What is Group Psychology and what functions does it have?

The human being is not born alone and isolated. We come into the world in a concrete context, surrounded by other people who belong to our family, our society and our culture that will largely shape how we develop, our values ​​and our ways of thinking and Act.

We are gregarious beings, living with other members of the same species in more or less extensive groups. That is why it is very useful to know the mechanisms that operate within the groups. Said studies on the groups is carried out by a part of the Social psychologycalled group psychology.

A brief definition of Group Psychology

Group psychology is a sub-discipline within social psychology whose main object of study is the group. This is analyzed from the perspective of the influence that the group has on individual behavior and that of the individual when modulating the behavior of the group.

Thus, from the psychology of groups, what they are, how, when and where they are created, their configuration and the types of roles and relationships that are established between their elements or with other groups are explored.

• Related article: "The 12 branches (or fields) of Psychology"

The group as an object of study

As we have said, group psychology has the group as its object of study. But... What is a group? Although the meaning of this term may seem obvious, the truth is that when defining its object of study group or group psychology has found it complex to define the limits between what is and what is not a group.

In general, we can define a group as a set of independent individuals who have a perception collective and shared of their unit and that being aware of this they are able to act jointly before the environment. Said linking causes relationships of influence and interdependence among its various components, the individual's behavior affecting the group and vice versa. Furthermore, the existing relationship with the group is generally seen as positive.

Main authors

Some of the most important representatives of group psychology They are Kurt Lewin and Jacob Levy Moreno. The first, with its Field theory, tried to give an explanation about the psychosocial processes that are carried out in the groups, while the second, who was also the creator of the psychodrama, gave great importance to the need to organize in groups to respond to group needs.

Topics on which to work

Within group psychology there are numerous aspects that can be worked on, and these are what make up the functions of this branch of behavioral science. Both at a structural and functional level, the group is a complex element in which different variables participate and processes.

Some of the multiple themes in which the psychology of groups is investigated and participates are the following

1. Grouping types

Not all groups are the same. In fact, we can find a large number of typologies of them according to the characteristics of the members or why or for what purpose they are formed.

One of the most important classifications to highlight is the existence of primary groups, in which the subjects interact face to face, generating a strong roots emotional and an intimacy and identification that makes them last in time, and secondary or more directed to a specific objective without needing a contact continued.

The existence of membership groups, of which the subject is an involuntary part due to characteristics or circumstances beyond her control or desire. On the other hand, reference groups can also be found, understood as those groups to whom that the individual chooses to ascribe by preference or coincidence in values, thoughts or beliefs.

Other typologies we can find them linked to size, being small groups those with less than twenty members and large groups that exceed that number, or the fact that they are made up of expected or unforeseen manner and the type of relationship that its members maintain with each other, as occurs with formal groups or informal.

2. Basic structure

The way the group is organized is a fundamental element when it comes to understand how and why it works. That is why, from the psychology of the groups, various variables are investigated, from the size of the group to the presence of leadership and influence.

3. Group functions

Knowing how groups work or how they are structured is of great interest to group psychology. However, do not forget to analyze the reason why it is formed or that leads to it.

In this way the psychology of groups also aims to focus on what goals the groups have as such or what individuals are looking for when forming part of one, along with how individual and group goals interact. Thus, phenomena such as the attraction to people, ideas or activities proposed by the group, the search for belonging to a group or the individual needs that are intended to be met by joining the collective will be aspects carefully studied by this branch of the psychology.

4. Power: leadership

Power relations within the group is another element studied by group psychology. And it is that the power and the ability to influence others is a constant in any type of group.

The presence of a leader or of a group of individuals who mark the path that the group should follow is relatively frequent, although not essential, especially the greater the number of members of the group and when there is an objective to comply. How to get to leadership and how it is exercised are highly relevant issues in this regard.

Within power relations, the concept of authority and obedience to it are also analyzed.

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5. Influence relationships

Not always when a group is established, the presence of a specific person is necessary to mark what, how or when certain things should be done or thought. However, the fact of belonging to a group implies in itself that there is going to be an interrelation of some kind between its components. This interrelation will make one have an effect on the other, becoming networks of influence of great relevance in modifying attitudes and beliefs.

For group psychology, this is an exciting field of research, in which they explore aspects such as conformity with the group, the influence that the group's opinions have on their own and the reason for it or how some individuals and minorities are capable of changing the majority perception. In the same way, the processes by which the group motivates its members are relevant.

Also decision makingcollective It is an aspect to take into account, depending to a great extent on the influence and role of each member and the group as a whole. In this aspect, it has been shown that the collective tends to be more extreme than the individual, through the process of group polarization. An extreme form of this is groupthink, in which we tend to think that all the individuals who are part of the group they think the same way and that this is the correct one, to a point that can distort reality and actively pursue the dissent.

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6. Effects of the group on the individual

Being part of a group has a series of clear consequences for the individual. Going through the acquisition of knowledge and the modification of attitudes and beliefs to increase or reduce through social facilitation or inhibition of the performance of their activityThis element must be taken into account both from the most individual psychology and from the psychology of groups.

7. Effects of the individual on the group

Just as the group has an effect on the individual, it has an effect on the group. We must not forget that the group is a group made up of different subjects that they are susceptible to modifications, so that the way of proceeding or thinking of one of its members may imply an alteration of the entire system. This is visible in the aforementioned leadership, or in the increase or decrease in motivation and polarization that an individual can produce directly or indirectly.

8. Group life cycle

A group does not appear spontaneously out of nowhere, nor is it a whole that remains unchanged over time. Group psychology is aware of these facts, studying the processes that lead to the formation and dissolution of groups. From the affiliation and identification with the group until the presence of a decline, discontent and rupture, these phases represent a field of research that can allow the application of different techniques and strategies on specific groups

9. Group health

The way in which the components of the group are related is essential for a group to remain united, or otherwise dissolve. Interpersonal attraction, goal matching, cohesion of the group, reciprocity and commitment are some of the elements that contribute to explain the health of the group.

10. The roles

The role of each subject within a group is what is defined as her role. This establishes how it is expected to behave and the type of activities that it will carry out. The role can be self-imposed or be fixed by the environment, being able to live in an ego-syntonic or egodistonic way. Participates in phenomena such as power and level of influence, the ability to follow or ignore rules and the way in which each individual relates to all members of the group and to the rest of the world.

11. The communication

The way in which the transmission of various stimuli occurs between the different components of a group can explain phenomena such as influence, satisfaction and the level of internal cohesion. Through communication, the vision will be negotiated common with respect to the world, the objectives and the role of each one in community. That is why studying how we communicate is an essential factor for group psychology.

12. Relationships with other groups and individuals

As a general rule, a group does not remain isolated from the rest of the world. The group is located in a specific context in which you will meet other people and groups outside its components, and with which in one way or another it will interact both at the group level and at the level of each of its members.

These interactions are also a very important part of group psychology, which will focus especially on the type of contact established, the creation of more or less permeable barriers between in-group and out-group and collaboration, competition or conflict between groups according to their goals are compatible.