Group Dynamics
Chapter 1 Introduction to Group Dynamics
Group: Two or more people who are connected and are inter-dependent in the sense that their need
and goals cause them to influence each other
- 2 people suffering on internet on different computers on different websites (no
group)
- 11 people playing soccer (group) – goal is highly interdependent
- 3 people often going out together (group)- interdependent, and more than two
people
- 610 inhabitants of Tilburg who like playing poker (no group)- no connection
Something is a group when:
- At least two people
- Connection between people
- Connection is socially meaningful (interdependence of shared experience)
Varieties of groups
How group originated?
- Planned: goal, organized, clear boundaries.
- Emergent: Spontaneous, unwritten norms, unclear boundaries
- Primary groups: A small, long-term group characterized by frequent interaction, solidarity, and high
levels of interdependence among members that substantially influences the attitudes, values, and
social outcomes of its members.
- Secondary/social group: A relatively small number of individuals who interact with one another over
an extended period of time, such as work groups, clubs, and congregations. Social groups are larger
and more formally organized than primary groups, and memberships tend to be shorter in duration and
less emotionally involving
- Collectives: A relatively large aggregation or group of individuals who display similarities in actions
and outlook. A street crowd, a line of people (a queue), and a panicked group escaping a fire are
examples of collectives, as are more widely dispersed groups (e.g., listeners who respond similarly to
a public service announcement).
- Social Categories: A social category is a collection of individuals who are similar to one another in
some way. A perceptual grouping of people who are assumed to be similar to one another in some
ways but different in one or more ways, such as all women, the elderly, college students, or all the
citizens of a specific country.
Members of the same social category often share a common identity with one another. A Social
identity is an individual’s sense of self derived from relationships and memberships in groups; also,
those aspects of the self that are assumed to be common to most or all of the members of the same
group or social category.
But social categories can also influence the perceptions of people who are not part of the category.
When perceivers decide a person they encounter is one of “those people,” they will likely rely on any
stereotypes they have about the members of that social category to formulate an impression of the
person. A stereotype is a socially shared set of qualities, characteristics, and behavioral expectations
ascribed to a particular group or category of people.
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,Social categories tend to create divisions between people, and those divisions can result in a sense of
We and us versus they and them.
Characteristics of Groups
10 Characteristics
1) Composition 6) Structure
2) Boundaries 7) Goals
3) Size 8) Origin
4) Interaction 9) Unity
5) Interdependence 10) Entitativity
1)Composition: Who belongs to the Group?
A group’s composition looks at the qualities of the individuals who are members of the group
2)Boundaries: Who does NOT belong?
Those who are included in the group are recognized as members and those who are not part of the
group are excluded outsiders. In some cases, these boundaries are publicly acknowledged (e.g. rock
band, baseball team) and in some cases these are indistinct or known only to the group members
themselves
- Open groups: membership is fluid (voluntarily come and go without consequences)
- Closed groups: membership roster changes more slowly. Individuals are more
likely to focus on the collective nature of the group and to identify with the group
3)Size: How Large is the group?
A group’s size influences many of its other features.
- Small group: Will likely have different structures, processes, and patterns of interaction than a
larger one. two-person group is so small that it ceases to exist when one member leaves, and it can
never be broken down into subgroups. The members of dyads (e.g., best friends, lovers) are
sometimes linked by strong emotional bonds that make their dynamics so intense that they belong in
a category all their own.
- Large groups: Members are connected to one another indirectly rather than directly may only feel
connected to the group as a whole, or to subgroups within the larger group. Larger groups are more
schismatic than smaller ones; they more easily break up into smaller groups. Larger groups can also
have unique qualities, for the members are rarely connected directly to all other members, subgroups
are very likely to form, and one or more leaders may be needed to organize and guide the group.
A group’s size also determines how many social ties—links, relationships, connections, edges—are
needed to join members to each other and to the group. The maximum number of ties within a group
in which everyone is linked to everyone else is given by the equation n(n – 1)/2, where n is the number
of people in the group.
As groups increase in size, the number of relationships needed to link each member to
every other member increases. Only one relationship is needed to form a dyad (two
members), but 3, 6, 10, and 15 relations are needed as groups increase in size from
three to six members..
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,4)Interaction: What do Members do?
-Task interaction: The conjointly adjusted actions of group members that
pertain to the group’s projects, tasks, and goals.
- Relationship (social) interaction: The conjointly adjusted actions of group members
that relate to or influence the nature and strength of the emotional and interpersonal bonds within the
group, including both sustaining (social support, consideration) and undermining actions (criticism,
conflict).
