Group Dynamics
1. Lecture 1: Introduction
2. Lecture 2: Methods
3. Lecture 3: Belonging, formation and cohesion
4. Lecture 4: Influence processes
5. Lecture 5: Performance: Social faciliation and loafing
6. Lecture 6: Decision making and groupthink
7. Lecture 7: Intergroup relations and conflict
8. Lecture 8: Coalitions
Book: D.R. Forsyth, Group Dynamics, 7th edition, ISBN 9781337408851
Blue = Important concept
Orange = Important study/researcher
Made by Emma van de Ven
Lecture 1: Introduction to group dynamics
,Definition of a group
Two or more people who are connected and are inter-dependent, in the sense
that their needs and goals cause them to influence each other.
Primary group: small intimate clusters of
close associates.
Social group: a formally organized group.
Membership is usually shorter and less
emotionally involved. Most of the time
they are task-oriented
Collectives: any form of association
amongst people who have a similar
behaviour at some point, people who are
waiting on a bus together.
Categories: groups of individuals who are
similar to one another in some specific way (same gender, age).
Group characteristics
Group interaction can be divided in task interaction and relationship
interaction. Task interaction means that the group is focused on a
work/project/goal and a relationship interaction is focused on emotional
and personal bonds.
Interdependency:
(a) where two or more members
can influence each other equally
(for example in a friendgroup)
(b) when a boss influences its
employees but not the other way
around
(c) when employees can influence their
boss and the other way around, even
when effects are unequally divided.
(d) one member influences
another who in its turn influences yet another member
Group unity:
▫ Cohesiveness: solidarity and unity of a group. It concerns the
power of the bond between members of the group. Group cohesion
is the solidarity, integrity and unity of the 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.
▫ Entitativity: the perceived cohesiveness of a group, so a construct
that reflects the extent to which people view a collection of
individuals as cohesive and unified.
Group origin:
▫ Planned: deliberately formed by the members or an external
authority. There are clear boundarys (it is clear who belongs to the
group), it is organized, task-focused and formal. For example a
soccer team.
▫ Emergent: this type of group comes into existence spontaneously,
for example people who are all rollskating at the same place. It is
not organized, it is not clear who is part of the group and who is not.
Structure: Group structure consists out of the group roles, norms and
intermember relations. Roles specify the general behaviors expected of
, people who occupy different positions within the group. Examples are the
roles of the leaders and the followers. Norms are consensual standards
describing various appropriate and inappropriate behaviours in a given
context.
Goals: Humans seem to be genetically ready to set goals for themselves.
There are many different goals that can be set and there are a variety of
studies which tried to classify these goals.
o Laughlin, 1980: intellectual and judgmental tasks
o Hackman & Morris, 1975: production, discussion, and problem-
solving goals
o McGrath, 1984:
▫ 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).
Dynamic Group Processes
Group dynamics are the influential interpersonal
processes that occur in and between groups over time.
These processes not only determine how members
relate to and engage with one another, but they also
determine the group’s inherent nature and trajectory:
the actions the group takes, how it responds to its
environment, and what it achieves.
Tuckman’s (1965) theory of group development
assumes that over time most groups move through five
stages:
Why study groups?
Individuals are commonly members of groups rather
than isolated from them, so to understand people one
must understand groups.
Groups alter their members’ attitudes, values, and
perceptions. Triplett’s (1898) study of group
performance demonstrated the impact of one person on another, but some
groups (primary groups, cults, etc.) influence members in substantial and
enduring ways.
A review of 25,000 studies indicated that hypotheses about groups yielded
clearer findings than studies of other social psychological topics.
, Lecture 2 Methods
The scientific study of groups
Group processes shaped the field’s paradigm, scientists’ shared
assumptions about the phenomena they study; also, a set of research
procedures.
Early sociologists such as Durkheim (1897) viewed groups as entities with
unique characteristics which are not just the sum of individual
characteristics. Psychologists such as Allport (1924) did not agree and
claimed that group behavior could only be understood by analyzing
individual actions.
Group fallacy: Explaining social phenomena in terms of the group as a
whole instead of basing the explanation on the individual-level processes
within the group; ascribing psychological qualities, such as will,
intentionality, and mind, to a group rather than to the individuals within
the group.
Group mind (or collective consciousness): A hypothetical unifying mental
force linking group members together; the fusion of individual
consciousness or mind into a transcendent consciousness.
The discussion between individual-level and group-level approached went
on and Lewin (1951) came with a field theory premised on the principle of
interactionism, which assumes that the actions, processes, and responses
of people in groups (“behavior”) are determined by the interaction of the
person and the environment. The formula B = f(P,E) summarizes this
assumption. B = group members’ reactions, f = functie, P= personal
characteristics, E = environmental factors.
Multi-level perspective
The individual-level and group-level researchers integrated both into one
multilevel perspective, which argues for examining processes that range along
the micro–meso–macro continuum.
Micro-level factors include the qualities, characteristics, and actions of
the individual members.
Meso-level factors are group-level qualities of the groups themselves,
such as their cohesiveness, their size, their composition, and their
structure.
Macro-level factors are the qualities and processes of the larger
collectives that enfold the groups, such as communities, organizations, or
societies.
