History of Group Dynamics Class Exercise 1) List everything you do in a typical day from the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep. 3) Count on your list all of the activities you perform with groups and those you perform alone. Calculate a percentage of group activities. 2) Write at least ten different answers to the following question: Who am I? 4) Count on your list descriptions that include information about the groups you belong to (and those that don’t). Calculate a percentage. History of Group Dynamics The history of Group Dynamics (or group processes has a consistent, underlying premise: ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’. A social group is an entity, which has qualities that cannot be understood just by studying the individuals that make up the group. In general, as a field of study, this field in psychology and organizational development has roots both in psychology and sociology. Look into the table as to how this field started and flourished. TIMELINE OF GROUP DYNAMICS Early Beginnings: Late 19th Century & LeBon Study of groups began in late 1800s Roots in psychology and sociology Collective mind (LeBon) Contagion Psychological Perspective Social facilitation Triplett (1898) Noticed bicyclists performed better when riding with others Study with children performing simple task either alone or with others. Results: Children performed better when in the presence of others compared to when alone Kurt Lewin “There is no more magic behind the fact that groups have properties of their own, which are different than the properties of their subgroups or their individual members, than behind the fact that molecules have properties which are different from the properties of the atoms or ions of which they are composed.” -Lewin Groups could scientifically be studied Field theory B = f (P, E) Lifespace Research Center for Group Dynamics Adapted experimentation to the problems of group life ‘There is nothing so practical as a good theory’ Lewin: Theoretical and applied research should go hand in hand Theory Practice Rodney Dangerfield Era “I don’t get no respect.” Experimental model- trying to gain respect Study of small groups, in the lab, with undergraduates, manipulating one factor Cause-effect Research in the 60s and 70s Conformity Group polarization Helping Social facilitation Group aggression Sociological Perspective In 1950s sociologists looked at Forefathers groups as miniature social systems of sociological thought: Durkheim Cooley Mead New Measurement techniques: Sociometry Interaction Process Analysis Today’s Group Dynamics Today, research is conducted by a variety of disciplines Psychologists, communication researchers, social workers, sociologists… Today group dynamics researchers use a variety of research methods Much research focuses on real world groups Dracula Exercise This problem solving exercise will be a good introduction to group dynamics. TASKS: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Read situation sheet Individually create a plan Individually rank items from most important to least important As a group, rank items again Score your own and your groups ranking 1) 2) Use answer sheet and compute absolute values The lower the score the better! Dracula Exercise Answer the following questions. What is the group’s goal What were the patterns of communication? How did leadership emerge in the group? What determined how influential each member was? What method of decision making was used and how effective was it? Why/why didn’t members challenge each other? What conflict arose and how were they managed? What actions by the group members helped/hurt the team?