Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION TO GROUP DYNAMICS

1 Licensed to: iChapters User Licensed to: iChapters User GROUP DYNAMICS , Fourth Edition Donelson R. Forsyth Acquisitions Editor: Michele Sordi Permissions Editor: Sarah Harkrader Assistant Editor: Jennifer Wilkinson Production Service: G&S Book Services Editorial Assistant: Jessica Kim Text Designer: John Edeen Technology Project Manager: Erik Fortier Copy Editor: Jan Six Marketing Manager: Chris Caldeira Illustrator: G&S Book Services Marketing Assistant: Nicole Morinon Compositor: G&S Book Services Advertising Project Manager: Tami Strang Cover Designer: Denise Davidson Project Manager, Editorial Production: Emily Smith Cover Image.

2 Blue and Yellow Squares . Art Director: Vernon Boes Royalty-Free/CORBIS. Print/Media Buyer: Rebecca Cross/Karen Hunt Text and Cover Printer: Phoenix Color Corp 2006 Thomson Wadsworth, a part of The Thomson Thomson Higher Education Corporation. Thomson, the Star logo, and Wadsworth are 10 Davis Drive trademarks used herein under license. Belmont, CA 94002-3098. USA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered Asia (including India). by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any Thomson Learning form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, 5 Shenton Way including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribu- #01-01 UIC Building tion, information storage and retrieval systems, or in any Singapore 068808.

3 Other manner without the written permission of the publisher. Australia/New Zealand Thomson Learning Australia Printed in the United States of America 102 Dodds Street 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 09 08 07 06 05 Southbank, Victoria 3006. Australia For more information about our products, contact us at: Thomson Learning Academic Resource Center Canada 1-800-423-0563 Thomson Nelson For permission to use material from this text or product, submit 1120 Birchmount Road a request online at Toronto, Ontario M1K 5G4. Any additional questions about permissions can be submitted by Canada email to UK /Europe/Middle East/Africa ExamView and ExamView Pro are registered trademarks Thomson Learning of FSCreations, Inc.

4 Windows is a registered trademark High Holborn House of the Microsoft Corporation used herein under license. 50 51 Bedford Road Macintosh and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks London WC1R 4LR. of Apple Computer, Inc. Used herein under license. United Kingdom Latin America 2006 Thomson Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Thomson Learning Thomson Learning WebTutorTM is a trademark of Seneca, 53. Thomson Learning, Inc. Colonia Polanco 11560 Mexico Mexico Library of Congress Control Number: 2004113632. Spain (including Portugal). Student Edition: ISBN 0-534-36822-0.

5 Thomson Paraninfo Instructor's Edition: ISBN 0-495-00813-3 Calle Magallanes, 25. 28015 Madrid, Spain International Student Edition: ISBN 0-495-00729-3. (Not for sale in the United States). Copyright 2006 Thomson Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Licensed to: iChapters User 1. INTRODUCTION TO. GROUP DYNAMICS . Chapter OVERVIEW Chapter OUTLINE. GROUP DYNAMICS are the in uential in- What Is a GROUP ? terpersonal processes that take place in De ning Groups groups. The tendency to join with others Classifying Groups in groups is perhaps the most important Describing Groups single characteristic of humans, and these FOCUS 1-1: When Does a GROUP Look Like a GROUP ?

6 Groups leave an indelible imprint on their Groups Are Dynamic members and on society. To understand people, we must understand their groups. The Nature of GROUP DYNAMICS Orienting Assumptions What is a GROUP ? FOCUS 1-2: Are Groups Good or Bad? What are some common characteristics Contemporary GROUP DYNAMICS of groups? GROUP DYNAMICS Is Dynamic What assumptions guide researchers Summary in Outline in their studies of groups and their processes? For More Information What elds and what topics are Media Resources included in the scienti c study of GROUP DYNAMICS ?

7 1. Copyright 2006 Thomson Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Licensed to: iChapters User 2 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION to GROUP DYNAMICS The lone individual the single man or woman who has no connection to other men and women is an extraordinarily rare human being. Homo sapiens is capable of surviving alone, and the recluse, ascetic, and prisoner in solitary con- nement can forge a life on their own. But few humans seek or enjoy the challenges of solitude. Most people prefer to live in groups.

8 Virtually all the ac- tivities of our lives working, learning, worshiping, relaxing, playing, and even sleeping occur in groups rather than isolated from others. Most people belong to many different groups, so the number of groups in the world probably reaches well beyond six billion. The world is literally teeming with groups. For centuries, sages and scholars have been fascinated by groups by the way they form, change over time, dissipate unexpectedly, achieve great goals, and sometimes commit great wrongs. Yet groups remain something of a mystery.

9 Unstudied at best, misunderstood at worst. Here we unravel some of their mys- teries by examining their basic nature, their processes, and their impact on their members. We begin our task by asking some questions: What is a GROUP ? What are the characteristics of groups that most interest us? What kinds of GROUP pro- cesses do we want to study? What do we mean by GROUP DYNAMICS ? What assump- tions do we embrace as we describe, analyze, and compare the various groups that populate the planet? What approach do we take to the study of groups? What Is a GROUP ?

10 Hundreds of sh swimming together are called a school. A pack of foraging ba- boons 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 . De ning Groups What would you include if you were asked to name all the groups in which you are a member? Would you list your family? Your neighborhood association? People who regularly log into a chat room on the Internet with you? Your po- litical party? The handful of fellow students who often take the same classes you do?