Introduction to GROUP DYNAMICS

At the end of the lesson the student shall:

a. Define groups
b. Understand groups
c. Classify groups
d. Describe groups

Defining GROUPS

Hundreds of fish swimming together are called a school.

A pack of foraging baboons is a troupe. A half dozen
crows on a telephone wire is a murder. A gam is a group
of whales. But what is a collection of human beings called?
A group.
- Forsyth, 2006

Group dynamics - the actions, processes, and changes that occur within groups and
between groups

Group - two or more individuals who are connected by and within social relationships
➢ Two or More Individuals
- A group can range in size from two members to thousands of
members
- Very small collectives, such as dyads (two members) and triads
(three members) are groups, but so are very large collections of
people (mobs, crowds, and congregations)
Group’s size - influences its nature in many ways, for a group with only two or three
members possesses many unique characteristics simply because it includes so few
members

Members of dyads - sometimes linked by a unique and powerful type of relationship—

love—that makes their dynamics more intense than those found in other groups

Larger groups - have unique qualities: 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
➢ Who Are Connected
 - the members of any given group are networked together like a series
of interconnected computers
-these connections, or ties, may be based on strong bonds, like the
links between the members of a family or a clique of close friends
*The links may also be relatively weak ones that are easily broken with the passage of
time or the occurrence of relationship-damaging events. Even weak ties, however, can
create robust outcomes, such as when a group member you hardly know provides you
with critical information that is common knowledge in that person’s social circles
*The larger the group, the more ties are needed to join members to each other and to
the group.
➢ By and Within Social Relationships
- a group is a collection of individuals who have relations to one
another
- a group is a social unit which consists of a number of individuals who
stand in (more or less)
Membership - the state of being a part of, or included within, a social group
Networks - a person must establish a link with a person who is already in the network.
- a set of interconnected individuals or groups; more generally, any set
of social or nonsocial objects that are linked by relational ties
Social Identity - This perception of themselves as members of the same group or social
category creates a sense of “we” and “us”, as well as a sense of “they”.
- Aspects of the self-concept that derive from relationships and
memberships in groups; in particular, those qualities that are held in
common by two or more people who recognize that they are members of
the same group or social category

Activity No. 1
Activity No. 2
DESCRIBING GROUPS
➢ Interaction - “What do people do when they are in groups?”
- Group members exchanged information with each other, through
both verbal and nonverbal communication; they got into
arguments, talked over issues, and made decisions
*Relationship interaction - pertains to the interpersonal, social side of group life
- If group members falter and need support, others will buy them up
with kind words, suggestions, and other forms of help
- When group members disagree with the others, they are often
roundly criticized and made to feel foolish
- (or socioemotional interaction)
- Actions performed by group members that relate to or influence the
emotional and interpersonal bonds within the group, including both
positive actions (social support, consideration) and negative actions
(criticism, conflict)
*Task interaction - Actions performed by group members that pertain to the group’s
projects, tasks, goals
- Includes all group behavior that is focused principally on the group’s
work, projects, plans, and goals.
- In most groups, members must coordinate their various skills, resources,
motivations so that the group can make a decision, generate a product,
or achieve a victory.
- When a jury reviews each bit of testimony, a committee argues over the
best course of action to take, or a family plans its summer vacation, the
group’s interaction is task focused

➢ Goals - the members of the group are united in their pursuit of common goals
- In groups, people solve problems, create products, develop
standards, communicate knowledge, have fun, perform arts, create
institutions, and even ensure their safety from attacks by other groups

Circumplex Model of Group Tasks

- a conceptual taxonomy developed by Joseph McGrath that orders group tasks in a

circular pattern based on two continua: cooperative–competitive and conceptual–
behavioral

 Generating: Groups that concoct the strategies they will use to accomplish
their goals (Type 1: planning tasks) or to create altogether new ideas and
approaches to their problems (Type 2: creativity tasks)
  Choosing: Groups that 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 that must resolve differences of opinion among

members regarding their goals or decisions (Type 5: cognitive conflict tasks)
or resolve competitive disputes among members (Type 6: mixed-motive
tasks)

 Executing: Groups that do things, including taking part in competitions

(Type 7: contests/ battles/competitive tasks) or working together to create
some product or carry out collective actions (Type 8:
Performances/psychomotor tasks)

➢ Interdependence - when people join groups they soon discover that they are
no longer masters of their own fate

- members depend on one another; their outcomes, actions,

thoughts, feelings, and experiences are determined in part by others
in the group

- results when the outcomes of one or more group members are

determined, in part, by other group members

Influence - sometimes mutual and reciprocal: all members influence one another

- can be unilateral, as when a leader influences others but is not influenced by

them
 - is reciprocal but unequal; a leader’s influence over followers is substantially
greater than followers’ influence on the leader

➢ Structure - group members are not connected to one another at random, but
in organized and predictable patterns

- in most ephemeral groups, patterns and regularities emerge that

determine the kinds of actions that are permitted or condemned:
who talks to whom, who likes whom and who dislikes whom, who can
be counted on to perform particular tasks, and whom others look to
for guidance and help

Group structure - the underlying pattern of roles, norms, and relations among members
that organizes groups

Roles - set of general behaviors expected of people who occupy different positions within
the
*When people join a group, they initially spend much of their time trying to come to terms
with the requirements of their role. If they cannot meet the role’s demand, they might not
remain a member for long.

Norms - consensual standards that describe what behaviors should and should not be
performed in a given context

- A consensual and often implicit standard that describes what behaviors should and
should not be performed in a given context

*Norms within a group are defined and renegotiated over time, and conflicts often
emerge as members violate norms

➢ Unity - A group, viewed holistically, is a unified whole - an entity formed when

interpersonal forces bind the members together in a single unit with boundaries
that mark who is in the group and who is outside of it

Group cohesion - quality of “groupness” or solidarity

- integrity, solidarity, and unity of a group

- The strength of the bonds linking individuals to and in the group

Entitativity - how unified the group appears to be to the perceiver; that is, perceived unity
rather than the group’s actual unity

- the extent to which an assemblage of individuals is perceived to be a group rather than

an aggregation of independent, unrelated individuals; the quality of being an entity

 Common fate: Do the individuals experience the same or interrelated

outcomes?

 Similarity: Do the individuals perform similar behaviors or resemble one

another?

 Proximity: How close together are the individuals in the aggregation?