Development Sequence in Small Groups

Abstract

50 articles dealing with stages of group development over time are separated by group setting: therapy-group studies, T-group studies, and natural- and laboratory-group studies. The stages identified in these articles are separated into those descriptive of social or interpersonal group activities and those descriptive of group-task activities. 4 general stages of development are proposed, and the review consists of fitting the stages identified in the literature to those proposed. In the social realm, these stages in the developmental sequence are testing-dependence, conflict, cohesion, and functional roles. In the task realm, they are orientation, emotionality, relevant opinion exchange, and the emergence of solutions. There is a good fit between observed stages and the proposed model. (62 ref.)

Full text

Psychological
Bulletin
1965,
Vol.
63,
No. 6,
384-399
DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCE
IN
SMALL
GROUPS1
BRUCE
W.
TUCKMAN
Naval Medical Research
Institute,
Bethesda,
Maryland
50
articles dealing with stages
of
group development over time
are
separated
by
group setting,
as
follows:
therapy-group studies, T-group studies,
and
natural-
and
laboratory-group studies.
The
stages identified
in
these articles
are
separated
into those descriptive
of
social
or
interpersonal group activities
and
those
descriptive
of
group-task activities. Finally,
4
general stages
of
development
are
proposed,
and the
review consists
of fitting the
stages identified
in the
literature
to
those proposed.
In the
social realm, these stages
in the
develop-
mental
sequence
are
testing-dependence,
conflict,
cohesion,
and
functional roles.
In the
task
realm, they
are
orientation, emotionality, relevant opinion exchange,
and the
emergence
of
solutions. There
is a
good
fit
between observed stages
and
the
proposed model. Further study
of
temporal change
as a
dependent variable
via the
manipulation
of
specific independent variables
is
suggested.
The
purpose
of
this
article
is to
review
the
literature dealing with
the
devlopmental
sequence
in
small groups,
to
evaluate this
literature
as a
body,
to
extrapolate general
concepts about group development,
and to
suggest
fruitful
areas
for
further
research.
While small-group processes have been
given
great attention
in
recent
years
by be-
havioral scientists,
the
question
of
change
in
process over time
has
been relatively neg-
lected. Perhaps
the
major reason
for
this
is
the
overwhelming tendency
of the
small-group
researcher
to run
groups
for
short periods
of
time
and
thus avoid
the
"problems"
created
by
temporal change. Laboratory studies
of
developmental phenomena
are
quite
rare.
The
majority
of
articles dealing with sequential
group
development come
from
the
group-
therapy setting
and
human relations training-
group
setting, neither
of
which features strict
experimental control
nor
manipulation
of in-
dependent
variables. Moreover,
the
only
ma-
jor
theoretical statements
of
group develop-
ment which have appeared
are
those
of
Bales
(19S3),
Schutz
(1958),
and
Bach
(1954).
In an
attempt
to
bring
the
facts
and the
issues into sharper
focus,
existing research
in
1
From
Bureau
of
Medicine
and
Surgery,
Navy
Department, Research
Task
MR005.12-200S.01, Sub-
task
I. The
opinions
and
statements contained herein
are
the
private
ones
of the
writer
and not to be
construed
as
official
or
reflecting
the
views
of the
Navy Department
or the
naval service
at
large.
The
author
is
grateful
to
Irwin
Altman
for his in-
valuable ideas
and
suggestions,
and to
Robert
Nye
for
his
efforts
in
helping
to
review
the
literature.
the
area
of
small-group development will
be
cited,
and a
framework
within which this phe-
nomenon
can be
better understood
and
fur-
ther investigated
will
be
presented.
This
framework
will also serve
to
integrate
the
variety
of
studies cited
in a
meaningful
way.
CLASSIFICATION
MODEL
The
classification approach adopted
for
dis-
tinguishing
between
and
within developmental
studies
is a
threefold
one.
The
delineations
are
based
on (a) the
setting
in
which
the
group
is
found,
(b) the
realm into which
the
group behavior
falls
at any
point
in
time,
that
is,
task
or
interpersonal,
and (c) the
position
of the
group
in a
hypothetical
de-
velopmental sequence
(referred
to as the
stage
of
development).
It is
this
last
delineation
that
allows
not
only
for the
separation
and
ordering
of
observations within each set-
ting,
but for the
development
of
additional
hypotheses
as
well.
Setting
Classification
according
to
setting allows
for
the
clustering
of
studies based
on
their simi-
larity
of
features,
for
example, group size,
group
problem area, group composition, dura-
tion
of
"group
life,"
etc. More similarity
between
observations made
in the
same set-
ting than
in
different
settings
is
expected.
In the
group-therapy setting
the
task
is to
help individuals better deal with their per-
sonal
problems.
The
goal
is
individual adjust-
384