Lecture
Topic objective: studying small groups, relationships within groups and collectives, and identifying the features of psychological phenomena in groups.
Topic outline:
6.1 Assessing business and emotional relationships within a collective, identifying a collective's informal structure (the «Study of Interpersonal Relations» test, T. Leary; Sociometry, J. Moreno).
6.2 The psychological climate in a collective and methods for diagnosing it. Monitoring the psychological climate in a collective when implementing new or risky management decisions («Method for Assessing the Psychological Atmosphere in a Collective», F. Fiedler; «Diagnosis of the Psychological Climate in a Small Production Group», V.V. Shpalinsky, E.G. Shelest).
6.3 Group roles. Assessing the level of employee compatibility in joint activity, determining the value-orientation unity of the group (VOU, V.S. Ivashkin, V.V. Onufrieva).
6.4 Studying the features of group motivation (the «Formation of Positive Group Motivation» test, V.A. Rozanova).
6.5 Human behaviour in a group, its main tendencies and their manifestations (Q-sort: diagnosis of the main tendencies of behaviour in a real group», W. Stephenson).
6.6 Conflicts, their types and causes. Strategies of behaviour in conflict (K. Thomas's test). Ways of overcoming and resolving conflicts.
6.7 Group development and the formation of a professional team. The socio-psychological level of group development (the «Pulsar» test, G.S. Nikiforov; «Integral Self-Assessment of a Group's Level of Development as a Collective», L.G. Pochebut).
Discussion topic: What are the causes of conflicts within a collective.
The nature of interpersonal relations in any community is quite complex. They reveal both purely individual personality traits and the norms and values of society that the individual has internalised. Within the system of interpersonal relations, a person realises themselves by giving back to society what they have absorbed from it. It is precisely the individual's activity and their actions that form the most important link in the system of interpersonal relations.
A collective – is the highest form of development of a small group. But a collective does not arise suddenly. There are various forms of collective relations that pass through certain stages of development. The development of a collective proceeds through the following series of stages: nominal group, associative group, cooperative group.
Any interaction between people, even with a minimal number of them, begins with the distribution of functions. Without this, a group cannot exist as a unified whole. A group can be understood through the individual, since the human personality is the primary material from which it is formed. A.V. Petrovsky held that, when classifying groups, one should determine their degree of development by taking into account the nature of the interpersonal relations that form depending on the group's value-orientation unity (the optimal coincidence of goals linking the individual, the group, and society).
The hierarchy of real contact groups can be presented as follows:
Diffuse group - in it, relationships are mediated not by the content of the group's activity but only by likes and dislikes.
Association - a group in which relationships are mediated solely by personally significant goals.
Corporation - relationships are mediated by content of group activity that is personally significant but antisocial in its attitudes.
Collective - interactions are mediated by content of group activity that is both personally significant and socially valuable (a work team, a crew, a squad).
In them, personal, collective and social goals and values can be optimally combined.
The term «sociometry» means the measurement of interpersonal relationships within a collective. The founder of sociometry, the well-known American psychiatrist and social psychologist J. Moreno, did not name this method by chance. According to Moreno, the totality of interpersonal relations in a group constitutes that primary socio-psychological structure whose characteristics largely determine not only the group's overall characteristics but also a person's state of mind.
The introduction of this method into the research of Soviet psychologists is associated with the names of E.S. Kuzmin, Ya.L. Kolominsky, V.A. Yadov, I.P. Volkov, and others.
Alongside the official or formal structure of communication, which reflects the rational, normative, obligatory side of human relationships, every social group always has a psychological structure of an unofficial or informal kind, forming as a system of interpersonal relations, likes and dislikes. The features of such a structure largely depend on the value orientations of its participants, their perception and understanding of one another, and their mutual and self-assessments. As a rule, several informal structures arise within a group, for example, structures of mutual support, mutual influence, popularity, prestige, leadership, and so on. The informal structure depends on the group's formal structure to the extent that individuals subordinate their behaviour to the goals and objectives of joint activity and to the rules of role-based interaction.
For sociometric research it is important that any informal structure, whether we like it or not, is always projected in one way or another onto the formal structure, i.e. onto the system of business, official relations, and thereby affects the collective's cohesion and productivity. These propositions have been confirmed by experiment and practice.
There are a number of factors that determine the socio-psychological climate in a collective.
Job satisfaction. Of great importance for forming a favourable climate is how interesting, varied and creative the work is for the person, whether it matches their professional level, and whether it allows them to realise their creative potential and to grow professionally.
