THEORIES OF SOCIAL GROUP WORK

Gangadhar B. Sonar1
Introduction:

Social Group work has been a part of social work curriculum since

the beginning of social work education in India. In UGC model curriculum

for social work education, a paper on social group work is prioritised as a

hardcore component. Being one of the primary methods of social work

and deals directly with the second basic component of society (group),

has got relevance in social work practice on par with other methods of

social work. In practice, however the social workers have not made full

use of the potentials of the method. Social work has not been able to

demonstrate either then or now the potential of group work practice in

India (Stroup, 2008). Until, SHG interventions, its potential in development

process, the art of using the group for designing helping interventions is

not seen in the process of development.

Social group work is a process and method through

which individuals in groups in social agency settings are helped by a

worker to relate them to other people and to experience growth

opportunities in accordance with their needs and capacities (Siddiqui,

2008; Charles, 1995, Goldman and Milan, 1977)). In social group work,

the group itself is utilized by the individual with the help of the worker, as

a primary means of personality growth, change and development. The

worker is interested in helping to bring about individual growth and

desirable social change for the group as a whole over guided group

interaction (Stroup, 2008).

Theories of Social Group Work:

1
Assistant Professor, DOS in Social Work, Rani Channamma University P.G.Centre, Torvi,
Bijapur, E-mail: gangadharmsw@yahoo.co.in
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 As and how the experiments by the professional social workers on

working with the groups are made, and the evidence based research is

taken up by the social work researchers, some of the theories are

developed in order to work with the groups systematically and

scientifically.

It is to be noted that, majority of the theories are evolved in the

western context. The indigenous knowledge on the theories of working

with groups has been a dearth as on today in Indian context. To address

the emerging complex issues of groups, a tested body of knowledge is

essential to work with groups successfully and thereby attain

development. To what extent the western theories are adoptable into

Indian society is a matter of research. What modifications are required to

the given framework of assumptions in order to understand the dynamics

of group and attain development is the responsibility of social work

fraternity today.

Four Motors Theory of Andrew Van de Ven and Marshall Scott

Poole:

The four "motors" theory viz., Life Cycle, Teleological, Dialectical,

Evolutionary are evolved to bring a desirable change in the group. (a) The

Life cycle theory describes the process of change as the unfolding of a

prescribed and linear sequence of stages following a program that is

prefigured at the beginning of the cycle (decided within the group or

imposed on it). (b) The Teleological theory describes change as a

purposeful movement toward one or more goals, with adjustments based

on feedback from the environment. (c) The Dialectical theory describes

the change as emerging from conflict between opposing entities and

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eventual synthesis leading to the next cycle of conflict. (d) The

Evolutionary theory describes change as emerging from a repeated cycle

of variation, selection and retention and generally apply to change in a

population rather than change within an entity over time (Colman, 2001).

Three Linear Phases of Schutz:

The three stages in group development suggested by Schutz are the

Inclusion Phase, the Control Phase, and the Affection Stage.

The Inclusion Phase:

This refers to the desire of participants to connect to and associate

with other people to want interaction and relationship. This is a period

when group members are becoming familiar with each other, though they

have not yet formed close ties. There may be restlessness, tension and

mobility. Members are evaluating and probing each other for mutual or

complementary interests, exploring possibilities and beginning some

preliminary pairing. The central issue for members at this stage is to

belong to the group or not.

The Control Phase:

Next, control issues become prominent. Control behaviour is the

independent and assertive activity of group members in the areas of

power, authority, status, influence, decision-making and communications.

At this stage, the group starts to differentiate and develop a social

structure. People assume or are ascribed roles and functions, positions

and ranks. Cliques form and alliances are made as members jockey for

status and power. Group members often compete against any formal

authority vested in the group leader. The discomfort of creating and

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adjusting to a new social structure can manifest itself in a variety of

behaviours such as: hostility, scapegoating, withdrawal, sub-grouping,

power struggles and deviance which take members away from each other

and pit them against each other. A previously docile group or compliant

group can suddenly erupt into conflict, bickering and apparent mutiny!

While groups can get stuck in this phase, the turmoil can bring with it

much potential for reconstituting the group relationships on a higher level

of involvement.

The Affection Stage:

This stage is about building emotional ties and deciding on the

degree of intimacy to be developed with the other group members. In this

phase, the group assumes an importance for members. There is a sense

of identity and pulling together. Participation and involvement increase.

