What is the creative nature of human activity? Creative activity: meaning, types. Creative activities of children

Small group is a fairly stable association of people connected by mutual contacts.

- a small group of people (from 3 to 15 people) who are united by a common social activities, are in direct communication, contribute to the emergence of emotional relationships.

At more people, the group is usually divided into subgroups.

Distinctive features of a small group:

• Spatial and temporal co-presence of people. This co-presence of people enables personal contacts.
• The presence of a constant goal of joint activity.
• The presence of an organizing principle in the group. It may be personified in one of the group members (leader, manager), or maybe not, but this does not mean that there is no organizing principle. It’s just that in this case the leadership function is distributed among group members.
• Separation and differentiation of personal roles (division and cooperation of labor, division of power, i.e. the activity of group members is not homogeneous, they make different contributions to joint activities, play different roles).
• The presence of emotional relationships between group members, which influence group activity, can lead to the division of the group into subgroups, and form the internal structure of interpersonal relationships in the group.
• Development of a specific group culture - norms, rules, standards of life, behavior that define the expectations of group members in relation to each other.

Classification of small social groups

Small groups are divided into formal And informal.

Formal groups merged official purposes and have the regulated structure necessary to achieve these goals.

Informal groups do not have official established structure. Member interaction informal group spontaneously, determined by their personal relationships, common value system. However, there is also a group hierarchy within it.

Reference(from Latin referentis - reporting), or reference, group - a group whose norms are recognized by the individual as the most valuable. Thus, a specialist is guided by a certain group of respected colleagues, an athlete - by the standards of known record holders. Hardened criminals are not upset by the disapproval of most people, but they are sensitive to the position of their criminal group.

Different groups can be reference groups various relationships. A teenager may highly value the standards of behavior of his friends and parents. Many of a person’s actions in the microenvironment are explained by his desire for self-affirmation in the reference group.

A socially positive group has a powerful impact on the socio-psychological development of the individual. By being included in these groups from birth, the child draws from them all the necessary components of social experience and human culture. In social groups, various abilities of the individual are realized. In them he learns his worth, realizes his strengths and weaknesses.

However, it can not only enhance, but also suppress the capabilities of the individual (the effect of group suppression is called inhibition). An antisocial community can have a fatal impact on the fate of an individual who has not undergone socialization. Random, situationally arising asocial communities are especially dangerous for the developing personality. In such communities the individual is deindividuated, depersonalized. Entering the path of thoughtless obedience to a criminalized leader, a person goes astray social development, falls into the trap of primitive dependencies and responsibilities, its formation begins to be carried out according to the standards of ersatz culture.

The most effective development of personality is determined by its orientation towards elite social groups— socially high-status groups that have received universal recognition as priority groups in society (Table 1).

Social groups may take different positions regarding basic social values. Their activities may be socially oriented(industrial, educational, socio-cultural, etc. associations), antisocial- focused on meeting the needs of only members of a given group (hippies, rockers, breakers, etc.) and antisocial(criminal groups).

The life activity of an antisocial group is carried out according to strict canons, rules of rank correspondence, the law of force, mutual responsibility, persecution of the weak, etc. Criminal, antisocial groups have a fundamentally different, different from social positive groups, organization.

Along with the socially developed, there are primitive groups(yard associations, company of drinking buddies, etc.).

In prisons and the army, some informal groups acquire special power based on merciless cruelty towards those who find themselves at the bottom of this microsocial pyramid. The behavior of the leaders is characterized by extreme selfishness, self-affirmation through unlimited power, and intoxication with permissiveness. Here power is based on brute physical force - the most aggressive types are at the top, those who impose conflicts and know how to gain the upper hand in conflict confrontation. Establishment in power leads to further deformations - the ground is created for arrogance, conceit and tyranny.

In socially positive informal groups, leaders become deeply respected, intelligent and highly moral individuals who care not about personal power, but about the development of the group, ensuring its success in intergroup selection.