The attractiveness of a job is increased by satisfaction with working conditions, pay, the system of material and moral incentives, social security, the allocation of leave, the work schedule, information support, career growth prospects, the opportunity to raise one's level of professionalism, colleagues' level of competence, and the nature of business and personal relationships within the collective, both vertically and horizontally.
Group compatibility and coordination. By psychological compatibility is meant the capacity for joint activity. People who are similar to one another find it easier to establish interaction. Similarity fosters a sense of security and self-confidence and raises self-esteem. Psychological compatibility may also be based on differences in characteristics on the principle of mutual complementarity. A distinction is drawn between the phenomena of compatibility and coordination. The effect of compatibility more often arises in personal relationships, while the effect of coordination is usually the result of formal, business relations connected with the activity. Coordination is grounded in the success and effectiveness of the joint activity itself, which presupposes consistency in the work between its participants.
Cohesion of the collective. Group cohesion is manifested above all in the emotional sphere. Factors influencing group cohesion:
the group members' attitude toward the leader;
trusting, sincere relationships;
the length of time spent together;
recognition of each collective member's personal contribution.
Members of a cohesive collective, as a rule, are in no hurry to leave it, i.e. staff turnover decreases.
Nature of communications. The psychological climate in a group is based on the individual characteristics of each participant, their mutual sociability, assessments and opinions, reactions to the words and actions of others, and also the social experience of the group's members. Low communicative competence among employees leads to communication barriers, increased tension in interpersonal relations, misunderstanding, distrust, and conflicts. The ability to state one's point of view clearly and precisely, mastery of constructive criticism techniques, active-listening skills, and so on, create the conditions for satisfactory communication within an organisation.
When analysing psychological compatibility, it is important to take into account the types of communicative behaviour (V.M. Shepel's classification):
collectivists: sociable, supportive of any initiative, proactive;
individualists: inclined to solve a problem alone, drawn to personal responsibility;
attention-seekers: endowed with vanity, touchiness, and a desire (claims) to be the centre of attention while performing work;
imitators: avoiding complications, mimicking other people's manners;
passive types (conformists): weak-willed, showing no initiative and susceptible to outside influence;
isolated types: uncommunicative, having a difficult character.
Leadership style. A manager can substantially influence the nature of interpersonal relations within a work collective, the attitude toward joint activity, and satisfaction with the conditions and results of the work.
The nature of the activity performed. The monotony of the activity, its high level of responsibility, the presence of risk to the employee's health and life, its stress-inducing nature, emotional intensity, and so on — all these are factors that can indirectly have a negative effect on the SPC within a work collective.
For a group to function successfully, it is necessary that the behaviour of its actual members contribute to the achievement of the group's goals and to social interaction. This is why one of the central categories determining the nature of group dynamics is the concept of social role.
In role theory of personality there are two basic concepts used to describe a person's social behaviour. These are «social status» and «social role». The concept of social status denotes the place an individual occupies within the system of social relations. The concept of «social role» is used to denote the set of requirements placed on an individual by the group, and the social actions the individual must perform in accordance with their existing status.
A group forms its structure by assigning each of its members one of the roles. A role — is a set of behaviours and functions performed that are deemed appropriate and are enacted in a given social context.
The repertoire of group roles within a group is examined by both foreign and domestic authors.
L.G. Pochebut and V.A. Chiker note that a group's structure is a hierarchical system that forms on the basis of interpersonal relations and consists of the following status positions: leader, accepted, isolated, rejected.
Leader - the group member who holds the highest positive status: enjoys authority among the others and has influence over them, and determines the algorithm for solving the tasks facing the group.
Accepted - group members who hold an average positive status and, as a rule, support the leader in their efforts to solve a task.
Isolated - group members who hold zero status and have withdrawn from participation in group interaction. The reason for this self-withdrawal may be personal characteristics.
Rejected - group members who hold a negative status, consciously or unconsciously kept apart from participation in solving group tasks.
R. Schindler identifies the following group roles: leader; leader's supporter; expert; opposition member; scapegoat.
Other roles may also be represented in a group. Thus T.P. Galkina, drawing on the research of M. Belbin, argues that eight roles are needed to form an effective group. Among them she names the following:
Chairman – the person who directs the group and coordinates the actions of its members.
Shapers – group members distinguished by mobility and influence over the other participants in the joint activity.
Plant – oriented inward, but exerting a very great intellectual influence on the other group members. They are a source of original ideas.
Monitor-evaluators – possess an analytical rather than creative turn of mind and have the ability to spot weak points. They are less sociable and keep to themselves, but are needed because of the constant need to check the quality and effectiveness of the organisation.
