• Return to Group Dynamics resource page
   
    

Revising Group Dynamics
     Donelson R. Forsyth, University of Richmond    

    

    
	
    
		
		
			
		
		
		
			I'm working on a revision of Group Dynamics, and would appreciate receiving input on topics to update, topics to "shrink" in terms of coverage, and suggestions for changes in general.  The publisher of the book would like (a) fewer references; (b) a shorter book; and (c) updated cases.  I myself would like to see stronger coverage of the best research in the area of groups and group dynamics.  So, if you have suggestions for "must cover" topics, I would appreciate it if you would contact me by email; citations, preprints, and general suggestions would be welcomed.  

    
Email Contact

    
Some details and discussion about the revision follow:

    		
	
    

    

    
	
    
		
		

    

    Overview
    
Group Dynamics provides a general summary of research on group processes, from a social psychological perspective primarily.  A number of disciplines investigate groups, and in many cases each discipline focuses on its unique emphasis (e.g., communication, productivity, adjustment, etc.). The social psychological perspective is more general, but does tend to focus a bit more influence and relationality.  The book is what it is: A general overview of groups and group processes.  Since I'm a social psychologist, I stress influence and interpersonal processes in general, rather than productivity, communication, or mental health applications.  I also attempt to present current empirical findings relevant to groups throughout the conceptual analysis.   People in a variety of disciplines have an interest in groups, but the book's social psychological slant means that  it will not be the right book for their courses. 

    The emerging overall goal of the book is to encourage students to "see" groups and group process; to overcome their tendency to consider individuals as primary causes, and begin to consider in more detail complex interpersonal, group-level processes.   

The 4th Edition has 16 chapters:  


      
	
    1.  Introduction To Group Dynamics 
	
    2.  Studying Groups 
	
    3.  The Individual And The Group 
	
    4.  Formation 
	
    5.  Cohesion And Development 
	
    6.  Structure 
	
    7.  Influence 
	
    8.  Power 
	
    9.  Performance 
	
    10.  Decision Making 
	
    11.  Leadership 
	
    12.  Conflict 
	
    13.  Intergroup Relations 
	
    14.  Groups In Context 
	
    15.  Groups And Change 
	
    16.  Crowds And Collective Behavior 

    

The publisher solicited reviews from a number of users, and these reviews (combined with comments from other readers, including students) will serve as a guide to the revision. The basic problem with the revision is that researchers and theorists continually add new insights to our understanding of groups, so there is pressure to expand the book along nearly all fronts.  The reviews all ask for more but without suggesting what could be cut.  Each reviewer also asks for more on a particular topic, with the result that virtually every topic requires expanded coverage: from norms, to communication, to teams, to power, to social identity, and on and on. (The only exception is "the group environment": hardly anyone wants more coverage of that topic.)   But the book is already as long as it can possibly be, so I need to balance the need to expand against the need to keep the book at its current length.   Also, in many cases different reviewers ask for diametrically opposed changes. Reviewer B, for example, makes a point of the value of keeping the influence chapter separate from the power chapter. Reviewer C would  prefer to see these chapters combined.  These detailed reviewer comments, as well as other specific comments from students, can be viewed     here.

    

    Reductions in Length
    
The book is long, and expensive. Most users do not cover all 16 chapters during a full semester, and so a chapter or two could be dropped. However, there is no agreement on which chapter to drop.  Probably the chapter on the group environment is most at risk, but this chapter covers material that is essential to understanding groups.  

    
In all likely the book will be reduced in length by reducing specific sections, such as the sections on  individualism/collectivism, cohesiveness, intermember relations, social combination processes, territoriality, and sociological theories of collective behavior.  


    Errors and Inaccuracies
    

Mistakes remain in the book, even after 4 editions.  Fortunately, glaring errors (such as identifying Ringelmann as German) have been removed, but new mistakes entered in the 4th edition.  For example, the definition of group itself has substantial shortcomings: the most glaring is that it does not distinguish between a group and a set of networked individuals!  Similarly, Figure 5-4 on p. 156 was misdrawn, and so the arrows look like minus signs.  If you detect any other errors, I would certainly appreciate hearing of them.


    Cases
    

Most of the chapters have a "case" that is used to illustrate the topics in the chapter.  These cases must be real groups--no novels or fantasy groups are to be used, and they should be well documented in an external source of some kind.  People have strong feelings about what makes for a good case, and there is a general belief that "new" groups are superior to older groups. The cases follow:

      
	
    1.  Introduction:  No case
	
    2.  Methods:  No case (although I use classic studies of group dynamics-those emphasized in fact in Cartwright and Zander-as examples of types of research methods)
	
    3.  C. P. Ellis: From Klan Member to Enlightened Humanitarian
	
    4.  The Impressionists: The Group that Redefined Beauty
	
    5.  The U.S. Olympic Hockey Team: Miracle Makers
	
    6.  Andes Survivors: One Group's Triumph over Extraordinary Adversity 
	
    7.  The Corona Trial Jury: The Group as Arbiter of Justice
	
    8.  The People's Temple: The Metamorphic Effects of Power
	
    9.  The Relay Test Room: Enhancing Productivity Through Teamwork
	
    10.  The Bay of Pigs Planners: Disastrous Decisions and Groupthink
	
    11.  Carly Fiorina: Transforming Groups Through Leadership
	
    12.  Jobs Versus Sculley: When Group Members Turn Against Each Other
	
    13.  The Rattlers and the Eagles: Group Against Group
	
    14.  Apollo 13: The Group that Lost the Moon
	
    15.  The Therapy Group: Groups as Interpersonal Resources
	
    16.  The Who Concert Stampede: A Crowd Gone Mad?

    
Some of these cases must go.  I love the Impressionists as an example of an artists circle, although students tend to find this case to be uninteresting.   A number of the cases (e.g., U.S. Olympic hockey team, Andes group, Apollo 13) have excellent videos about their processes available.  

