Group dynamics
The term group dynamics implies that individual behaviours may differ depending on individuals' current or prospective connections to a sociological group. Urges to belong or to identify may make for distinctly different attitudes (recognised or unrecognised), and the influence of a group may rapidly become strong, influencing or overwhelming individual proclivities and actions. The group dynamics may also include changes in behaviour of a person when he is represented before a group, the behavioural pattern of a person vis-a-vis group.
Group dynamics form a basis for much group therapy. Politicians and salesmen may make practical exploitations of principles of group dynamics for their own ends.
Compare: crowd psychology.
A group goes through four main phases: forming (pretending to get on); storming (knowing they don't get on and being angry); norming (getting used to each other); and performing (working in a group to a common goal). It should be noted that this refers to the majority of the group, but of course individuals within a group work in different ways.
Wilfred Bion studied group dynamics from a psychoanalytic perspective. Many of his finding were reported in his published books, especially Experiences in Groups, London, Tavistock, 1961. Group-dynamic game
