Psychology of group behavior in an organization. Group psychology

Sociologists believe that a social group is a type of social community of people united in the process joint activities. Each such group has its own social structure based on the following features:
status-role relations;
professional and qualification characteristics;
gender composition.

To assess the group, to predict its development, it is necessary to analyze this group from a psychological point of view.

Status-role relations. Reflect the system of relationships that develop in the group. Each person in his group occupies a certain social position: vertically - leadership and subordinates (boss and subordinates), horizontally - cooperation (employees). This position is reflected in the status of each member of the group.

The status of a person is revealed in the set of roles that he plays in a given group. A role is a socio-psychological phenomenon that is associated with the performance of a particular activity in accordance with the psychological capabilities of the individual. The role links social phenomena and psychological features person.

It is often impossible to understand why negative emotions and conflicts arise in a group. Explanations for this can be found using the diagram role behavior human, proposed by the American psychologist Allport. This "scheme" can be illustrated by the following example. A person wants to be appointed to the position of leader. The first thing to do in this case is to determine how much he meets the role expectation of the group he is going to lead. AT different groups role expectation criteria may differ: some are waiting for a democratic or even liberal leader (if they are creative or scientific groups), others are more strict, authoritarian (in production groups).

When a role is transferred to a person, the factor of his personality (individuality) becomes very important. A person must understand what the group wants from him and what demands he makes. Accordingly, he must define his functions. Without an understanding of his role and the functions corresponding to it, it is difficult for a person to cope with this role. In practice, such inconsistencies are often not paid attention to, but when a conflict arises, it turns out that the new leader did not even understand what was expected of him (with all the ensuing consequences). Some people quite consciously accept this or that role, having a clear idea of ​​what the group expects from them. However, at the same time, they determine in advance for themselves that they will not do what is expected of them, hoping for a “maybe”.

After realizing his role, a person must accept it or reject it as inappropriate for his individual mental characteristics. If a person has consciously assumed a role, then this decision, as a rule, is accompanied by a process of learning new functions, developing certain positions, a style of behavior and communication. All this requires the tension of mental and moral forces, internal restructuring, awareness of one's new position.

The system of role behavior can be divided into two stages.

The first stage is the process of entering the role, accompanied by checking and confirming a person's knowledge about himself, his psychological portrait, identifying all the pluses (and their further use in their activities) and all the minuses (and their neutralization). This verification can be carried out with the help of psychological tests.

The second stage is the performance of the role; is taken into account and analyzed from two sides: the behavior of the person performing the role, and the assessment of others. This assessment is made both by the person himself in the form of self-assessment, and by other people occupying a different status position in relation to the person being assessed.

In the system of role behavior, you can find sources of conflict in the group. They can arise at all key moments of the system of role behavior in those cases when a person:
- did not understand his role;
- did not accept it, agreeing to take a certain place in the group;
- Doesn't perform well
- does not live up to the expectations of the group.

To help a person, it is necessary to find the main source of intra-role conflict.

Professional qualification characteristics. They include education, professions, skill level of group members; affect the effectiveness of the group and the moral and psychological climate. Significant differences in vocational qualifications and educational composition workers in a group can be a source of conflict.

Gender composition of the group. Understanding the features of this component is very important for the leader from a psychological point of view. Each age period has its own psychological characteristics, which the leader must take into account.

The concept of "age" is multifaceted. There are four subspecies of it: chronological (passport), biological (functional), social (civil) and psychological. Psychological age is associated with the concept of psychological time, which is expressed in how a person evaluates his age in the inner world.

There is a certain pattern in the assessment of their age by people of different age groups. In the course of one experiment, groups of people estimated their age: the first - young people from 20 to 40 years old, the second - older people from 40 to 60 years old. It turned out that the younger a person is, the older he seems to himself, and just as in relation to himself, he overestimates the age of others. To young people at 17-18 years old, 30-year-olds seem old. A girl who is not married at 23 considers herself an old maid. After 40 years, people usually perceive themselves as younger than they are. The older they get, the younger their soul becomes, and only biological age reminds a person that he is not young. The poetess Marietta Shagi-nyan wrote about herself this way: “I was young at my eighty-five years. I was so young that I seemed to myself younger than my previous twenty years. This feature of psychological age must be taken into account by leaders (especially young ones) if they are dealing with older people in a group. Making the same demands on employees, the manager should evaluate their work in terms of the quality of its performance, but in no case should remind a person of his age (especially if this person is a woman!).