Table 1. Classification of social groups

Basis of classification	Types of groups
1. By method of education	spontaneously arose - not official; specially organized - official; real; conditional
2. By the size of the group and the way its members interact	small; average; large; contact (primary); remote (secondary)
3. By the nature of joint activities	practical (joint work activities); Gnostic (joint research activities); aesthetic (joint satisfaction of aesthetic needs); hedonic (leisure, entertainment and gaming); directly communicative; ideological; socio-political
4. According to personal significance	referential; elitist
5. According to social significance	socially positive; asocial - socially destructive; antisocial - criminal, delinquent

A significant part of formal medium and small groups are production groups and labor collectives. These are groups open type- they are open to broad social connections, are constantly replenished with new members, and are integrated into broad professional associations. The activities of these groups are largely regulated: the order of their activities and the criteria for evaluating the results of their work are determined. The formation of professional groups is carried out by relevant social organizations.

Society reproduces itself as an economically stable entity mainly through professional groups. However, the needs of society go far beyond professional activities. Along with professional and other formal groups, amateur social groups are constantly formed in it, focused on the implementation of newly emerging social needs.

"Under a small group is understood as a small group in composition, whose members are united by common social activities and are in direct personal communication, which is the basis for the emergence of emotional relationships, group norms and group processes " With this, understand and small group- this is a group that actually exists not in a vacuum, but in a certain system of social relations, it acts as a subject of a specific type of social activity, “as a link in a certain social system, as a part social structure" The definition captures and specific sign of a small group, distinguishing it from large groups: social relations appear here in the form of direct personal contacts .

Almost all the same, one has to reckon with the fact that a small group “begins” with either a dyad or a triad. There is also an urgent question about "upper" limit of the small group. Various solutions to this issue have been proposed. The ideas formed on the basis of J. Miller’s discovery of the “magic number” 7±2 during volume studies turned out to be quite persistent random access memory(it means the number of items simultaneously held in memory). For social psychology, the certainty introduced by the introduction of the “magic number” turned out to be tempting, and for a long time researchers accepted the number 7 + 2 as the upper limit of a small group. If we turn to research practice, we find the most arbitrary numbers that define this upper limit: 10, 15, 20 people. Some studies by Moreno, the author of a sociometric technique designed specifically for use in small groups, mention groups of 30-40 people, when we're talking about about school classes.

The abundance of small groups in society suggests their huge variety, and therefore for research purposes it is necessary to classification . In principle, a variety of grounds for classifying small groups are acceptable: 1) the groups are different according to the time of their existence: long-term and short-term, 2) according to degree of close contact between members, by the method of entry of the individual, etc. Currently, about fifty different classification bases are known.

It is advisable to choose the most common ones, which are three classifications: 1) dividing small groups into "primary" and "secondary" 2) division by "formal" "informal" ", 3) division by "membership groups" And "reference groups". As you can see, each of these three classifications creates a certain dichotomy.

The division of small groups into primary and secondary was first proposed by C. Cooley, who initially gave a simply descriptive definition of the primary group, naming such groups as family, group of friends, group of closest neighbors. Cooley later suggested certain sign, which would allow us to determine the essential characteristics of the primary groups - directness of contacts . Secondary groups in this case are those where there are no direct contacts, and for communication between members, various “intermediaries” are used in the form of means of communication.

The second of the historically proposed divisions of small groups is their division into formal and informal. This division was first proposed by E. Mayo. According to Mayo, formal group differs in that it all positions of its members are clearly defined , they are prescribed by group norms. Accordingly, in a formal group also the roles of all group members are strictly distributed, in the system of subordination to the so-called power structure: the idea of ​​vertical relationships as relationships defined by a system of roles and statuses. An example of a formal group is any group created in the context of a specific activity: a work team, a school class, a sports team, etc. Within formal groups, E. Mayo also discovered "informal" groups , which develop and arise spontaneously, where neither statuses nor roles are prescribed, where there is no given system of vertical relationships. An informal group can be created within formal, when, for example, in a school class, groups arise consisting of close friends united by some common interest Thus, two structures of relations are intertwined within the formal group. But an informal group can also arise on its own, not inside the formal group, but outside it: people who accidentally united to play volleyball somewhere on the beach, or a closer group of friends belonging to completely different formal groups. Sometimes within such a group (say, in a group of tourists going on a one-day hike), despite its informal nature, joint activity arises, and then the group acquires some of the features of a formal group: it has certain, albeit short-term, positions and roles. In practice, it was found that in reality it is very difficult to isolate strictly formal and strictly informal groups, especially in cases where informal groups arose within the framework of formal ones.

