You Can Go Home Again

Abstract

Much of the research on group behavior, especially that involving social cognition, has been conducted outside the group setting and devoid of social interaction. Some of the reasons for this include the view that group factors (especially developmentalfactors) are unimportant, the difficulty of conducting group-based research, and the lack of compatible group theories to guide the research. This is an unfortunate oversight because the practice fails to include many group variables that are important to the behaviors under study, and the research fails to contribute to our understanding of group dynamics. One of the variables overlooked when research is removedfrom the group setting is influence of group development. A model of group development is presented suggesting that development occurs through the cyclical stages of Discontent, Precipitating Incident, Identification, Group Productivity, Individuation, and Decay. The model offers specific hypotheses abouta host of social behaviors and cognitions. Some of these predictions are identified, and a research program testing these predictions is briefly reviewed. It is argued that these developmentalfactors are important for understanding and predicting group behaviors and cognitions about groups. Methodology for conducting group research is discussed, and a call for more descriptive research is made. Overall, it is argued that the most productive approach to studying groups is a balanced one that includes efforts to examine behaviors both within and outside the group setting, and uses both analytical methodologies as well as descriptive methods.