Depending on the category of the field of knowledge, it is customary to name a group a number of objects, plants, animals or people who are close to each other; the aggregate or association of persons based on common interests or common occupations; the combination of several objects, phenomena or substances in a common way.
Instruction manual
1
In social psychology, the category "group" means a community of people that is limited in size and is distinguished from the social whole by the following principles:
- social inclusion of the group;
- the unifying reason for the allocation of the group;
- a single story and a possible future for all members of the group.
The decisive factor for the concept of a social group is the presence of a common idea that provides the possibility of joint action.
2
Signs of a social group are:
- unifying psychological characteristics, ranging from public opinion to a subculture, formed in the process of group development;
- the presence of group parameters - composition (combining the characteristics of members), structure (roles of individual members of the group) and group processes, including changes in other parameters, emerging standards and sanctions;
- coordination of actions of individuals included in the group;
- the pronounced effect of group values on a group member (conformity).
3
Basic research in the field of "group dynamics" is associated with the name of K. Levy, who created field theories that determine the relationship between the individual and the environment, form the structure of manifestation of behavioral norms, and valency, which determines the positive or negative aspirations of the individual. Despite the ambiguity of the scientist's theoretical research, the practical methods created by him have been universally recognized.
