Group Psychology: Definition, Functions And Main Authors
The human being is not born alone and isolated. We come into the world in a specific context, surrounded by other people who belong to our family, our society and our culture who will greatly determine how we develop, our values and our ways of thinking and acting.
We are gregarious beings, who live with other members of the same species in more or less extensive groupings. This is why it is very useful to know the mechanisms that operate within groups. These studies on groups are carried out by a part of social psychology called group psychology
Group psychology is a sub-discipline within social psychology whose main object of study is the group. This is analyzed from the perspective of the influence that the group has on individual behavior and that which the individual has when modulating the behavior of the group.
Thus, from the psychology of groups, what they are, how, when and where they are created, their configuration and the types of roles and relationships that are established between their elements or with other groups are explored.
The group as an object of study
As we have said, group psychology has the group as its object of study. But… what is a group? Although the meaning of this term may seem obvious, the truth is that when defining its object of study, group or group psychology has found it difficult to define the limits between what a group is and what it is not.
In general, we can define a group as a set of independent individuals who have a collective and shared perception of their unity and who, being aware of this, are capable of acting jointly in the environment. This link causes relationships of influence and interdependence between its various components, the group affecting the behavior of the individual and vice versa. Furthermore, the existing relationship with the group is generally observed as positive.
Main authors
Some of the most important representatives of group psychology They are Kurt Lewin and Jacob Levy Moreno The first, with his Field Theory, tried to give an explanation of the psychosocial processes that take place in groups, while the second, who was also the creator of psychodrama, gave great importance to the need to organize in groups. to respond to group needs.
Within group psychology there are numerous aspects that can be worked on, and these are what make up the functions of this branch of behavioral science. Both at a structural and functional level, The group is a complex element in which different variables participate and processes.
Some of the multiple topics in which group psychology researches and participates are the following:
1. Types of grouping
Not all groups are the same In fact, we can find a large number of typologies of them depending on the characteristics of the members or why or with what objective they are formed.
One of the most important classifications to highlight is the existence of primary groups, in which subjects interact face to face, generating a strong emotional attachment and an intimacy and identification that makes them last over time, and secondary or more directed towards a specific objective. without needing continued contact.
Also noteworthy is the existence of membership groups, of which the subject is an involuntary part due to characteristics or circumstances beyond their control or desire. On the other hand, reference groups can also be found, understood as those groups to which the individual chooses to join due to preference or coincidence in values, thoughts or beliefs.
Other typologies we can find them linked to the size small groups being those with less than twenty members and large groups being those that exceed that number, or the fact that they are formed in a planned or unforeseen manner and the type of relationship that their members maintain among themselves, as occurs with formal or informal groups.
2. Basic structure
The way in which the group is organized is a fundamental element when it comes to understand how and why it works That is why various variables are investigated from the psychology of groups, from the size of the group to the presence of leadership and influence.
3. Group functions
Knowing how groups work or how they are structured is of great interest for group psychology. However, we must not forget to analyze the reason why it is formed or what leads to it.
In this way, group psychology also aims to focus on what objectives the groups have as such or what individuals look for when it comes to being part of one, along with how individual and group goals interact. Thus, phenomena such as attraction to people, ideas or activities proposed by the group, the search for belonging to a group or the individual needs that are intended to be met by joining the group will be aspects carefully studied by this branch of psychology.
4. Power: leadership
Power relations within the group is another of the elements studied by group psychology. And the power and ability to influence others is a constant in any type of group.
The presence of a leader or a group of individuals who mark the path that the group should follow is relatively frequent, although not essential, especially the greater the number of members of the group and when there is an objective to meet. How leadership is achieved and how it is exercised are topics of great relevance in this aspect.
Within power relations, the concept of authority and obedience to it is also analyzed.
5. Influence relationships
Not always when a group is established is the presence of someone specific to determine what, how or when certain things should be done or thought about. However, the fact of belonging to a group in itself implies that there will be an interrelation of some kind between its components. This interrelation will cause one to have an effect on the other, establishing influence networks of great relevance in modifying attitudes and beliefs.
For the psychology of groups, this is an exciting field of research, in which they explore aspects such as conformity with the group, the influence that the group’s opinions have on their own and the reason for this or how some individuals and minorities are capable to change the majority perception. In the same way, the processes through which the group motivates its members are relevant.
Also decision making collective It is an aspect to take into account, depending largely on the influence and role of each member and the group as a whole. In this aspect, it has been shown that the collective tends to be more extremist than the individual, through the process of group polarization. An extreme form of this is groupthink, in which we tend to think that all the individuals who are part of the group have the same opinion and that this is the correct one, to a point that can distort reality and actively persecute dissent.
6. Effects of the group on the individual
Being part of a group has a series of clear consequences for the individual. Going through the acquisition of knowledge and the modification of attitudes and beliefs to increase or reduce through social facilitation or inhibition the performance of their activity this element must be taken into account both from the most individual psychology and from the psychology of groups.
7. Effects of the individual on the group
Just as the group has an effect on the individual, the individual has an effect on the group. We must not forget that the group It is a group made up of different subjects that are susceptible to modifications, so that the way of proceeding or thinking of one of its members can lead to an alteration of the entire system. This is visible in the aforementioned leadership, or in the increase or decrease in motivation and polarization that an individual can produce directly or indirectly.
A group does not appear spontaneously out of nowhere, nor is it a whole that remains unchanged over time. Group psychology is aware of these facts, studying the processes that lead to the formation and dissolution of groups. From affiliation and identification with the group until the presence of a decline, discontent and breakup these phases represent a field of research that can allow different techniques and strategies to be applied to specific groups.
9. Group health
The way in which the group’s components relate is fundamental for a group to remain united, or otherwise dissolve. Interpersonal attraction, goal coincidence, cohesion of the group, reciprocity and commitment are some of the elements that contribute to explaining the health of the group.
10. The roles
The role of each subject within a group is what is defined as their role. This establishes how he is expected to behave and the type of activities he will perform. The role can be self-imposed or set by the environment, being able to live in an egosyntonic or egodystonic way It participates in phenomena such as power and level of influence, the ability to follow or ignore norms and the way in which each individual relates to all members of the group and to the rest of the world.
11. Communication
The way in which the transmission of various stimuli occurs between the different components of a group can explain phenomena such as influence, satisfaction and the level of internal cohesion. Through communication the vision will be negotiated common regarding the world, the objectives and the role of each one in community. That is why studying how we communicate is an essential factor for the psychology of groups.
12. Relationships with other groups and individuals
As a general rule, a group does not remain isolated from the rest of the world. The group is located in a specific context in which you will meet other people and groups outside its components, and with which in one way or another it will interact both at the group level and at the level of each of its members.
These interactions are also a very important part of the psychology of groups, which will focus especially on the type of contact established, the creation of more or less permeable barriers between ingroup and outgroup and collaboration, competition or conflict between groups. depending on your goals are compatible.
