S W 332 Chapter 16: Chapter 16
Document Summary
All ongoing groups go through natural stages of development, although the pace and complexity of each stage may vary. Various models of group development offer frameworks for organizing your observations about the group and its characteristics, themes, and behaviors. The classic model developed by garland, jones, and kolodny (1965) which delineates in five stages: preaffiliation, power, and control, intimacy, differentiation, separation. The initial stage of group development is characterized by members" exhibiting approach/avoidance behavior. At this forming stage, participant behavior is wary, sometimes even provocative, as members assess possible social threats and attempt to discern the kinds of behaviors the group wants and expects. After dealing with the struggle of whether they belong in the group, members now become occupied with how the rank in relation to other members. Disenchantment with the group may reveal itself through hostility, withdrawal, or confusion about the group"s purposes.