Resource investigators – group members who bring new contacts into the group. Although not creative people themselves, they nonetheless carry out their activity so that other group members can make use of its results, thereby achieving an overall effective outcome.
Implementers – turn ideas into workable tasks. They are the practical organisers of all the activity. They are methodical and effective in their work. Not being leaders, they take on the bulk of the work themselves and are excellent performers.
Team workers – coordinate the actions of all participants, welding the group into a single team. They enjoy great popularity among the group's members but do not seek to compete. Within the group, such employees support others, look into every problem, and bring harmony and agreement.
Completer-finishers – monitor the performance of tasks and plans and compliance with deadlines, etc. Their persistent and systematic work is aimed at completing what has been started and contributes to the group's effectiveness.
To manage the motivation of a collective correctly, one must understand the principle of balancing individual and group motivation: as group motivation strengthens and the group (both formal and informal) becomes stronger, each employee's individual motives are partially replaced by group or organisational ones.
Most theories of work motivation belong to foreign researchers in the field of personnel management.
The «Formation of Positive Group Motivation» test by V.A. Rozanova contains 25 factors (positive and negative). These factors make it possible to assess the degree to which group motivation has been formed.
The «Q-sort» method makes it possible to identify six main tendencies of human behaviour in a real group: dependence, independence, sociability, unsociability, acceptance of «struggle», and «avoidance of struggle».
The tendency toward dependence is defined as an individual's internal drive to accept group standards and values: social and moral-ethical ones.
The tendency toward sociability indicates contactability and a striving to form emotional bonds both within one's own group and beyond it.
The tendency toward «struggle» — is an individual's active striving to participate in group life and to attain a higher status within the system of interpersonal relations; in contrast to this tendency, avoidance of «struggle» reflects a striving to withdraw from interaction, to maintain neutrality in group disputes and conflicts, and an inclination toward compromise solutions.
Conflict – is a relationship between subjects of social interaction characterised by their confrontation based on oppositely directed motives (needs, interests, goals, ideals, beliefs) or judgements (opinions, views, assessments, etc.).
Finding themselves in a conflict situation, a person chooses, often unconsciously, one of five strategies of behaviour: avoidance or withdrawal; accommodation; rivalry or competition; compromise; cooperation.
The choice is often made on the basis of past experience. To resolve a problem effectively, one must consciously choose a strategy of behaviour.
Avoidance - is behaviour in a conflict situation that manifests itself as self-withdrawal, ignoring, or effectively denying the conflict.
Accommodation - is behaviour manifested in changing one's actions and attitudes under real or imagined pressure from the opposing side, yielding to another's opinion at the expense of one's own interests.
Rivalry or competition - is distinguished by strong personal involvement in the struggle, the mobilisation of all one's potential capabilities while ignoring the opponent's interests. The basic principle of this strategy is: « For me to win, you must lose".
Compromise — is the resolution of a conflict situation through mutual concessions. Each side lowers the level of its demands. Both opponents seek a fair outcome to the conflict situation from the very start. The reasons for choosing a compromise solution are usually: a striving for at least a partial win; recognition of the values and interests of other people as well as one's own, and a desire to be objective; and, when negotiations have reached an impasse, compromise being the only way out.
Cooperation - is a strategy of behaviour in which priority is given not to resolving the specific conflict situation but to satisfying the interests of all its participants.
In Russian psychology there are several classifications of levels of group development. Thus, E.S. Kuzmin distinguishes three levels: nominal group, cooperation, collective.
N.N. Obozov divides group development into four stages: diffuse group, association, corporation, collective.
L.I. Umansky takes an even more differentiated approach to this classification and distinguishes six levels: conglomerate, nominal group, association, cooperative, autonomy, collective.
The development of a group begins at the lowest level – an amorphous formation, and ends at the highest level – a collective.
1. The scheme for analysing the causes of human behaviour (according to K. Horney) does NOT reduce to the groups:
2. Which of the following researchers formulated and developed the person-centred approach?
3. Emotional deprivation is:
4 Which of the following is meant when saying that a person is "congruent"?
5 Which of the following cannot be considered a goal of psychological counselling?
6 . Which of the following is not a principle of «counselling interaction» proposed by C. Rogers?
7 A manipulative request does not include control over...
8 A request of the type «Make him...» indicates a desire to control...
9 A request of the type «Tell him...» indicates a desire to control...
What is the hierarchy of real contact groups.
Name the factors that determine the socio-psychological climate in a collective.
Explain the concepts of «social status» and «social role».
What are the main tendencies of human behaviour in a group?
Characterise the strategies of behaviour in conflict.
What are the levels of group development.
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