Psychological age can be accompanied by psychological crises in certain age periods. Psychological crises are "turning points", psychological breaks in a person's life associated with his age. Psychologists have established the chronology of such fractures: in childhood - 6-7 years; in adolescents - 12-14 years; in young men - 18-19 years old, 25-26 years old. Further, psychological breaks occur every decade - at 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 (after seventy - every 5 years). A person, as it were, sums up his life for 10 years and makes plans for the future. The psychological crisis in 40-year-olds is assessed as a mid-life crisis. The strength of this crisis depends on how large the discrepancy between the goals set in youth, life plans, and how they are implemented by the age of 40 is. The mid-life crisis allows each person to rethink the lived part of life and determine its perspective so as to remain active and needed by people and society.

Intragroup relationships are influenced by the characteristics of male and female psychology. Women's teams are more emotional, they often have role conflicts, sometimes of a situational nature. Male groups more rigid, rational, but at the same time inert (rigid), pragmatic; tend to business and prestigious conflicts. A favorable factor for the development of the group and a good psychological climate is the combination of men and women in the group.

In any group, regardless of the desire of its members and leadership, an internal socio-psychological structure invisible at first glance, which depends on a number of features, is formed. First of all, this structure depends on the characteristics of the psychological world of interacting people, in particular, on such components as: 1) attitude towards oneself and another person; 2) an energy charge that activates the psychological world of a person.

Each person, being in society, constantly comes into contact with other people. These people occupy a certain place in the mental world of a person, creating good or Bad mood. Psychoanalyst K. Horney came to the conclusion that people, interacting with each other, form a kind of socio-psychological field. A person in a group feels the need for a certain number of contacts. K. Horney divided these needs into three types: 1) aimed at people; 2) directed against people; 3) directed from people.

Most people have certain types of needs. Depending on this, psychological types of character also differ: by contact, aggressiveness, isolation, openness. But a person realizes these needs in specific conditions that develop in a group. In some situations, he is forced to constantly communicate and concede; in others, fight for dominance; thirdly, isolate yourself from the group.

Depending on the needs for contacts and real-life relationships with the group, a person (in case of violation of this balance) may experience elements of anxiety - fear, helplessness, hostility, a feeling of abandonment and loneliness.

K. Horney characterized three social types:
1) compliant type - directed towards people, tends to join a group, or to a more influential (strong) personality; he suppresses his aggressive tendencies; doesn't like people very much;
2) aggressive type - directed against people, looks at life as a struggle of all against all; all other people are enemies to him; considers the main goal for himself to be victory and control over others; does not trust anyone; considers sympathy and affection as weaknesses;
3) dissociated type - directed away from people; he has emotional barriers in relation to other people; close contacts cause him anxiety; tries to suppress his emotions and refrain from judging other people.

E. Berne (the founder of transactional analysis) tried to reveal the deep foundations of human interaction in his teaching. The main idea of ​​his theory is the assumption that within each person there are, as it were, several people who at one time or another control the behavior of a person. These people represent the three human ego states: "Parent" (P), "Adult" (C), "Child" (D). Any of the three ego states can permanently or temporarily (situationally) prevail in a person. Then he feels, thinks and acts within this state.

The best option is the presence in a person of all three states in equal proportions, which is rare. The presence of these three states affects the communications of people. In contacts with other people, a person usually unconsciously chooses one of three positions. When communicating, you should correctly determine the position of the partner, choose and flexibly change your own. This helps to achieve success in communications, allows you to capture the hidden meaning of what was said during the conversation and adequately respond to the situation.

The psychological climate of the team is influenced not only by its official social structure, but also by the internal socio-psychological structure, which develops regardless of the wishes of the group members and leaders and is informal. The emergence of this internal socio-psychological structure of the group can be seen in the example of the formation of a new group of people.

It all starts with the fact that people gather in a group, each of whom has individual characteristics (his own temperament and character, a certain mindset and intellect, a world of his values ​​and interests). These people get to know each other, enter into communication, and gradually interpersonal relationships arise in the group, which are built on mutual perception and understanding.

