Group process

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Industrial & Organisational : Introduction : Personnel : Organizational psychology : Occupations: Work environment: Index : Outline

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Groups

Group dynamics

Choice shift Conformity Group cohesion Group emotion Group characteristics Group development Group decision making Group discussion Group participation Group performance Group polarization Group problem solving Group process consultation Group size Group structure Groupthink Ingroup outgroup Intergroup dynamics Peer pressure

Types of group therapy

Brainstorming Consciousness raising groups Encounter group Family Focus groups Functional groups Group counseling Group instruction Group psychotherapy Marathon group therapy Reference groups Social groups Support groups Teams T-groups

Other aspects

Group homes Social loafing

In organizational development (OD), the phrase group process refers to the behavior of people in groups, such as task groups that are trying to solve a problem or make a decision. An individual with expertise in group process, such as a trained facilitator, can assist a group toward accomplishing its objective by diagnosing how well the group is functioning as a problem solving or decision making entity and subsequently intervening to alter the group's operating behavior.

Because people gather in groups for reasons other than task accomplishment, group process occurs in other types of groups such as personal growth groups (e.g. encounter groups, study groups, prayer groups). Even in such cases, an individual with expertise in group process can be helpful in the role of facilitator.

Some dimensions of group process

Some of the aspects of group process that a process consultant would look at include:

• Patterns of communication and coordination
• Patterns of influence
• Patterns of dominance (e.g. who leads, who defers)
• Balance of task focus vs social focus
• Level of group effectiveness
• How conflict is handled

Specific processes

This list includes, but is not limited too: acceptance, behavioral rehearsal, changing member's perspectives of themselves, changing member's perspectives of the world, catharsis, extinction, role modeling, learning new coping strategies, mutual affirmation, personal goal setting, instilling hope, justification, normalization, positive reinforcement, reducing social isolation, reducing stigma, self-disclosure, sharing (or "opening up"), and showing empathy.

See also

• Collaboration
• Collaborative method
• Communication in small groups
• Group dynamics
• Group problem solving
• Team building
• Self-help groups for mental health

References

<\references>

• Team Building by William Dyer, 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall 1994.

• Process Consultation by Edgar Schein, Prentice Hall 1998.