The third classification distinguishes between so-called membership groups and reference groups. It was introduced by G. Hyman, who discovered the very phenomenon of the “reference group”. Hyman's experiments showed that some members of certain small groups (in this case, student groups) share norms of behavior that are not accepted in this group, but in some other group that they are guided by. Such groups, in which individuals are not really included, but whose norms they accept, Hyman called reference groups . The difference between these groups and real membership groups was even more clearly noted in the works of M. Sherif, where the concept of a reference group was associated with the “frame of reference” that an individual uses to compare his status with the status of other persons. Later, G. Kelly, developing the concepts of reference groups, identified two of them: functions : comparative and normative, showing that the reference group is needed by the individual either as a standard for comparing his behavior with it, or for normative assessment of it.

Currently found in the literature double use of the term “reference group”: sometimes as a group opposed to a membership group, sometimes as a group emerging within a membership group. In this second case, the reference group is defined as a “significant social circle”, i.e. as a circle of persons selected from a real group as especially significant for the individual.

When studying a small group great importance given the process of formation of group norms and values subject to the simultaneous entry of many individuals into the group and the subsequent increasingly complete acceptance of these norms, the sharing of group goals by all group members. This phenomenon is called in social psychology the phenomenon of conformism . The word “conformism” itself has a very specific content in ordinary language and means “adaptability.” In the literature they often talk not about conformism, but about conformity or conformal behavior, meaning a purely psychological characteristic of the individual’s position relative to the position of the group, his acceptance or rejection of a certain standard, opinion characteristic of the group, the measure of the individual’s subordination to group pressure. The opposite concepts to conformity are the concepts of “independence”, “independence of position”, “resistance to group pressure”, etc.

Conformity is stated where and when the presence of a conflict between the opinion of the individual and the opinion of the group and the overcoming of this conflict in favor of the group is recorded. Measure of conformity- this is a measure of subordination to the group in the case when the opposition of opinions was subjectively perceived by the individual as a conflict. Distinguish external conformity when the opinion of the group is accepted by the individual only externally, but in reality he continues to resist it, and internal (sometimes this is what is called true conformism), when an individual truly assimilates the opinion of the majority. Internal conformity is the result of overcoming conflict with the group in its favor. In studies of conformity, another possible position was discovered, which turned out to be accessible to fix at the experimental level. This - negativity position. When a group puts pressure on an individual, and he resists this pressure in every way, demonstrating at first glance an extremely independent position, at all costs denying all the standards of the group, then this is a case of negativism. We can say that this is a specific case of conformity, so to speak, "conformity inside out"" If an individual sets as his goal to resist the opinion of the group at any cost, then he actually again depends on the group, because he has to actively produce anti-group behavior, an anti-group position or norm, i.e. be tied to group opinion, but only with opposite sign. Therefore, the position opposed to conformity is not negativism, but independence, independence.

Further research into the phenomenon of conformity led to the conclusion that pressure on an individual can be exerted not only the majority of the group, but also the minority. Accordingly, M. Deutsch and G. Gerard identified two types of group influence: normative (when pressure is exerted by the majority, and his opinion is perceived by a group member as the norm) and informational (when pressure is exerted by a minority, and a group member considers his opinion only as information on the basis of which he must make his own choice).

The second side of the problem of forming a small group is the problem group cohesion. In this case, the very process of forming a special type of connections in a group is explored, which allows an externally given structure to be transformed into a psychological community of people, into a complex psychological organism living according to its own laws.

There are different approaches to explaining group cohesion. Thus, in line with the sociometric direction, cohesion was directly associated with the level of development of interpersonal relationships when the percentage of choices based on mutual sympathy in the group is high. Another approach was proposed by L. Festinger, when cohesion was analyzed on the basis of the frequency and strength of communication ties found in the group. Literally, cohesion was defined as “the sum of all the forces acting on the members of a group to keep them in it.”

