DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCE IN SMALL GROUPS

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Psychological Bulletin1965, Vol. 63, No. 6, 384-399DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCE IN SMALL GROUPS1BRUCE W. TUCKMANNaval Medical Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland50 articles dealing with stages of group development over time are separated bygroup setting, as follows: therapy-group studies, T-group studies, and natural-and laboratory-group studies. The stages identified in these articles are separatedinto those descriptive of social or interpersonal group activities and thosedescriptive of group-task activities. Finally, 4 general stages of developmentare proposed, and the review consists of fitting the stages identified in theliterature to those proposed. In the social realm, these stages in the develop-mental SEQUENCE are testing-dependence, conflict, cohesion, and functional the task realm, they are orientation, emotionality, relevant opinion exchange,and the emergence of solutions.

flict. Group members become hostile toward one another and toward a therapist or trainer as a means of expressing their individuality and resisting the formation of group structure. Interaction is uneven and "infighting" is com-mon. The lack of unity is an outstanding fea-ture of this phase. There are characteristic

  Flict