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Group Dynamics

Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occuring within a social group (intragroup dynamics) or between social groups (intergroup dynamics). The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision-making behavior, tracking the spread of diseases in society, creating effective therapy techniques, and following the emergence and popularity of new ideas and technologies. Group dynamics are at the core of understanding racism, sexism, and other forms of social prejudice and discrimination. 

The history of group dynamics (or group processes) has a consistent, underlying premise: "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." A social group is an entity that has qualities which cannot be understood just by studying the individuals that make up the group. In 1924, Gestalt psychologist Max Wertheimer proposed, "There are entities where the behavior of the whole cannot be derived from its individual elements nor from the way these elements fit together; rather the opposite is true: the properties of any of the parts are determined by the intrinsic structural laws of the whole." (Wertheimer, 1924 p. 7). (The proposition remains questionable, since modern biologists and game theorists do look to explain the "structural laws of the whole" in terms of "the way the elements fit together.")


As a field of study, group dynamics has roots in both psychology and sociology. Wilhelm Mundt (1832-1920), credited as the father of experimental psychology, had a particular interest in the psychology of communities, which he believed possessed phenomena (human language, customs, and religion) that could not be described through a study of individual. On the sociological side, Émile Durkheim  (1858-1917), who was influenced by Wundt, also recognized collective phenomena, such as public knowledge. Other key theorists include Gustav Le Bon (1841-1931) who believed that crowds possessed "social unconscious" with primitive, aggressive, and antisocial instincts, and the psychologist William McDougall, who believed in a "group mind," which had a distinct existence born from the interaction of individuals. (The concept of a collective consciousness is not essential in group dynamics).

Eventually, the social psychologist Kurt Lewin (1890-1947) coined the term group dynamics to describe the positive and negative forces within groups of people. In 1945, he established The Group Dynamics Research Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the first institute devoted explicitly to the study of group dynamics. Throughout his career, Lewin was focused on how the study of group dynamics could be applied to real-world, social issues.

Increasingly, research has applied evolutionary psychology principles to group dynamics. As humans social environments became more complex, they acquired adaptations by way of group dynamics that enhance survival. Examples include mechanisms for dealing with status, reciprocity, identifying cheaters, ostracism, altruism, group decision, leadership, and intergroup relations. Also, a combination of evolution and game theory has been used to explain the development and maintenance of cooperative behavior among individuals in a group.

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