Psychologists A. Bodalev and V. Panferov, who studied the most striking external impressions that each person makes on other people when they meet, came to the conclusion that there are several of them:
1) a hairstyle that can distinguish a person from other people; change the appearance of a person beyond recognition; emphasize the natural merits of a person (or vice versa, reveal flaws);
2) eyes, which are the "mirror of the soul"; they can be kind, evil, cunning, radiant, cold, etc.; they can set another person in a certain way - trusting, wary, aggressive;
3) a smile that attracts everyone very much, and especially if it is friendly, kind (therefore, it must come from the “deep of the soul”, otherwise it will be unnatural, strained or evil). D. Carnegie in his book “How to Make Friends and Influence People” wrote that if you want people to like you, smile, learn to smile, do special exercises in front of a mirror;
4) facial expression, which is formed by facial expressions; in some people it is lively, dynamic, varied, while in others it is poor, which gives the impression of gloom, coldness, secrecy;
5) demeanor, body movement, gait, gestures, which, as a rule, are strictly individual; it is by them that you can recognize a person after a long separation, even if his appearance has changed beyond recognition;
6) the meaning and intonation of speech, which are equally significant for people. For example, the same word "hello" can be pronounced affably, respectfully, or you can say it evilly and angrily or carelessly. Intonation is powerful means of expression, it is more complex, richer and fuller than the text itself. Most sensitive people more importance is attached not to what is said, but to how it is said. If the speaker's words are text, then intonation is the subtext of speech. A person can be offended not by the text, but by the subtext of what was said. Some managers complain that subordinates take offense at them for no apparent reason: “After all, no hurtful words I didn’t say,” they complain, but they do not notice the intonation (tone) of their statements, orders, instructions. Courtesy contributes to the mutual psychological disposition. Instead of telling a person, "You have to do this," it's sometimes better to say, "I'd like you to do this"; or instead of a statement like “You won’t succeed,” it’s better to say: “Try it, maybe something will work out, although I’m not quite sure about it.” Expressions such as "thank you", "thank you", "please", "be kind", "be kind", "sorry to bother", "all the best", etc. should always be present in a person's lexicon;
7) a person’s clothing also affects the perception of him by other people, it’s not for nothing that there is a Russian saying “they meet by clothes, but see off by mind”.

Thus, if a person wants to make a good impression on other people, he must be neatly and tastefully dressed, combed; be friendly and show it in facial expression, smile, manners; think well about what to say and how to tell people what he wants to express.

Naturally, the acquaintance of people in a group does not end with external representations and impressions. Then they begin to look closely at each other, evaluate the personal qualities of each. As a rule, in these assessments, people are guided by the prevailing social stereotypes, attitudes and standards of perception, everyday ideas formed by each person, the level of his culture in general and, of course, the level of psychological culture.

An example social stereotype are people's opinion that a student is always witty, agile, businesslike, while a professor is distracted, short-sighted and not adapted to Everyday life; all the English are thin, haughty and cold-blooded, while the French are loving and careless. Stereotypes by external signs include the opinion that people with a large forehead are smart, those with a square chin are strong-willed, fat people- good-natured and sociable, and thin - angry and withdrawn.

When meeting a new person, people usually immediately attribute him to a certain stereotype and build their behavior in accordance with this.

Psychologists distinguish three types of attitudes towards the perception of another person: positive - people overestimate the positive qualities of other people, which manifests itself in unconscious gullibility towards them. Such attitudes are cleverly used by swindlers and swindlers who know how to make a favorable external impression, inspire people's trust, and then deceive them;
negative, is manifested in the fact that people perceive mainly negative qualities another person, which is expressed in suspicion, incredulity, non-perception of him;
adequate - suggests that each person has both positive and negative qualities.

The presence of attitudes underlies the typical distortions of people's ideas about another person. Examples of typical distortions named by psychologists are:
1) the "halo effect" is the influence of the general impression of a person on the perception and evaluation of the properties of his personality. For example, if a leader (a group) has an opinion about a person that he is very good, then his negative behavior, a bad deed is regarded as an accident. Or sometimes a good man"The group is reputed to be someone who knows how to make a good impression (especially on the authorities), speaks at all meetings on various occasions, tells jokes, organizes "birthdays", etc. At the same time, his concrete contribution to work that the team is doing. Conversely, if a person is considered bad, then his good deed is either not noticed, or is also regarded as an accident. This effect often makes it difficult to adequately evaluate people. Under such conditions, capable and bright individuals who can be known in the group as “nerds”, “evil”, “loners”, in this group cannot work effectively;
2) the effect of consistency is the influence of rumors about a person on a judgment about him. Usually, someone who wants to harm a person, having learned compromising details about him and not checking the information, hurries to tell the boss and his inner circle about it. Against the background of spreading rumors, it is very difficult for a person to justify himself and prove anything to the contrary;
3) “advance effect” is the attribution of non-existent positive qualities to a person. People, faced with the behavior of this person, inadequate to their idea, are disappointed, upset, say that “he did not live up to expectations”;
4) “the effect of projecting one’s own properties onto other people” is the expectation of the behavior of other people according to a model previously developed by a person. This effect is observed when people do not know how (or do not want) to take the place of another person, to accept his point of view. They begin to annoy the behavior of this person, inconsistent with their own "program".