How to come up with a good research question
1. Lecture 1: Introduction
2. Lecture 2: Methods
3. Lecture 3: Belonging, formation and cohesion
4. Lecture 4: Influence processes
5. Lecture 5: Performance: Social faciliation and loafing
6. Lecture 6: Decision making and groupthink
7. Lecture 7: Intergroup relations and conflict
8. Lecture 8: Coalitions
Book: D.R. Forsyth, Group Dynamics, 7th edition, ISBN 9781337408851
Blue = Important concept
Orange = Important study/researcher
Made by Emma van de Ven
Lecture 1: Introduction to group dynamics
,Definition of a group
Two or more people who are connected and are inter-dependent, in the sense
that their needs and goals cause them to influence each other.
Primary group: small intimate clusters of
close associates.
Social group: a formally organized group.
Membership is usually shorter and less
emotionally involved. Most of the time
they are task-oriented
Collectives: any form of association
amongst people who have a similar
behaviour at some point, people who are
waiting on a bus together.
Categories: groups of individuals who are
similar to one another in some specific way (same gender, age).
Group characteristics
Group interaction can be divided in task interaction and relationship
interaction. Task interaction means that the group is focused on a
work/project/goal and a relationship interaction is focused on emotional
and personal bonds.
Interdependency:
(a) where two or more members
can influence each other equally
(for example in a friendgroup)
(b) when a boss influences its
employees but not the other way
around
(c) when employees can influence their
boss and the other way around, even
when effects are unequally divided.
(d) one member influences
another who in its turn influences yet another member
Group unity:
▫ Cohesiveness: solidarity and unity of a group. It concerns the
power of the bond between members of the group. Group cohesion
is the solidarity, integrity and unity of the 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.
▫ Entitativity: the perceived cohesiveness of a group, so a construct
that reflects the extent to which people view a collection of
individuals as cohesive and unified.
Group origin:
▫ Planned: deliberately formed by the members or an external
authority. There are clear boundarys (it is clear who belongs to the
group), it is organized, task-focused and formal. For example a
soccer team.
▫ Emergent: this type of group comes into existence spontaneously,
for example people who are all rollskating at the same place. It is
not organized, it is not clear who is part of the group and who is not.
Structure: Group structure consists out of the group roles, norms and
intermember relations. Roles specify the general behaviors expected of
, people who occupy different positions within the group. Examples are the
roles of the leaders and the followers. Norms are consensual standards
describing various appropriate and inappropriate behaviours in a given
context.
Goals: Humans seem to be genetically ready to set goals for themselves.
There are many different goals that can be set and there are a variety of
studies which tried to classify these goals.
o Laughlin, 1980: intellectual and judgmental tasks
o Hackman & Morris, 1975: production, discussion, and problem-
solving goals
o McGrath, 1984:
▫ 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).
Dynamic Group Processes
Group dynamics are the influential interpersonal
processes that occur in and between groups over time.
These processes not only determine how members
relate to and engage with one another, but they also
determine the group’s inherent nature and trajectory:
the actions the group takes, how it responds to its
environment, and what it achieves.
Tuckman’s (1965) theory of group development
assumes that over time most groups move through five
stages:
Why study groups?
Individuals are commonly members of groups rather
than isolated from them, so to understand people one
must understand groups.
Groups alter their members’ attitudes, values, and
perceptions. Triplett’s (1898) study of group
performance demonstrated the impact of one person on another, but some
groups (primary groups, cults, etc.) influence members in substantial and
enduring ways.
A review of 25,000 studies indicated that hypotheses about groups yielded
clearer findings than studies of other social psychological topics.
, Lecture 2 Methods
The scientific study of groups
Group processes shaped the field’s paradigm, scientists’ shared
assumptions about the phenomena they study; also, a set of research
procedures.
Early sociologists such as Durkheim (1897) viewed groups as entities with
unique characteristics which are not just the sum of individual
characteristics. Psychologists such as Allport (1924) did not agree and
claimed that group behavior could only be understood by analyzing
individual actions.
Group fallacy: Explaining social phenomena in terms of the group as a
whole instead of basing the explanation on the individual-level processes
within the group; ascribing psychological qualities, such as will,
intentionality, and mind, to a group rather than to the individuals within
the group.
Group mind (or collective consciousness): A hypothetical unifying mental
force linking group members together; the fusion of individual
consciousness or mind into a transcendent consciousness.
The discussion between individual-level and group-level approached went
on and Lewin (1951) came with a field theory premised on the principle of
interactionism, which assumes that the actions, processes, and responses
of people in groups (“behavior”) are determined by the interaction of the
person and the environment. The formula B = f(P,E) summarizes this
assumption. B = group members’ reactions, f = functie, P= personal
characteristics, E = environmental factors.
Multi-level perspective
The individual-level and group-level researchers integrated both into one
multilevel perspective, which argues for examining processes that range along
the micro–meso–macro continuum.
Micro-level factors include the qualities, characteristics, and actions of
the individual members.
Meso-level factors are group-level qualities of the groups themselves,
such as their cohesiveness, their size, their composition, and their
structure.
Macro-level factors are the qualities and processes of the larger
collectives that enfold the groups, such as communities, organizations, or
societies.
How to come up with a good research question
