Author: M. Haandrikman
Collection of summaries of book chapters belonging to
Group Dynamics
Inhoud
Chapter 1: Introduction to Group Dynamics ......................................................................................... 2
Chapter 2: Studying groups .................................................................................................................... 6
Chapter 3: Inclusion and Identity ......................................................................................................... 13
Chapter 4: Formation............................................................................................................................ 19
Chapter 5: Cohesion and Development ............................................................................................... 26
Chapter 6: Structure ............................................................................................................................. 33
Chapter 7: Influence ............................................................................................................................. 40
Chapter 8: Power .................................................................................................................................. 47
Chapter 9: Leadership ........................................................................................................................... 53
Chapter 10: Performance ..................................................................................................................... 60
Chapter 11: Teams ................................................................................................................................ 67
Chapter 12: Decision making ................................................................................................................ 74
Chapter 13: Conflict .............................................................................................................................. 81
Chapter 14: Intergroup relations.......................................................................................................... 87
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,Author: M. Haandrikman
Chapter 1: Introduction to Group Dynamics
1.1 What are groups?
1.1.1 Defining groups
A group is two or more individuals who are connected by and within social relationships
a. Groups come in staggering assortment of shapes and sizes, from dyads (two members) and
triads (three members) to huge crowds, mobs, and assemblies
b. A commonality shared by many of these definitions is an emphasis on social relations that
link members to one another
c. The relations that link the members of groups are not of one type
1.1.2 Variety of groups
Figure 1.1 (in book) presents four types of groups: primary groups, social groups, collectives and
social categories
Primary groups are labelled the small, intimate clusters of close associates (e.g., families, good
friends, or cliques of peers) – these groups profoundly influence the behaviour, feelings, and
judgements of their members, for members spend much of their time interacting with one another,
usually in face-to-face settings with many of the other members present
➢ Even when the group is dispersed, members nonetheless feel they are still “in” the group,
and they consider the group to be a very important part of their lives
Social groups are larger and more formally organized than primary groups, and memberships tend to
be shorter in duration and less emotionally involved – their boundaries are more permeable (e.g., co-
workers, friends, sport teams)
A social category is a collection of individuals who are similar not one another in some way (e.g.,
citizens of Ireland, students, homosexuals) – if a category has no social implications, then it only
describes individuals who share a feature in common
➢ Social categories can also influence the perceptions of people who are not part of the
category (e.g., stereotypes)
Collectives are any gathering of individuals; they come into existence when people are drawn
together by something (e.g., an event, an activity or even danger) but then the group dissolves when
the experience ends (e.g., crowds, audiences)
Members of the same social category often share a common identity with one another – this
perception of themselves as members of the same social group or social category (this social identity)
is “that part of an individual’s self-concept which derives from his knowledge of his membership of a
social group (or groups) together with the emotional significance attached to that membership
1.1.3. Characteristics of groups
Composition: who belongs to the group?
To understand a group, we must know something about the group’s composition: the qualities of the
individuals who are members of the group
Boundaries: who does not belong?
The relationships that link members to one another define who is in the group and who is not – a
group is boundaried in a psychological sense; those who are included in the group are recognized as
members and those who are not part of the group are excluded outsiders
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,Author: M. Haandrikman
Size: how large is the group?
A group’s size influences many of its other features – small groups will likely have different
structures, processes, and patterns of interaction than a large one
➢ 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 of 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
Interaction: what do members do?
Groups are the setting for an infinite variety of interpersonal actions – there are two types of
interaction:
a. Task interaction includes all group behaviour that is focused principally on the group’s work,
projects, plans, and goals – in most groups, members must coordinate their various skills,
resources, and motivations so that the group can make a decision, generate a product, or
achieve a victory
b. Relationship interaction includes everything that happens in a group (besides performance) –
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)
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
As figure 1.3 (in book) suggests, in symmetric groups with a flat, non-hierarchical structure, the
influence among members is equal and reciprocal – but more typically interdependencies are
asymmetric, unequal, and hierarchical
Structure: how is the group organized?
Group members are not connected to one another at random, but in organized and predictable
patterns – in all but the most ephemeral groups, patterns and regularities emerge that determine the
kinds of actions that are permitted or condemned; these regularities combine to generate group
structure (roles and norms)
a. Roles specify the general behaviours expected of people who occupy different positions
within the group
b. Group members’ actions and interactions are also shaped by the group’s norms that describe
what behaviours should and should not be performed in a given context
Goals: what is the group’s purpose?
The goal groups pursue are many and varied – McGrath (1984) distinguishes among four basic group
goals: (a) generating ideas or plans, (b) choosing a solution, (c) negotiating a solution to a conflict,
and (d) executing (performing) a task (figure 1.3 in book)
a. 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)
b. 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)
c. 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)
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, Author: M. Haandrikman
d. 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)
McGrath’s task circumplex model also distinguishes between conceptual-behavioural tasks and
cooperation-conflict tasks
1. Groups dealing with conceptual tasks (types 2-5) generally exhibit high levels of information
exchange, social influence, and process-oriented activity
Groups dealing with behavioural tasks (type 1, and 6-8) are those that produce things or
perform services – members of these groups perform a series of motor tasks that range from
the simple and relatively individualistic through to the complex and highly interdependent
2. Conflict tasks (type 4-7) pit individuals and groups against each other, whereas cooperative
tasks require collaboration (types 1-3, and 8)
Origin: founded or formed?
Groups tend to fall naturally into two categories:
1. Planned groups which are deliberately formed by its members or an external authority for
some purpose (e.g., sports teams, musical groups, research teams)
2. Emergent groups which 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 (e.g., families, friendship networks, gangs)
Social psychologists Arrow, McGrath & Berdahl (2000) combine both the planned-emergent
dimension and the internal-external dimension to generate the following fourfold taxonomy of
groups:
1. Concocted groups are planned by individuals or authorities outside of the group (e.g., a flight
crew of an airplane, a military squad)
2. Founded groups are planned by one or more individuals who remain within the group (e.g., a
study group, a expeditionary team)
3. 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 (e.g., a
group of travellers stranded together when their bus breaks, a mob breaking shop windows)
4. Self-organizing groups emerge when interacting individuals gradually align their activities in a
cooperative system of interdependence (e.g., parties, gatherings of surfers waiting for waves
just off-shore)
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 hold on to their membership, and are quick to identify themselves as
members
Entitativity: does the group look like a group?
Entitativity is the apparent cohesiveness or unity of an assemblage of individuals; the quality of being
a single entity rather than a set of independent, unrelated individuals
➢ Entitativity, according to social psychologists Campbell, is substantially influenced by
similarity, proximity, and common fate, as well as such perceptual cues as pragnanz (good
form) and permeability
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