People united in a group exert influence on each other, which has deep psychological mechanisms. These mechanisms are used to influence one person on another, on a group of people, on social communities - society as a whole, the crowd, the public, fans, etc. They have certain properties.

1. Psychological infection is the effect of multiple mutual amplification of the emotional state of people communicating with each other. Interaction at the level of "infection" occurs at an unconscious level and has a huge effect. It is especially strong in the crowd, with a large crowd of people. The effect of "infection" is especially dangerous in extreme situations, since in these conditions people can panic and become uncontrollable (for example, in a strong storm or damage to a ship at sea, when an airplane is hijacked by terrorists, etc.). The effect of "infection" is used by entertainers when they begin to "turn on the audience" with various techniques. Psychological effect have an infectious laugh or yawn. "Infection" can occur at the level of large groups(for example, a student is afraid to go to an exam and transfers his condition to other students of the group).
2. Suggestion and imitation are properties that accompany each other. Suggestion can be group or individual and occur on a conscious and unconscious level. Each person has the ability to perceive feelings, ideas, actions transmitted to him in communication, which become, as it were, his own. Imitation is a complex dynamic property that manifests itself either as a person's blind copying of someone else's behavior, gestures, intonation, or as a conscious, motivated imitation.

On the use of a combination of the properties of suggestion and imitation, the psychotherapeutic influence of people on each other, as well as group behavior, rituals, and the formation of public opinion are built.

Psychological phenomena that occur in a group have long been of interest to researchers of the human psyche. The group is a kind of amplifier of many mental processes. The influence of the group can lead both to blind obedience and degradation of the individual, and to the manifestation of the best human qualities. In the last decade, psychologists and psychotherapists have developed many methods for personality correction through the organization of psycho-correction groups.

Psychocorrectional groups are divided into four categories:
1) organizational development or problem solving groups;
2) leadership training and interpersonal skills development groups;
3) personal development groups;
4) therapeutic groups.

The models of psycho-correctional groups include:
"T-groups" are training groups, their development began with the research of K. Levin (a specialist in social psychology in the 30s of the XX century). He was deeply convinced that a person most effectively changes his views and attitudes while being in a group. The works of K. Levin are still classic in the field of group dynamics. "T-groups" contributed to the dissemination of psychological knowledge in wide circles of society.

Encounter groups are groups that emerged at the forefront of the T-group movement under the influence of K. Rogers and W. Schutz in the 60s of the 20th century. "Encounter groups" caused a lot of controversy in society, as they dealt with controversial issues (for example, such as the possibility of publicly expressing strong emotions; finding ways to quickly establish close relationships, etc.). Working in "encounter groups" helps develop people's self-awareness and communication skills.

"Gestalt groups" are groups that arose in Germany in 1926 under the leadership of the German neuropsychiatrist F. Perls. His initial practice was based on the principles of Z. Freud. In the future, his ideas about the nature of man changed under the influence of the philosophy of existentialism. Gestalt psychology uses many techniques that are aimed at helping a person become aware of those aspects of his personality that he was not aware of before.

AT recent times"Gestalt groups" are used to study group processes and group dynamics, as well as special interactions of individual group members.

Psychodrama is a group process in which dramatic improvisation serves to explore inner world person. The creation and development of psychodrama is associated with the name of J. Moreno (1892-1974), who is considered the founder of psychodrama, sociometry, and, according to some opinions, the entire group psychotherapy. Psychodrama in a group setting is aimed at creating an environment in which people could be most emotionally discharged, retrained and in a new way solve existing problems in relationships with other people, internal conflicts. For this purpose, special techniques developed by J. Moreno are used.

Body psychotherapy is based on the recognition of the existence of a close connection between mental and physiological processes, in particular, on the fact that personal characteristics are manifested in postures, gestures, and movements. An important role in body therapy is played by the idea of ​​liberation from emotions, as a result of which behavior changes. In management, bodily psychotherapy finds its application in the organization of psychological relief rooms at enterprises, booths with mannequins of managers (for release from negative emotions, etc.).

Art therapy and dance therapy are specialized methods of working in groups. The technique of art therapy is based on the fact that the inner “I” of a person is reflected in visual images every time he draws, paints a picture, sculpts, without thinking about his works (i.e., spontaneously). The materials obtained during the work with the group make it possible to identify the degree of aggressiveness and other negative feelings in people, help resolve conflicts and improve relations between the participants. Art therapy is used in the field of social rehabilitation and occupational therapy.

Dance therapy is based on the study of the relationship between mental and physiological processes and the subsequent change in these relationships through spontaneous motor activity. During the classes, the leader of the group encourages the participants to move. This leads to each of them becoming more aware of their body and their emotions, which ultimately increases the self-esteem of the group members.

