Introduction to Group Dynamics
Senior 6 · Psychology (Languages)
Introduction to Group Dynamics
Lesson 1 of 4
25 min
In 1959 Stanley Schachter invited female students at the University of Minnesota, in the United States, to a laboratory where a stern “Dr Zilstein” told them they would receive electric shocks as part of a study. One group was told the shocks would be painful; the other that they would feel like a mild tickle. While the equipment was “being prepared”, each student could choose to wait alone or with other participants.
About 63% of the frightened students chose to wait with others, compared with about 33% of the calm ones. In a follow-up, frightened students wanted to wait with others who were about to take part in the same experiment, not with students waiting for an unrelated appointment. No shocks were ever given; the waiting-room choice was the real measure. Fear, it seemed, pushed people together, and specifically towards people in the same situation.
Definition
Group: two or more people who interact, depend on one another, share at least one goal and see themselves as belonging together. Example: a school debate team.
Aggregate: people who happen to be in the same place at the same time without interacting or sharing a goal. Example: strangers waiting at a bus stop.
Group dynamics: the processes that operate within and between groups: how they form, develop, make decisions, are led, and handle conflict.
Affiliation: the desire to be with other people.
| Type | Meaning | Rwandan example |
|---|---|---|
| Primary group | Small, close, long-lasting, face-to-face; members care about each other as whole people | A family; a close circle of friends |
| Secondary group | Larger, more impersonal, formed for a purpose | A district council; a teachers’ union |
| Formal group | Set up deliberately, with official roles and rules | A school’s student council, with an elected president |
| Informal group | Forms naturally from friendship or shared interest | Friends who revise together under a tree after class |
| Task group | Exists mainly to get a job done | A committee organising a school language week |
| Socio-emotional group | Exists mainly for support and enjoyment | A church or mosque youth fellowship |
| Open group | Members join and leave freely | A public running club |
| Closed group | Fixed membership for a period | A savings group (ikimina) whose members contribute for a full cycle |
The categories overlap: a savings group can be formal, closed and task-focused, and over time also a source of friendship.
Figure 1. Factors that draw people into groups. Most groups form for several reasons at once.
| Factor | Explanation | Evidence or example |
|---|---|---|
| Proximity | People who meet often get to know and like each other. | Deskmates and neighbours often become friends. |
| Similarity | Shared attitudes, interests, background or language attract. | Newcomb (1961), below. |
| Shared goals | Some goals need several people. | A football team; a group project. |
| Belonging | Humans have a basic need for lasting, caring relationships. | Baumeister and Leary (1995) reviewed evidence that being excluded harms health and mood. |
| Security | Groups reduce fear and uncertainty. | Schachter (1959): frightened students chose to wait together. |
| Economic gain | Pooling money, land or labour gives members more than they could get alone. | Savings groups and farming cooperatives. |
American Psychological Association, Speaking of Psychology: “How the need to belong drives human behavior, with Geoffrey L. Cohen, PhD”. Listen for how a sense of belonging affects students’ effort and results at school.
Important
Evaluate the evidence. Schachter’s study used deception (the fake shocks) and only female American students, and the waiting-room choice was a single, simple measure; later research found people under stress also sometimes prefer to be alone, for example when embarrassed. Newcomb’s house study was small (17 students) and all male. Exchange theory is hard to test because almost any decision can be explained afterwards as “rewards outweighed costs”. Together, though, many kinds of evidence agree that people join groups for several overlapping reasons.
Warning
Common mistake: calling any crowd a group. People at a bus stop are an aggregate. If the bus breaks down and they start organising together to find another, they begin to become a group: they interact, depend on each other and share a goal.
Tip
Memory hook for formation factors: “People Seek Shared Belonging, Security and Earnings”: Proximity, Similarity, Shared goals, Belonging, Security, Economic gain.
Practice
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: the text, the tables, Figure 1 and the exercises. The photo is used unchanged. This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
