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
3. Norming
Having explored and tested out roles and having
resolved issues of power and questions about the value
of the group, members begin to get a sense of what is
required and rules and norms become established.

These can be either positive or negative in terms of the

group's objectives and facilitators have a role in ensuring
the norms that develop are constructive.
STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
4. Performing
Members are now readily cooperating and
contributing to the group tasks; the aims of the
group are being lived in the life and processes of
the group, and the influence of the group on
individuals are high.

The group is largely self-sufficient resource,

using all the skills and potential of the members
to solve its problems.
STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
5. Mourning
Members may experience a sense of loss of
valued support, feedback and opportunity for
personal development when group ends. They
may react in a number of different ways:

a. the group may revert to earlier behaviors

b. there may be euphoria abort what has been achieved
c. there may be frustration about what has not been
achieved
 To ensure that the group ends successfully,
the facilitator/s should make sure that the end is
properly acknowledged and should provide a
structure to enable this to happen

a. KEEPING THE END IN SIGHT - making sure

that group members are aware of the limited life of
the group right from the start and keep reminding
them at intervals
b. REVIEW - at the end, review what the group
has done and what it has experienced- and within
that review, what each individual has experiences
and contributed
c. EVALUATE - following on from the review,
evaluate what group and its members have
achieved, especially in relation to the original aims
of the group. Remember that this is an opportunity
to evaluate the performance of the workers and
the success of the programme.

d. ENDING RELATIONSHIP - you will need to

provide on opportunity for members to say
"goodbye" and deal with any "unfinished business"
between individuals, whether members of
facilitators.
e. PREPARATION FOR THE POST-GROUP
STAGE - as people leave the group, they may
need alternative sources of support/action/contact,
and the group can help each member plan
accordingly. What sources can the access? do
you need to have a reintroduction to the person's
indovidual social worker?
f. ENDING - some event or happening to mark the
ending of a group is often very helpful. This might
be some special group exercise, a social
occassion, such as a special meal or party, or
some creative activity devised by a group
members.
Reference:

• Groupwork Practice in Social Work 2nd

Edition, Trevor Lindsay and Sue Orton,
Chapter 5 pages 74-79