Members are more sensitive to each other. The interpersonal relationships

stabilize and it is possible to observe the heightened emotional feeling

between pairs of members, triads, and sub-groups.

Tuckman's linear model:

According to Tuckman a group passes through the first stage on to

the second and so on until reaching the final stage as an effectively

performing group. This approach was to bring together numerous studies

by other researchers. He came up with 4 stages of group development;

Forming:

Exploring what the group will be like, finding the basis of forming

relationships with others. Finding out who they are, acceptance of

whoever is in the formal leadership role. Tuckman sees orientation, testing

and the establishment of dependency relationships by group members as

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the chief characteristic of this phase. Group members learn about each

other and the task at hand. Indicators of this stage might include: Unclear

objectives, uninvolvement, uncommitted members, confusion, low

morale, hidden feelings, poor listening, etc.

Storming:

Conflicts break out as subgroups emerge, differences are

confronted, and control becomes an open issue and is resisted, regardless

of its source including a formal leader. As group members continue to

work, they will engage each other in arguments about the structure of the

group which often are significantly emotional and illustrate a struggle for

status in the group. These activities mark the storming phase: Lack of

cohesion, subjectivity, hidden agendas, conflicts, confrontation, volatility,

resentment, anger, inconsistency, and failure.

Norming:

Rules start to emerge about acceptable ways of behaving and of

carrying out the task of the group; these rules are allied in working with

conflicts and a spirit of cooperation develops. Intimate, personal opinions

are expressed group members establish implicit or explicit rules about

how they will achieve their goal. They address the types of

communication that will or will not help with the task. Indicators include:

questioning performance, reviewing/clarify objective, changing/confirming

roles, opening risky issues, assertiveness, listening, testing new ground,

identifying strengths and weaknesses.

Performing:

Conflicts are resolved; energy is put into task accomplishment. The

group is becoming effective. The group has evolved to the point where it

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is supportive of task performance. Roles have become flexible and

functional and group energy is channelled into the task. Members begin to

acknowledge each other's uniqueness and permit individual differences to

emerge. The standards and norms of behaviour are established. Groups

reach a conclusion and implement the solution to their issue. Indicators

include: Creativity, Initiative, Flexibility, Open relationships, Pride, Concern

for people, Learning, Confidence, High morale, Success, etc.

Adjourning:

As the group project ends, the group disbands in the adjournment

phase. This phase was added when Tuckman and Jensen's updated their

original review of the literature in 1977. Tuckman was actually quite

critical of the idea of producing a generalized theory to apply to different

types of groups in different situations. However, this model is widely

known and applied by people using groups.

Poole's Small Group Development Theory:

Marshall Scott Poole and his colleagues have found that group

development is often more complicated than the three previous models

indicate. He has argued that groups jump back and forth between three

tracks: task, topic, and relation. The three tracks can be compared to the

intertwined strands of a rope. The task track concerns the process by

which the group accomplishes its goals. The topic track concerns the

specific item the group is discussing at the time. The relation track deals

with the interpersonal relationships between the group members. At

times, the group may stop its work on the task and work instead on its

relationships. When the group reaches consensus on all three tracks at

once, it can proceed in a more unified manner as the three previous

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models illustrate. The Breakpoints occur when a group switches from one

track to another. Shifts in the conversation, adjournment, or

postponement are examples of breakpoints.

Gersick's Punctuated Equilibrium model:

Gersick's study of naturally occurring groups departs from the

traditionally linear models of group development. Her punctuated

equilibrium model (Gersick, 1988, 1989, 1991) suggests that groups

develop through the sudden formation, maintenance, and sudden revision

of a "framework for performance". This model describes the processes

through which such frameworks are formed and revised and predicts both

the timing of progress and when and how in their development groups are

likely, or unlikely, to be influenced by their environments. The specific

issues and activities that dominate groups' work are left unspecified in the

model, since groups' historical paths are expected to vary. Her proposed

model works in the following way.

Phase-I:

According to the model, a framework of behavioural patterns and

assumptions through which a group approaches its project emerges in its

first meeting, and the group stays with that framework through the first

half of its life. Teams may show little visible progress during this time

because members may be unable to perceive a use for the information

they are generating until they revise the initial framework.

