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Intergroup Relations- a Communication and Psychological Studies Perspective
The society that we live in today is comprised of many groups, and many units in the society are characterized as groups, such as the family, political, economic, and other important institutions that functions in the society. Within a group exists relationships that can be constructive or destructive to the functions of the group. Group relations can be explained using the communicative and psychological perspectives. This paper will discuss the dynamics of group relations in relation to these two perspectives, and analyze how relations are established within a group, and how similarities and differences within a group can cause conflict or cooperation within its members, contributing to the development or disintegration of a group.
In the psychological perspective, group relations are focused in the study of social psychology. In social psychology, individuals are studied according to their relationship in the society. One important concept studies in the psychology of group relations is the concept of group influence. Group influence includes the primary motivations and behaviors of individuals when it comes to accomplishing group performance. A psychological study conducted by Norman Triplett theorized that individuals belonging in competitive groups perform better than individuals who do not belong to any group or affiliation (Santrock 2001 365). When the term 'group' is mentioned, this means that a group is any group of reference that an individual may treat as influential to him or her. Triplett's study on social psychology led to the formulation of other theories from psychologists that characterize the relational dynamics in a group. Three (3) important concepts were introduced in social psychology, the concepts of: self-facilitation, social loafing,...
This concept also supports Triplett's theory about how people are motivated to perform effectively and at their best if they have someone to accomplish it, competitively or cooperatively. Social loafing, on the other hand, is the opposite of the concept of self-facilitation. Defined as the "the tendency (of an individual) to exert less effort in a group because of reduced monitoring." This attitude in group members can be destructive and dysfunctional to the group's objectives and aims, and does not develop the knowledge and skills of each member; rather, social-loafing encourages dependency on others, decreases responsibility and self-reliance, and lowers group performance. Finally, the last concept in group relational dynamics is the concept of 'deindividuation,' which "occurs when the presence of a group results in the loss of personal identity and a decrease in responsibility." Like social loafing, deindividuation can be dysfunctional to both the member and the group because the member loses his or her sense of individual personality, while group performance lowers because of the member's too much reliance and dependency on the group (Santrock 2001 566).
These are the concepts that characterize the psychological aspects of group relational dynamics in a society. It is evident that psychology focuses more on the individual attitudes of each member, and how their attitudes and behavior affect the group holistically. Thus, through the theory on self-facilitation, the group performs constructively and its members cooperate with each other for…
References
Adler, R. "Interplay: The Process of Interpersonal Communication." New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc. 1998.
Griffin, E. "A First Look at Communication Theory." New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1994.
Santrock, J. "Psychology" (6th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co. 2001.
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