Introduction to
Group Dynamics
Groups, groups, groups
The Impressionists: a group of painters
The 1980 Olympic Hockey team: a
team
The Andes Rugby Team: a group of
survivors
Jobs vs. Sculley: Two executives
The Apollo 13 crew: 3 astronauts
Questions to consider 
Overview
What is a group?
What are some common characteristics of
groups?
What assumptions guide researchers in their
studies of groups and the processes
within groups?
What fields and what topics are included in
the scientific study of group
dynamics?
What is a Group?
Definition of a group:
Two or more
individuals who are
connected to one
another by social
relationships.
Two or more individuals
who are connected to one another by
social relationships.
•
Size: dyads and triads to large
collectives (this class, mobs,
audiences)
who are
connected to one
another by social relationships.
Two or more individuals
•
Connected: members are
linked, networked
Two or more individuals who are
connected to one another by
social relationships.
Social, interpersonal connection: not
categorical only
Types of groups
Billions of groups in the world, but
they can be classified into basic
categories, or clusters
Cooley (1907) drew a distinction
between primary and
secondary groups
Type of
Group
Characteristics
Examples
Primary
groups
Small, long-term groups
characterized by face-toface interaction and high
levels of cohesiveness,
solidarity, and member
identification
Families, close
friends, tight-knit
peer groups, gangs,
elite military squads
Secondary
groups
Larger, less intimate, more Congregations, work
goal-focused groups typical groups, unions,
of more complex societies professional
associations
(Cooley, 1907)
Types of groups
Cooley (1907)
primary
secondary
Arrow and her colleagues offer a
more fine-grained analysis
planned vs. emergent
Concocted
Founded
Circumstantial
Self-organizing
Type of Group
Planned groups
Characteristics
Deliberately formed by the members themselves or by an external
authority, usually for some specific purpose or purposes
Concocted Planned by individuals or authorities
outside the group.
Founded Planned by one or more individuals
who remain within the group
Emergent groups
Examples
Production lines, military
units, task forces, crews,
professional sports teams
Study groups, small
businesses, expeditions,
clubs, associations
Groups that form spontaneously as individuals find themselves
repeatedly interacting with the same subset of individuals over time
and settings
Circumstantial Emergent, unplanned groups that
arise when external, situational
forces set the stage for people to join
together, often only temporarily, in a
unified group
Waiting lines (queues),
crowds, mobs, audiences,
bystanders
Self-organizing Emerge when interacting individuals
gradually align their activities in a
cooperative system of
interdependence.
Study groups, friendship
cliques in a workplace,
regular patrons at a bar
Perceiving groups: people intuitively
draw distinctions between
groups—some look groupier than
others
Lickel, Hamilton, Sherman, and their
colleagues asked people to rate many
kinds of aggregations on a scale from 1
(not at all a group) to 9 (very much a
group).
Type of
Group
Characteristics
Examples
Intimacy
groups
Small groups of moderate duration
and permeability characterized by
substantial levels of interaction
among the members, who value
membership in the group
Families, romantic
couples, close friends,
street gangs
Task groups
Work groups in employment
settings and goal-focused groups in
a variety of nonemployment
situations
Teams, neighborhood
associations
Weak
associations
Aggregations of individuals that
Crowds, audiences,
form spontaneously, last only a brief clusters of bystanders
period of time, and have very
permeable boundaries
Social
categories
Aggregations of individuals who are
similar to one another in terms of
gender, ethnicity, religion, or
nationality.
Women, Asian
Americans, physicians,
U.S. citizens, New
Yorkers
What are some common
characteristics of groups?
Interaction: task and
relationship
Interdependence: sequential,
reciprocal, mutual
Common characteristics of groups
(continued)
Structure: roles, norms, relations
Goals: generating, choosing,
negotiating, executing
McGrath’s Taxonomy of Group Tasks
is based on 2 key dimensions:
Choosing vs. Executing (Doing) and
Generating vs. Negotiating
Common characteristics of groups
(continued)
Cohesion: unity and entitativity
•
•
Entitativity is perceived
groupness
Campbell’s theory of
entitativity
•
•
•
common fate
similarity
proximity
What assumptions guide researchers
in their studies of groups and
the processes within groups?
Group dynamics describes both:
• Interpersonal processes in groups
• The scientific study of groups and
group processes (Kurt Lewin)
Level of Analysis
Individual level: focus on the
individual (psychological)
Group level: focus on the group
and social context
(sociological)
Multilevel: adopts multiple
perspectives on groups
The Paradigm: assumptions
and orientations
Groups are real
Group processes are real
–groupmind, collective
conscious
–Sherif's (1936) study of
norm formation
Average distance
estimates
Person A
Convergence
Person B
Person C
Alone
Group
Session 1
Group
Session 2
Group
Session 3
Assumptions (continued)
• Groups are more than the sum
of their parts
–Lewin's (1951) field theory:
behavior is a function of the
person and the environment
–B = f(P, E).
Assumptions (continued)
• Groups are living systems:
Tuckman's (1965) theory of group
development
–forming
–storming
–norming
–performing
–adjourning
Performing
Task
Norming
Storming
Adjourning
Forming
Assumptions (continued)
• Groups are influential
• Groups shape society
What fields and what topics are
included in the scientific
study of group dynamics?
Interdisciplinary:
psychology, sociology,
political science,
anthropology, business,
etc.
Discipline
Topics
Anthropology
Groups in cross-cultural contexts; societal change; social and collective
identities
Business and Industry
Work motivation; productivity; team building; goal setting; focus groups
Clinical/Counseling
Psychology
Therapeutic change through groups; sensitivity training; training groups;
self-help groups; group psychotherapy
Communication
Information transmission in groups; discussion; decision making; problems
in communication; networks
Criminal Justice
Organization of law enforcement agencies; gangs; jury deliberations
Education
Classroom groups; team teaching; class composition and educational
outcomes
Political Science
Leadership; intergroup and international relations; political influence;
power
Psychology
Personality and group behavior; problem solving; perceptions of other
people; motivation; conflict
Social Work
Team approaches to treatment; family counseling; 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
Action research: integrates basic
and applied research.
Topics: group formation, cohesion,
structure, influence, performance,
conflict, etc.
Introduction to
Group Dynamics
Research
Methods
Individual and
the Group
Group
Formation
Cohesion and
Structure
Influence
Power
Decision Making
Leadership
Conflict
Groups in
Context
Groups and
Change
Collective
Behavior
Development
Performance
Intergroup
Relations
Group Dynamics!
… the "field of inquiry
dedicated to advancing
knowledge about the
nature of groups"
(Cartwright & Zander, 1968, p. 7).
For more information visit
http://psychology.wadsworth.com/forsyth4e