Theme-centered interaction (TCI) is a fairly new method of group psychotherapy. A specific feature of this method is that in the group there is a concentration of attention on a certain chosen topic. Group members, focusing their attention on a specific topic, enter into interpersonal interactions, during which the philosophical meaning of the topic under discussion is gradually refined. The TVC method is used in management when discussing the most different topics and solving various group problems.

Transactional Analysis (TA) was founded by San Francisco psychiatrist E. Burn. The basic concepts of this method were developed by him in the 50s. E. Bern considered the behavior and feelings of people as derivatives of three separate "states of the ego": Child, Adult, Parent. These states formed the basis of the structural analysis of personality and became constituent parts(blocks) of transactional analysis. TA gained popularity thanks to such a book as "Games People Play" (E. Berne, 1964) and a number of other publications dedicated to TA.

Work in TA groups has an educational and cognitive orientation, reveals the problems that exist in the relationship between people.

Skill training groups refer to the behavioral direction in psychology, which is accompanied by an emphasis on observable manifestations of behavior and the rejection of the study of emotions. The approach to working with "skills training" groups is based on a training model, goal setting, measurement and evaluation of behavior. An example of "skill training" groups would be "self-confidence training" groups. The forms of work used in these groups encourage participants to acquire the skills of more confident behavior of group members, which leads to the development of a sense of personal responsibility and the enrichment of the behavioral repertoire. In "skills training" groups, they also teach the ability to plan a career and make decisions, develop the ability to cope with anxiety, improve communication skills, and parenting skills. Skill training groups are gaining popularity these days.

3. Competition is a property of people to compare themselves with other people, their desire to “not lose face”, “to be no worse than others”, etc. Competition requires mental, emotional, physical strength. Competition can be considered a positive property in a group if it is a stimulus for the development of its members and the group as a whole, and negative if it turns into rivalry: for men, for example, in business or physical strength (“who is cooler”), for women - in personal (“who looks better”, “who is better dressed”, “who is more popular with men”, etc.). Rivalry in a group can lead to manifestations of envy, anger in people and, as a result, to attempts to morally (or even physically) eliminate rivals, causing damage to them in various ways.

4. Persuasion is the level of interaction between people based on reasoned, conscious, verbal proof of their ideas, opinions, and actions. A belief is valid only when it is based not only on words alone, but also on deeds, emotions, the effects of contagion, suggestion and imitation. Managers who skillfully use a full set of skills when communicating with people psychological mechanisms achieve great success in their activities.
5. Conformism is the conscious or unconscious subordination of the individual to the influence of the group in which he is included.

There are three types of human conformity that can be figuratively called as follows:
1) "May beetle-Thumbelina". This type of conformism consists in the fact that a person ceases to trust his impressions, sincerely following and obeying the opinion of the group. So, the Maybug (a character in G.Kh. Andersen's fairy tale "Thumbelina") at first sincerely thought that Thumbelina was very beautiful, but stopped believing in it under the influence of his fellows, who assured him that she was ugly, because she did not look like a beetle;
2) "Protection" - a person in the group tries to find protection from troubles outside the group;
3) "The new dress of the king." This is the case when a person pretends to agree with the group, but in fact he simply does not want to "stand out" so as not to disturb the unanimity of the group. Conformal behavior of people is quite common in our society, which cannot be called a positive phenomenon.

Interpersonal relationships in a group are very important for the interaction of group members of the same status, as well as the leader and subordinates. Mutual understanding plays an important role in interpersonal relationships. The level of understanding of a person, the individuality of another, a person can be different depending on the depth of penetration into its essence. The first (lower) level of understanding corresponds to the external perception of another person's act without penetrating into his personal characteristics, motives and goals, that is, an assessment based on the principle of "good or bad." The second (middle) level of understanding corresponds to the analysis of individual qualities of a person, that is, his mind, temperament, character traits. The average level of understanding is assessed mainly either by intellectual characteristics (smart, stupid) or by character (hard or soft, quick-tempered or balanced, etc.). The third (high) level of human understanding includes the identification of a system of goals and motives for behavior; highlighting the links between individual actions and the personality as a whole; the ability to penetrate into the hidden reserves and abilities of a person; predicting a person's behavior based on an understanding of his individuality, that is, this is the level of a deep understanding of a person.

For the team leader, the most important is a deep understanding of subordinates, which, in turn, increases their responsibility and creative output.

TOPIC: GROUP PSYCHOLOGY.

Target:

Plan:

Text:

Role classification.

Group classification. Group structure.

Group classification.