5)Interdependence: Do the members depend on each other?
Interdependence: means that members depend on one another; their outcomes, actions, thoughts,
feelings, and experiences are partially determined by others in the group.
- Some groups create only the potential for interdependence among members (e.g.
the outcomes of people standing in a queue at a store’s checkout). These groups can
reach their goals on their own without making certain their actions mesh closely with
the actions of those who are nearby.
- Other groups (e.g gangs, families, sports teams) create far higher levels of
interdependency since members reliably and substantially influence one another’s
outcomes over a long period of time and in a variety of situations.
Examples of interdependence among group members
6)Structure: How is the Group organized?
-Group Structure: The organization of a group, including the members, their interrelations, and their
interactions.
-Role: A socially shared set of behaviors, characteristics, and responsibilities expected of people who
occupy a particular position or type of position within a group; by enacting roles, individuals establish
regular patterns of exchange with one another that increase predictability and social coordination. If
someone cannot meet the role’s demand, he might not remain a member for long.
-Norm: A consensual and often implicit standard that describes what behaviors should and should not
be performed in a given context.
7) Goals: What is the group’s Purpose?
- Generating: Groups concoct the strategies they will use to accomplish their goals (Type 1: planning
tasks) or create altogether new ideas and approaches to their problems (Type 2: creativity tasks)
- Choosing: Groups make decisions about issues that have correct solutions (Type 3: intellective
tasks) or questions that can be answered in many ways (Type 4: decision-making tasks)
- Negotiating: Groups resolve differences of opinion among members regarding their goals or
decisions (Type 5: cognitive conflict tasks) or settle competitive disputes among members (Type 6:
mixed-motive tasks)
- Executing: Groups do things, including taking part in competitions (Type 7: contests/battles/
competitive tasks) or creating some product or carrying out collective actions (Type 8:
performances/psychomotor tasks)
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, 8) Origin: Founded or Formed?
People found groups (planned), but they also find them (emergent).
- Planned groups: Are deliberately formed by its members or an external authority for some purpose.
They tend to be organized, task-focused, and formal. Such groups generally define their membership
criteria clearly, and so at all times they know who is and who is not in the group. Lack of emotional
depth. (e.g. musical groups, research teams, social agencies, sport teams)
- Emergent groups: Come into existence spontaneously when individuals join together in the same
physical location or gradually over time as individuals find themselves repeatedly interacting with the
same subset of individuals. These groups are not explicitly organized,but they often develop elements
of structure as members determine what kinds of behaviors are expected of members, who is more or
less liked, who leads and who follows, and so on. Such groups often have unclear boundaries, for they
allow members to come and go rather than requiring them to join in a formal way. (e.g. bystanders at a
crime scene crowds, customers at a club, gangs)
People don’t join to gain some goal but because they find satisfaction in associating with the group
members.
Taxonomy of groups: Is the group created by forces within the group (internal origins) or forces
outside of the group (external origins)?
- Concocted groups are planned by individuals or authorities outside of the group. A team of laborers
digging a trench, a flight crew of an airplane, and a military squad would all be concocted groups,
since those who created them are not actually members of the group.
- Founded groups are planned by one or more individuals who remain within the group. A small
Internet start-up company, a study group, a expeditionary team, or grassroots community action group
would all be founded groups.
- Circumstantial groups are emergent, unplanned groups that arise when external, situational forces
set the stage for people to join together, often temporarily, in a unified group. A group of travelers
stranded together when their bus breaks, a mob breaking shop windows and setting parked cars on
fire, and patrons at a movie theater would be circumstantial groups.
- Self-organizing groups emerge when interacting individuals gradually align their activities in a
cooperative system of interdependence. Parties, gatherings of surfers waiting for waves just offshore,
drivers leaving a crowded parking lot through a single exit, and a half dozen adolescents who hang out
together are all organized groups, but their organization is generated by implicit adjustments of each
member to each other member.
9) Unity: How Cohesive is the group?
Group cohesion is the integrity, solidarity, social integration, unity, and groupiness of a group. All
groups require a modicum of cohesiveness or else the group would disintegrate and cease to exist as
a group. Cohesive groups suffer little from turnover or intragroup conflict. Cohesive groups hold on to
their members tightly, and members usually value their membership, and are quick to identify
themselves as members. A group’s cohesiveness, however, is often based on commitment to the
group’s purposes, rather than on social bonds between members.
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