    
I need new cases for group performance and leadership, in particular.  


    Pedagogy
    
In the last edition a running glossary was added (definitions at the bottom of pages), boxes, and outline summaries.  I also tried to increase the use of figures and graphics, and reduce the use of data tables.  Suggestions on further improvements or warnings about problems would be appreciated.


    Details
    

Ideas for changes to each chapter are noted below:

    


      
	
    •  Chapter 1, Introduction to Group Dynamics, examines the nature of groups and the fueld's basic paradigm. In the 4th edition I discussed in more depth theoretical distinctions among groups (types) but it is somewhat unwieldy.  I need to simplify the various types of groups discussed, and also state more clearly the importance of specifying one's level of analysis. 
	
    •  Chapter 2, Studying Groups, describes the basic measurement methods and designs that researchers use to test their hypotheses about groups. I would like to find a single topic that I can use to illustrate the theoretical perspectives.
	
    •  Chapter 3, The Individual and the Group, examines the basic functions of social groups for individ-ual members. In the 4th edition I updated this very active area of theory and research by including additional material on ostracism and exclusion, collectivism-individualism, and social identity theory. The chapter's case considers the way C. P. Ellis's life changed as he joined new groups and left others behind.  I may revise this chapter substantially, moving the work on "need to belong" into a chapter with group attraction. 
	
    •  Chapter 4, Formation, is basically an affiliation analysis, for it stresses individual differences in tendencies to join groups, particularly introversion-extraversion and attachment approaches. The section on attraction does not quite fit in with this material.  The birth of the impressionists is an intriguing case study, at least for those who admire their work.
	
    •  Chapter 5, Cohesion and Development, provides a multilevel analysis of group cohesion and applies this concept to explaining team processes. I am seriously considering reorganizing the material on teams and group cohesion. If I can get it to work, I hope to have a single chapter on Group Attraction and Cohesion, and a separate chapter on Teams (located after the group decision making chapter).  
	
    •  Chapter 6, Structure, describes the tendency of relationships among group members to become organized and predictable. I will likely keep the analysis of roles and norms as is, but change the intermember relations section to a more generic "networks" analysis.  Group socialization processes will be discussed here, or moved to the new TEAM chapter.  I doubt that I will every change this chapters case study.
	
    •  Chapter 7, Influence, examines conformity and minority influence, augmented with material pertain-ing to personality and situational factors that affect rates of conformity, diffusion of responsibility, social pressures in computer-based groups, and jury decision making. I have never found a better document trial than the Corona trial.
	
    •  Chapter 8, Power, still uses Stanley Milgram's studies of obedience to provide the central focus for this chapter, but newer work on reactions to power, changes in powerholders, and power dynamics in bona fide groups (e.g., bullying in children's groups) is also discussed. The chapter's case study, the People's Temple, illuminates stronger forms of social influence.
	
    •  Chapter 9, Performance, reviews four basic aspects of group performance-social facilitation, social motivation (social loafing), social combination, and social creativity. I may at last remove the complex material dealing with Ivan Steiner's model of group combination.  This chapter needs a new case.
	
    •  Chapter 10, Decision Making, uses a collective information-processing model to explain how groups make decisions. Work on group memory, information sharing, and cognitive biases is added to more traditional reviews of group polarization and groupthink. I doubt that I will ever change this chapter's case, President Kennedy's Bay of Pigs planners, for it is the most studied political advisory group in history.
	
    •  Chapter 11, Leadership, uses the first woman to be hired as the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Carleton ("Carly") Fiorina, as the model of a charismatic, highly capable leader. Unfortunately, Fiorina has not yet returned to prominence after getting bumped from power at H-P.  I need a new case, but am fearful to use the most obvious one (Senator Hillary Clinton).  This chapter follows the chapters on group performance to reflect the greater emphasis on the leader's impact on productivity rather than as a source of social influence, but it might move back into the influence area to make room for a Teams Chapter.
      
    • Chapter ??, Teams, is a needed new chapter in the book.
	
    •  Chapter 12, Conflict, has moved to this location in the book to be adjacent to Chapter 13's analysis of intergroup conflict. This chapter was extensively revised in the previous edition and is fine-tuned in this revision. The Steve Jobs vs. John Sculley conflict at Apple Computer is this chapter's case.
	
    •  Chapter 13, Intergroup Relations, still uses the classic Robbers Cave Experiment to illustrate factors that influence conflict between groups.  I will continue to update this huge area of research, but will probably not change the case.  This study remains one of the most important studies in all of social science.
	
    •  Chapter 14, Groups in Context, was renamed in the last edition to illustrate the enlarged view adopted in this chapter's review of the relationship between the environment and group behavior. Many of the topics in this chapter are currently not as heavily re-searched, but this lack of recent work may be due to the fact that previous studies were of such quality that they answered many of the most basic questions about groups and their physical setting.
	
    •  Chapter 15, Groups and Change, is the mental health chapter.  Many social psychologists skip this chapter, but the book is also used in many graduate courses in applied programs.  I could use a better case for this chapter, and plan to upgrade the list of curative factoars.  
	
    •  Chapter 16, Crowds and Collective Behavior, considers larger groups and more geographically dispersed aggregates, updated to deal with studies of contagion in groups, imitation, and fast-moving social trends. The large crowd of people that panicked when entering a show by The Who remains a relevant case, for even though the band is old, such disturbances still regularly plague rock concerts. I moved this chapter to the end of the book to provide more of an endpoint for the study of groups and their dynamics.