1. Primary and secondary groups. Primary - these are contact groups in which the interaction is carried out "face to face" and its members are united by emotional closeness (family, friends). Secondary groups - characterized by the impersonal interaction of its members, which is due to official organizational relations. Members of such a group are united in order to obtain any economic, political or other benefits (trade union, political party).

2. Formal and informal. This division is based on the nature of the structure of the group. Structure refers to the relatively constant combination of interpersonal relationships that exists within it. A formal group is characterized by the provision of certain official tasks. The connections that make up the formal structure are impersonal. The informal structure is determined by internal factors and is a consequence of the personal desire of individuals for certain contacts and is more flexible than the formal one.

Group classification:

1. By size:

1) large

3) microgroups (dyads, triads)

2. By public status:

1) formal

2) informal

3. By the immediacy of relationships:

1) real (contact)

2) conditional

4. By level of development:

1) low level of development (associations, diffuse groups, corporations)

2) high level of development (team)

5. By importance:

1) reference

2) membership groups

Group functions.

1. Socialization - in a group, an individual masters a number of necessary social skills and abilities.

2. Instrumental - implementation in a group of joint activities that are not possible alone.

3. Expressive - meeting people's needs for approval, respect, trust, getting satisfaction from communicating with psychologically close people.

4. Supportive - in difficult situations, people seek to unite in order to receive psychological support.

One of the important factors that determine the properties of a group is its size and number. The group begins with a dyad (connection of two persons). A dyad is a specific human formation: interpersonal ties are very strong and belonging to a dyad causes more a high degree the satisfaction of its members; although the dyad is characterized by particular fragility, because any other group can exist if it loses one of its members, which cannot be said about the dyad. A group of three is called a triad. The triad is also characterized by specificity, tk. each of its members can act in two directions: contribute to the strengthening of this group or seek to disunite it.

A small group is a group that consists of a small number of individuals (from 2 to 10) with a common goal and differentiated role responsibilities. This goal stems from the common interests of group members who show satisfaction with their interaction, which is carried out on the basis of relatively frequent direct contacts (face to face).

A group of 30-40 people or more is a large group. It is characterized by the inconsistency of informal contacts, and several informal subgroups may arise within such a group.

Factors affecting group structure.

1. Goals of the group

2. Degree of group autonomy

3. Socio-demographic, social and psychological characteristics of group members

4. Size

Types and structure small group.

informal small group

By the time of existence, temporary groups are distinguished, within which the association of individuals is limited in time (participants in a group discussion or neighbors in a train compartment), and stable, the relative constancy of whose existence is determined by their purpose and long-term goals of functioning (family, labor and educational groups).

Depending on the degree of arbitrariness of an individual's decision to enter a particular group, participate in its life and leave it, groups are divided into open and closed.

From a practical point of view, of particular interest are groups of socio-psychological training and psychocorrection - temporary groups specially created to form skills for effective communication, mutual understanding and solving psychological problems under the guidance of a psychologist-trainer (Rudestam K., 1997).

A systematic approach to the study of the psychology of small groups and teams involves an analysis of the diversity of connections and relationships in small groups, which should be considered both as subjects of joint activity and as subjects of communication and interpersonal relations (“Joint activity”, 1988).

The structure of a small group is a set of connections that develop in it between individuals. Since the main areas of activity of individuals in a small group are joint activities and communication, in the study of small groups, the structure of connections and relations generated by joint activities (functional, organizational, economic, managerial) and the structure of connections generated by communication and psychological relations (communicative structure) are most often distinguished. , the structure of emotional relations, role and informal status structure).

In the study of formal groups and organizations, following E. Mayo, it is customary to single out formal and informal structure groups. To study the informal structure of a small group, the sociometry method proposed by D. Moreno is most often used.

The main characteristics of informal the structures of a small group, identified using sociometry, are:

· sociometric status of group members, i.e. the position they occupy in the system of interpersonal preferences and deviations;

Characteristics of mutual preferences and deviations;

the presence of microgroups whose members are connected by relations of mutual preferences, and the nature of the relationship between them;

Relative number of mutual preferences (the so-called sociometric cohesion of the group).

Communicative structure of a small group is a set of relationships between individuals. In this structure, of particular importance are:

the position that individuals occupy in the communication system (access to receiving and transmitting information circulating in the group, the amount of information important for the life of the group);

the direction and intensity of communication in the group.

In groups with centralized communicative structures, communications are carried out through one individual who occupies a central position. This helps to increase the controllability of the group and more quick solution simple tasks. In groups with decentralized communication structures, the opportunities for individuals to participate in communications are distributed more evenly.