Problem leadership and leadership is one of the cardinal problems of psychology. In Russian to denote these two various phenomena There are two special terms and differences in the content of these concepts are defined.

B. D. Parygin names the following differences between a leader and a manager :

1) the leader is mainly called upon to regulate interpersonal relationships in the group, V while the leader regulates the official relations of the group as some social organization;

2) leadership can be stated in a microenvironment (which is what a small group is), Leadership is an element of the macroenvironment, i.e. it is connected to the entire system public relations;

3) leadership arises spontaneously, the leader of any real social group is either appointed or elected, but one way or another this process is not spontaneous, but, on the contrary, purposeful, carried out under the control of various elements social structure;

4) the phenomenon of leadership is less stable, the promotion of a leader largely depends on the mood of the group, while leadership is a more stable phenomenon;

5) management of subordinates, unlike leadership, has a much more defined system of various sanctions, which are not in the hands of the leader;

6) the decision-making process of a leader is much more complex and mediated by many different circumstances and considerations, not necessarily rooted in a given group, while the leader makes more direct decisions regarding group activities;

7) the leader’s sphere of activity - in Basically a small group, where he is the leader, the leader’s sphere of action is wider, since he represents the small group in a wider social system.

As can be seen from the above considerations, the leader and manager nevertheless deal with single-order type of problems, namely, they are designed to stimulate the group, focus it on solving certain problems, and take care of the means by which these problems can be solved. Leadership is pure psychological characteristics behavior of certain group members, leadership is largely social characterization of relationships in a group, primarily from the point of view of the distribution of management and subordination roles.

One of important functions of a manager is a group decision making process. There are several group decision making tactics . The most studied role in psychology group discussion, preceding the adoption of a group decision. During the experimental studies, two important patterns were identified: 1) group discussion makes it possible to collide opposing positions and thereby help participants see different sides of the problem and reduce their resistance new information, 2) if a decision is initiated by a group, then it is a logical conclusion from the discussion, supported by all those present, and its significance increases.

Widely practiced form are various kinds meetings , which is a kind of group discussion. Along with this, research on the problems of group decisions has put forward new forms of group discussions. One of them, introduced by A. Osborm, was called "brainstorming" ("brainstorm"). The essence of such a discussion is that in order to develop a collective decision, the group is divided by the leader into two parts: “idea generators” and “critics.” At the first stage of the discussion, there are “idea generators” whose task is to sketch out as many proposals as possible regarding a solution to the problem under discussion. Proposals can be completely unreasoned, even fantastic, but it is imperative that at this stage no one criticizes them. The goal is to get as large a variety of offers as possible.

Another group discussion method developed by W. Gordon is synectics method , literally - method of connecting dissimilar . The style of this method is reminiscent of brainstorming, since the main idea is the same - to develop at the first stage as many diverse, and in this case, directly opposite, mutually exclusive proposals as possible. For this purpose, “synectors” are identified in the group - original discussion starters. They are the ones who lead the discussion, albeit in the presence of the entire group. Synectors are the people who most actively declare their position in the group. It has been experimentally established that their optimal number is 5-7 people. They begin a discussion, and subsequently other members of the group are included in it, but the task of the synectors is to formulate opposing opinions as clearly as possible: the group must “see” the two extremes that have arisen in solving the problem in order to comprehensively evaluate them. During the discussion, these extremes are discarded and a decision is made that satisfies everyone. When applying the synectics method, the logical method of reasoning by analogy is widely used.

All dynamic processes occurring in a small group provide in a certain way efficiency group activities . The effectiveness of small group activities can be studied at various levels. In reality, group productivity is only one indicator of effectiveness. Another, no less important indicator is satisfaction. group members work in a group.

4. Personality in the group.

One of the main focuses of personality analysis in psychology is its interaction with the group. And first of all, it is necessary to identify through which groups the influence of society is exercised. For this it is important to study specific life path personality, those cells of the micro- and macroenvironment through which the path of its development passes. This is, first of all, socialization problem.Socialization process is the totality of all social processes, thanks to which the individual acquires a certain system of norms and values ​​that allow him to function as a member of society.

