Group Psychology: definition, functions and main authors.

One of the branches of psychology most closely linked to personal and social relationships.

Human beings are not born alone and isolated. We come into the world in a specific context, surrounded by other people who belong to our family, our society and our culture, which will determine to a great extent how we develop, our values and our ways of thinking and acting.

We are gregarious beings, living together with other members of the same species in more or less extensive groups. That is why it is very useful to know the mechanisms that operate within groups. Such studies on groups are carried out by a part of social psychology called group psychology. called group psychology.

A Brief Definition of Group Psychology

Group psychology is a sub-discipline within social psychology. whose main object of study is the group. This is analyzed from the perspective of the influence that the group has on individual behavior and the influence that the individual has in modulating the behavior of the group.

Thus, the psychology of groups explores what they are, how, when and where they are created, their configuration and the types of roles and relationships that are established between its elements or with other groups.

The group as an object of study

As we have said, the psychology of groups has the group as an object of study. But... what is a group? Although the meaning of this term may seem obvious, the truth is that when it comes to defining its object of study, group psychology has found it difficult to define the boundaries between what is and what is not a group.

Generally speaking, we can define a group as a set of independent individuals who have a collective and shared perception of their unity and who, being aware of this, are capable of acting jointly in their environment. This linkage influence and interdependence among its various components, affecting the between its various components, with the group affecting the behavior of the individual and vice versa. Furthermore, the existing relationship with the group is generally observed as positive.

Main authors

Some of the most important representatives of group psychology are Kurt Lewin and Jacob Levy. are Kurt Lewin and Jacob Levy Moreno. The former, with his Field Theory, tried to give an explanation of the psychosocial processes that take place in groups, while the latter, who was also the creator of psychodrama, gave great importance to the need to organize in groups in order to respond to group needs.

Themes in which we work

Within group psychology there are numerous aspects that can be worked on, and these are the ones that make up the functions of this branch of the science of behavior. Both at a structural and functional level, the group is a complex element in which different variables and processes participate. and processes.

Some of the multiple topics in which group psychology researches and participates are as follows

1. Types of grouping

Not all groups are the same. In fact, we can find a great number of typologies of them according to the characteristics of the members or why or with what objective they are formed.

One of the most important classifications to highlight is the existence of primary groups, in which the subjects interact face to face generating a strong emotional attachment and an intimacy and identification that makes them last in time, and secondary or more directed to a specific objective without needing a continuous contact.

Also noteworthy is the existence of belonging groupsThe existence of groups of belonging, of which the subject forms part involuntarily due to characteristics or circumstances beyond his control or desire, is also noteworthy. On the other hand, reference groups can also be found, understood as those groups to which the individual chooses to belong due to preference or coincidence in values, thoughts or beliefs.

Other typologies we can find them linked to the sizeThe term small groups refers to groups with fewer than twenty members and large groups with more than twenty members, or to the fact that they are formed in a planned or unplanned manner and the type of relationship that their members have with each other, as in the case of formal or informal groups.

2. Basic structure

The way the group is organized is a fundamental element in understanding how and why it functions. understanding how and why it functions. That is why group psychology investigates several variables, from the size of the group to the presence of leadership and influence.

3. Group functions

Knowing how groups function or how they are structured is of great interest to group psychology. However, we must not forget to analyze the reason why it is formed or what leads to it.

In this way, group psychology also aims to focus on what goals groups have. focus on the objectives of groups as such. or what individuals are looking for when they join a group, together with how individual and group goals interact. Thus, phenomena such as attraction to people, ideas or activities proposed by the group, the search for belonging to a group or the individual needs that are intended to be supplied by joining the group will be aspects studied in detail by this branch of psychology.

4. Power: leadership

Power relations within the group is another of the elements studied by the psychology of groups. Power and the ability to influence others is a constant in any type of group.

The presence of a leader or a group of individuals who mark the path to be followed by the group is relatively frequent, although not essential, especially the greater the number of group members and when there is an objective to be achieved. How leadership is achieved and how it is exercised are very relevant topics in this aspect.

Within the power relationships, the concept of authority and obedience to it are also analyzed.

5. Influence relations

Not always when a group is established it is necessary the presence of somebody concrete that marks what, how or when certain things must be done or thought. However, the fact of belonging to a group implies that there will be an interrelationship of some kind among its components. This interrelationship will cause one to have an effect on the other, constituting networks of influence of great relevance of great relevance in the modification of attitudes and beliefs.

For the psychology of groups this is an exciting field of research, in which aspects such as conformity with the group, the influence that the group's opinions have on one's own and the reason for this or how some individuals and minorities are able to change the majority perception are explored. Also relevant are the processes by which the group motivates its members.

Also collective decision-making collective decision making is also an aspect to be taken into account, depending to a large extent on the influence and role of each member and of the collective as a whole. In this aspect it has been shown that the collective tends to be more extremist than the individual, through the process of group polarization. An extreme form of this is groupthink, in which there is a tendency to think that all individuals in the group have the same opinion and that this is the correct way, to an extent that can lead to misrepresentation of reality and active persecution of dissent.

6. Effects of the group on the individual

Being part of a group has a number of clear consequences for the individual. These range from the acquisition of knowledge and the modification of attitudes and beliefs to increasing or decreasing through social facilitation or inhibition, the performance of his or her activity.This element has to be taken into account both from the individual psychology and from the psychology of groups.

7. Effects of the individual on the group

Just as the group has an effect on the individual, the individual has an effect on the group. We must not forget that the group is a collective made up of different subjects that are susceptible to modifications, so that the way of proceeding or thinking of one of its that are susceptible to modifications, so that the way of proceeding or thinking of one of its members can mean an alteration of the whole system. This is visible in the aforementioned leadership, or in the increase or decrease of motivation and polarization that an individual can produce directly or indirectly.

8. Life cycle of the group

A group does not appear spontaneously out of nowhere, nor is it a whole that remains immutable over time. The psychology of groups is aware of these facts, studying the processes that lead to the formation and dissolution of groups. From ascription and identification with the group to the presence of decline, dissatisfaction and rupture, these phases represent a field of study for the psychology of groups.These phases represent a field of research that can allow the application of different techniques and strategies on specific groups.

9. Group health

The way in which group members relate to each other is critical to whether a group stays together or dissolves. Interpersonal attraction, commonality of goals, group cohesion, reciprocity and commitment are some of the elements that contribute and commitment are some of the elements that contribute to explain the health of the group.

10. Roles

The role of each subject within a group is what is defined as his or her role. This establishes how he/she is expected to behave and the type of activities he/she will perform. The role can be self-imposed or set by the environment, and can be lived in an egosyntonic or egodystonic manner.. It is involved in phenomena such as power and level of influence, the ability to follow or ignore rules and the way in which each individual relates to all members of the group and to the rest of the world.

11. Communication

The way in which various stimuli are transmitted among the different components of a group can explain phenomena such as influence, satisfaction and the level of internal cohesion. Through communication, the common vision of the world common vision of the world, the objectives and the role of each one in the community. This is why studying how we communicate is an essential factor for group psychology.

12. Relationships with other groups and individuals

As a rule, a group does not remain isolated from the rest of the world. The group is situated in a certain context in which it will meet other people and groups outside its components. and groupings outside its components, and with which in one way or another it will interact both at the group level and at the level of each of its members.

These interactions are also a very important part of group psychology, which will focus especially on the type of contact established, the creation of more or less permeable barriers between ingroup and outgroup and the collaboration, competition or conflict between groups depending on whether their goals are compatible.