Group Processes

Fülszöveg

People's lives are inescapably bound up with the groups to which they belong. Whether at home with their families, at work in board room or trade unión branch, at play in sports teams or theatre groups, or at war in street gangs or national armies, humán beings are essentially group beings. Thus, an understanding of the processes at work in group settings is a central task for students of humán behaviour. Group Processes tries to deepen our understanding of relationships within and between groups by means of three key ideas. The first is that groups are a source of social identity; our sense of who we are and what we are worth derives from our group memberships. The second is the constant tension in group life between its task and socio-emotional aspects; 'getting on with the job' while alsó 'getting on with people'. The third is that group dynamics are frequently governed by social comparison processes, both among the members within the group and between the ingroup and various... Tovább

Fülszöveg

People's lives are inescapably bound up with the groups to which they belong. Whether at home with their families, at work in board room or trade unión branch, at play in sports teams or theatre groups, or at war in street gangs or national armies, humán beings are essentially group beings. Thus, an understanding of the processes at work in group settings is a central task for students of humán behaviour. Group Processes tries to deepen our understanding of relationships within and between groups by means of three key ideas. The first is that groups are a source of social identity; our sense of who we are and what we are worth derives from our group memberships. The second is the constant tension in group life between its task and socio-emotional aspects; 'getting on with the job' while alsó 'getting on with people'. The third is that group dynamics are frequently governed by social comparison processes, both among the members within the group and between the ingroup and various outgroups. Rupert Brown introduces readers to the major theoretical and empirical developments in the field of group dynamics in a clear and compelling way. The book draws together the very considerable research conducted into group behaviour by other psychologists and by the author himself. There are many supporting illustrations from contemporary life, focusing on such important social issues as crowd behaviour, social conformity, group productivity, ethnic prejudice, and conflict and cooperation between groups. Rupert Brown is Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology at the University of Kent, where he has taught and researched into group processes for more than ten years. Of related interest from Basil Blackwell Introduction to Social Psychology A European Perspective Edited by Miles Hewstone, Wolfgang Stroebe, Jean-Paul Codol and Geoffrey M. Stephenson Contact and Conflict in Intergroup Encounters Edited by Miles Hewstone and Rupert Brown Vissza