Role structure of the small group is a set of relationships between individuals. In this structure, the distribution of group roles is of particular importance, i.e. typical behaviors prescribed, expected and implemented by participants in the group process. Thus, when analyzing group problem solving, the roles of “generator of ideas”, “critic”, “motivator”, etc. are distinguished. When analyzing the activities of psycho-correctional groups, the roles of a “unifier”, “scapegoat”, “sectarian”, etc. are singled out. In the most general view when analyzing the process of interaction in a group, the roles associated with solving problems and the roles associated with providing support to other members of the group are distinguished. An analysis of the role structure of a small group makes it possible to determine which role functions and to what extent are implemented by the participants in group interaction.

Structure of social power and influence in a small group is a set of connections between individuals, characterized by the direction and intensity of their mutual influence. Depending on the method of implementation of influence, there are different types social power: reward, coercion, legitimate, expert and referent (D. French, B. Raven). The main characteristics of the structure of social power and influence are the systems of connections that underlie the leadership of a group as an officially fixed social influence (if we are talking about a formally organized group) and as an unofficial (informal) influence, which is based on the phenomenon of leadership.

Roles related to problem solving and support within the group:

Small Group Leadership

Small Group Leadership- this is the phenomenon of the impact or influence of an individual on the opinions, assessments, attitudes and behavior of the group as a whole or its individual members. Main signs of leadership are:

higher activity and initiative of the individual in solving joint tasks by a group;

Greater awareness of the problem being solved, the members of the group and the situation as a whole;

more pronounced ability to influence other members of the group;

Greater compliance of behavior with social attitudes, values ​​and norms adopted in this group;

Greater expressiveness of personal qualities, reference for this group.

Main leader functions- organization joint life in its various spheres, the development and maintenance of group norms, the external representation of the group in relations with other groups, the acceptance of responsibility for the results of group activities, the establishment and maintenance of favorable socio-psychological relations in the group.

In accordance with the allocation of two main spheres of life of a small group - business, associated with the implementation of joint activities and solving group problems, and emotional, associated with the process of communication and development of psychological relations between group members, there are two main types of leadership - leadership in the business sphere ( "instrumental leadership") and leadership in the emotional sphere ("expressive leadership"). These two types of leadership can be personified in one person, but more often they are distributed among different members of the group. Depending on the severity of the focus on a particular area of ​​the group's life, we can distinguish types of leaders focused on:

to solve group problems;

on communication and relationships in the group;

universal leaders.

Within each of the spheres of group life, more differentiated types of leaders can be distinguished: leader-organizer, leader-specialist, leader-motivator, leader-generator of emotional mood, etc.

The phenomenon of leadership is determined by the interaction of a number of variables, the main of which are psychological characteristics the personality of the leader himself, the socio-psychological characteristics of the members of the small group, the nature of the tasks being solved, and the peculiarities of the situation in which the group finds itself.

Currently, there are serious objections to the existence of a universal set of psychological qualities that make a person a leader. In particular, R. Stogdill, after conducting a comprehensive review of research in the field of leadership, notes that the study personal qualities leaders gives conflicting results. Among the most frequently mentioned personal qualities of effective leaders by researchers are: intelligence, desire for knowledge, dominance, self-confidence, emotional balance, resistance to stress, creativity, desire for achievement, enterprise, reliability, responsibility, independence, sociability.

However, studies show that the relationship between the degree of manifestation of individual qualities and the effectiveness of leadership is ambiguous, in different situations Effective leaders exhibit different qualities. R. Stogdill concluded that there is no such set of personal qualities that all effective leaders have, and that the structure of the leader's personal qualities should be correlated with the personal qualities of the group members, the content of group activities and the specific tasks to be solved.

Representatives of the behavioral approach to the study of leadership believe that a leader becomes a person who has the desired form of behavior. As part of this approach, numerous studies of leadership styles have been carried out and their classifications have been developed.

The most famous are the classifications of leadership styles by K. Lewin, who described the autocratic, democratic and liberal leadership styles, and R. Likert, who singled out the task-oriented leadership style and the person-oriented leadership style. The results of empirical studies indicate the absence of an unambiguous relationship between the characteristics of leadership style and its effectiveness.

Supporters of the situational approach (F. Fiedler, T. Mitchell, R. House, P. Hersey, C. Blanchard) came to the conclusion that the effectiveness of leadership is determined by the correspondence between the qualities of a leader and the characteristics of his behavior in a situation (by the nature of the task being solved, the degree of favorable relations leader with members of the group, the amount of real power that the leader has in the group, etc.). F. Fiedler discovered an interesting pattern: a task-oriented leadership style is more often effective in the most and least favorable situations, and a person-oriented style is more effective in moderately favorable conditions.