The essence of socialization is that it is a two-way process, which includes, on the one hand, the assimilation individual's social experience by entering into social environment, a system of social connections; on the other hand, the process of active reproduction by an individual of a system of social connections due to his active activity, active inclusion in the social environment

Question about stages of the socialization process has its own history in the system psychological knowledge. IN Russian psychology emphasizes that socialization involves the assimilation of social experience primarily in the course of work. Therefore, the basis for classifying stages is the attitude towards work activity. If we accept this principle, then we can distinguish three main stages: pre-labor, labor and post-labor.

Pre-labor stage socialization covers the entire period of a person’s life before starting work. In turn, this stage is divided into two more or less independent periods: A) early socialization , covering the time from the birth of the child until he enters school, i.e. that period which developmental psychology called the period of early childhood; b) learning stage , including the entire period of adolescence in the broad sense of the term. This stage, of course, includes the entire time of schooling.

Labor stage socialization covers the period of human maturity, although the demographic boundaries of “mature” age are relative; fixing such a stage is not difficult - this is the entire period of a person’s working activity. Contrary to the idea that socialization ends with the completion of education, most researchers put forward the idea of ​​continuing socialization during working life. Moreover, the emphasis on the fact that the individual not only assimilates social experience, but also reproduces it, gives special significance to this stage. Recognition of the labor stage of socialization logically follows from the recognition of the leading importance of labor activity for the development of personality.

Post-work station socialization represents even more complex issue. Problems of old age are becoming relevant for a number of sciences in modern societies. Increasing life expectancy - on the one hand, certain social policies of states - on the other (meaning the pension system) lead to the fact that in the population structure elderly age begins to occupy a significant place. In psychology, this problem is present as a problem of the post-work stage of socialization. The main positions in the discussion are polar opposites: one of them believes that the very concept of socialization is simply meaningless when applied to that period of a person’s life when all his social functions are curtailed. From this point of view, this period cannot be described at all in terms of “assimilation of social experience” or even in terms of its reproduction. An extreme expression of this point of view is the idea of ​​“desocialization,” which follows the completion of the socialization process. Another position, on the contrary, actively insists on a completely new approach to understanding the psychological essence of old age.

When studying personality in social psychology, the most important place is occupied by social attitude problem . If the process of socialization explains how a person assimilates social experience and at the same time actively reproduces it, then the formation of a person’s social attitudes answers the question: how the learned social experience is refracted personality and specifically manifests itself in its actions and actions.

The installation problem was a special subject of study at school D.N. Uznadze . The definition of installation given by D.N. Uznadze: “Attitude is a holistic dynamic state of the subject, a state of readiness for a certain activity, a state that is determined by two factors: the need of the subject and the corresponding objective situation.” The attitude towards behavior to satisfy a given need and in a given situation can be consolidated if the situation is repeated, then a fixed attitude arises, in contrast to a situational one. . Installation in the context of the concept of D.N. Uznadze is most concerned with the issue of implementing the simplest physiological needs of a person. It is interpreted as the unconscious, which precludes the application of this concept to the study of the most complex, highest forms of human activity.

The tradition of studying social attitudes has developed in Western sociology. In Western social psychology, the term is used to denote social attitudes "attitude" , which in Russian literature is translated either as “social attitude”, or is used as a tracing paper from English “attitude”.

Four were identified attitude functions :

1) adaptive(sometimes called utilitarian, adaptive) - the attitude directs the subject to those objects that serve to achieve his goals;

2) knowledge function- attitude gives simplified instructions regarding the method of behavior in relation to a specific object;

3) expression function(sometimes called the function of value, self-regulation) - attitude acts as a means of freeing the subject from internal tension, expressing oneself as an individual;

4) protection function- attitude contributes to the resolution of internal conflicts of the individual.

The attitude is able to perform all these functions because it has a complex structure. In 1942, M. Smith determined three-component attitude structure , in which the following are distinguished: a) cognitive component(awareness of the object of social installation); b) affective component (emotional assessment object, identifying feelings of sympathy or antipathy towards it); V) behavioral component(consistent behavior towards the object). Now social attitude was defined as awareness, assessment, readiness to act . But many problems related to attitude remained unresolved.