Midpoint:

At their calendar midpoints, groups experience transitions-

paradigmatic shifts in their approaches to their work-enabling them to

capitalize on the gradual learning they have done and make significant

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advances. The transition is a powerful opportunity for a group to alter the

course of its life midstream. But the transition must be used well; for once

it is past a team is unlikely to alter its basic plans again.

Phase-2:

A second period of inertial movement, takes its direction from plans

crystallized during the transition. At completion, when a team makes a

final effort to satisfy outside expectations, it experiences the positive and

negative consequences of past choices.

Psychoanalytic Theory:

Freud conceptualised that the human mind has two broad systems.

One he described as conscious, pre-conscious and unconscious and the

other as Id, Ego and Super Ego. Freud suggested that mind was

composed of thoughts (ideas), feelings, instincts, dries, conflicts and

motives. Most of these elements were located in the unconscious or

preconscious. There is a repressed area which serves as a barrier where a

lot of disturbing material (thoughts and feelings), as unresolved conflicts,

are placed through the process of defence mechanism. Defence

mechanism or repression is a process in which unacceptable desires,

memories and thoughts are excluded from consciousness by sending the

material into the unconscious under the repressed barrier. Freud suggests

that this results as anger, hallucinations, etc.

Describing the second system, Freud explains that Id is the primitive

psychic force such as hunger, thirst, sex and self preservation, which

support other personality factors. Id governed by the pleasure principle

primarily seeks to express itself irrespective of the consequences, while

Ego acts as the rational component of the mind which controls the

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thinking of the mind. Super ego serves as the conscience by indicating

what is right and wrong socially and morally. Freud conceptualised that

people pass through six psychological development stages. During any

one of the stages conflicts may arise and if it remains unresolved the

person’s personality development will be affected. He thought that

disturbances can arise from several sources. Traumatic experiences

which a person’s ego is not able to cope with directly are repressed.

Similarly internal unconscious process could also cause disturbances.

Freud, in elaborating the group’s influence on human behaviour,

specifically mentions about the importance of group leader, and the early

life experiences of the members. The members use transference in their

interactions that occur within the group and try to recreate their conflicts

and defence mechanisms (Siddiqui, 2008:41-42).

Field Theory:

Kurt Lewin (1946) was one of the pioneers to scientifically study

group functioning. He focused on the forces that influenced the working

of groups. He and his colleagues tried to study leadership styles by

creating groups with different styles of leadership in order to see their

impact on the functioning of the group. It is commonly observed that a

leader becomes authoritarian when the members are seeking favours,

rather than questioning the decision or even discussing the issues

objectively. Lewin (1946) argued that the leadership style is a product of

leader member interaction rather than a personality trait of the leader.

Further, Lewin while developing field theory argued that a group has a life

space and it has movement. It tries to accomplish goals or group takes

and faces hurdles in its movement (locomotion). Lewin believed that

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group was an entity of apposing forces which keep the group members in

the group and move them along with achieving group goals. However,

the behaviour of individual members and the group itself should be seen

as a product of the totality of the group situation (Siddiqui, 2008:44).

Conclusion:

The paper is an attempt to draw a sketch on the theories / models

of group development practiced by the development professionals. Group

as a second integral part of any society is made with individuals and

composition of it takes the form of community. It is a bridging component

between individual and community. The specific needs and concerns of

the group irrespective of any type vary from the needs of individual and

community. Hence, to work with the groups, a specialised tested

established body of knowledge and theories are essential to deal with the

development of group. It has a bearing on attaining inclusive integrated

development.

In view of this, the academic institutions and development

professionals need to emphasise on working with groups in order to

evolve holistic indigenous theories for sustainable development of group

work initiatives in the development process of the nation. Like SHG

interventions, more innovative interventions are required specifically to

work with the weaker sections, resource poor, marginalised and excluded

groups and recognise group work practice in the process of development.

References:

Charles Tycroft (1995) A Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis: Second

Edition, Penguin
Group, England.

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Colman M Andrew (2001) Oxford Dictionary of Psychology, Oxford
University Press, New
Delhi.

Goldman G D and Milan S D (1977) Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy,

Addison-Wesley
Publishing Company, California.

Siddiqui H.Y (2008) Group Work: Theories and Practices, Rawat

Publications, Jaipur.

Stroup H H (2008) Social Work: An Introduction to the Field-Second

Edition, Surjeet
Publications, Delhi.

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