The small group development model proposed by B. Takmen is based on the identification of two main areas of group life: business, associated with the solution of a group problem, and interpersonal, associated with the development of a group structure.

1) orientation in the task and the search for the optimal way to solve it;

2) emotional reactions to the requirements of the task, opposition of the members of the group to the requirements imposed on them in connection with the solution of the task and contrary to their own intentions;

3) open exchange of information in order to achieve a deeper understanding of each other's intentions and search for alternatives;

TOPIC: GROUP PSYCHOLOGY.

Target: form a basic understanding of small and large social groups ah, the processes of intergroup and intragroup interaction.

Plan:

1. Psychology of groups. The concept of a group.

2. Classification of groups. Group structure.

3. Types and structure of a small group.

4. Psychology of large social groups.

5. Psychology of intra- and intergroup conflicts.

Text:

Psychology of groups. The concept of a group

In all definitions of personality, its belonging to society, its inclusion in one or another system of social relations is emphasized. Any person is subject to the influence of society at the macro and micro levels. The macro level is a broad social environment, up to the level of the entire world public system. The micro level is the immediate environment of the individual - family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc.

As a member of a group, a person performs one or another social role, which is interpreted as a normative system of actions expected from an individual in accordance with his social position, i.e. role due specific place of a person in the structure of social ties and does not depend on his individual psychological properties.

Role classification.

1. Assigned (due to the differentiation of people by gender - gender roles).

2. Achieved (performed in a particular professional area).

3. Specific (relationships based on specific clearly defined goals).

4. Diffuse (does not have a special special focus).

So, a group is a set of individuals interacting with each other to achieve common goals and realizing their belonging to this set.

Cheat sheet on social psychology Cheldyshova Nadezhda Borisovna

42. Small group structure

42. Small group structure

Under the structure of the group is understood the totality of connections that develop in it between individuals.

In social psychology, there are various approaches to understanding the structure of a small group.

Sociometric structure of a small group - it is a set of connections and relationships between its members, based on mutual preferences and rejections, known from the results of a sociometric test D. Moreno. The sociometric structure of the group is based on emotional relationships of likes and dislikes, phenomena of interpersonal attractiveness and popularity.

The main characteristics of the sociometric structure of a small group:

1) characteristics of the sociometric status of group members - the position they occupy in the system of interpersonal choices and rejections;

2) characteristics of mutual, emotional preferences and rejections of group members;

3) the presence of microgroups whose members are connected by relations of mutual elections, and the nature of the relationship between them;

4) sociometric cohesion of the group - the ratio of the number of mutual choices and rejections to the number of the maximum possible.

The structure of interpersonal choices and rejections in a group, represented graphically, is called group sociogram.

The communicative structure of a small group - it is a set of connections between its members, in the systems of information flows circulating in the group.

The main characteristics of the communicative structure of the group:

1) the position occupied by group members in the communication system (access to receiving and transmitting information);

2) the frequency and stability of communication links in the group;

3) the type of communication links between group members:

a) centralized - all communications are carried out through one subject, who plays a key role in organizing the exchange of information and interaction (frontal, radial, hierarchical);

b) decentralized - they are distinguished by the communicative equality of all participants (circular, chain, full).

The role structure of the small group - it is a set of connections and relations between individuals, depending on the distribution of group roles between them.

When analyzing the process of interaction in a group, the following are distinguished:

1) roles associated with problem solving:

a) initiator - offers new ideas and approaches to the problems and goals of the group;

b) developer - is engaged in the development of ideas and proposals;

c) coordinator - coordinates the activities of the group members;

d) controller - controls the direction of the group to the goals;

e) evaluator - evaluates the work of the group according to existing standards for the implementation of the task;

f) driver - stimulates the group;

2) roles related to providing support to other members of the group:

a) inspirer - supports the initiatives of others;

b) harmonizer - serves as a mediator and peacemaker in conflict situations;

c) dispatcher - promotes and regulates communication processes;

d) normalizer - normalizes the processes occurring in the group;

e) follower - passively follows the group.

An analysis of the role structure of a small group shows what roles each of the participants in group interaction performs.

The structure of social power and influence in a small group is a set of connections between individuals, which is based on the direction and intensity of their mutual influence.

The components of the structure of social power:

1) the roles of those in power - are expressed in directive influence on the status and behavior of subordinates;

2) the roles of subordinates - are expressed in obedience and depend on the roles of those in power.

The main characteristic of the structure of social power and influence formal group is the formally fixed system of connections that underlies the leadership of the group, the informal group is the phenomenon of leadership.