The two considered problems of the individual, socialization and social attitude, reveal, as it were, two sides of the existence of the individual in a social context: his assimilation of social experience and its implementation. Now it is necessary to integrate these two sides and analyze the actual behavior of the individual in a system of connections with other people belonging primarily to the same group.

What exactly are the social psychological qualities personalities? It is quite difficult to answer this question, especially given that personal qualities do not have a clear content. Researchers unite socio-psychological properties into four groups :

1) ensuring the development and use social abilities(social perception, imagination, intelligence, characteristics of interpersonal assessment);

2) formed in the interaction of group members and as a result of its social influence;

3) more general, related to social behavior and the position of the individual (activity, responsibility, tendency to help, cooperation);

4) social properties associated with general psychological and socio-psychological properties (propensity to an authoritarian or democratic way of acting and thinking, to a dogmatic or open attitude to problems, etc.).

For almost a century, the small group has remained a subject of keen interest for sociological and psychological schools and directions, a huge number of theorists, researchers and practitioners in America, Europe and Russia. Many approaches, definitions, formulations of the problem - and even more criticism towards opponents. Today it is impossible to imagine a system of sociological knowledge without a section on the structure, dynamics and culture of a small group. But there was a time when sociologists did without it: the 19th century. passed under the dominance of the problematics of society, understood in on a global scale, and the individual, whom psychology has traditionally dealt with.

True, Max Weber tried to return the individual to sociology, considering him as social actor. Considered the founder of social psychology, Gabriel Tarde also did not pay attention to the group. He explained social processes by action psychological mechanism imitation, and considered the relationship between ours and the other “I” to be an elementary fact of social life. Another leader of European sociology, Emile Durkheim, wrote not so much about the individual as about the collective consciousness of society and also ignored the group. Although the German sociologist Georg Simmel studied the group, it remained rather on the periphery of his extensive philosophical and cultural knowledge. The real discovery of the social group belongs to practical Americans, particularly Charles Cooley and George Meade. They focused on interpersonal interaction - "interaction", so the direction in which the group was studied is called symbolic interactionism. This happened at the beginning of the 20th century.

The discovery of the group phenomenon produced a genuine revolution in world sociology. Science has been enriched with many new concepts, theories, models and experiments. They described such phenomena as interpersonal communication, leadership, role performance, group solidarity and cohesion, primary relationships, social distance, symbolic meaning, role conflict, identification, personification, etc.

The small group served as a connecting bridge between the individual, large groups and society, which science still lacked and without which it could not be a single whole. The role of a connecting link in scientific knowledge was also played by social Psychology– a borderline discipline that has absorbed all the best from psychology and sociology. In social psychology, the place of the questionnaire was taken by a test (a special measuring instrument), the place of field research was taken by laboratory experiment. Over the past decades, social psychologists have been able to conduct many interesting experiments in which they studied the pressure exerted on an individual by a small group.

Small group usually refers to a small number of people who know each other well and interact with each other on a regular basis. Examples: sports team, school class, nuclear family, youth group, production team.

There are a huge number of definitions of a small group (about a hundred). When getting to know them, their composite nature is striking: as a rule, each of them combines several features of the phenomenon being studied.

The most famous definitions of a small group are:

• a certain number of persons interacting with each other over a certain period of time, small enough to be able to contact each other without intermediaries (J. Homane);
• a small group whose members are united by common activities and are in direct personal contact, which is the basis for the emergence of group norms, processes and interpersonal relationships (G. M. Andreeva);
• a set of people who interact with each other in a certain way, are aware of their belonging and are considered members of this group from the point of view of others (R. Merton);
• a number of people actively interacting with each other over more than one face-to-face meeting, so that everyone has a certain understanding of everyone else, sufficient to distinguish each person personally, react to it either during the meeting or later, remembering it (R Bales).

The list of characteristics and requirements that a set of people must meet in order to be called a small group today exceeds the list of laureates Nobel Prize, and, as we know, it is quite big.

Thus, A.I. Dontsov identifies eight signs that characterize the behavior of people in a small group.

• 1. Regularly and continuously communicate face to face, without intermediaries.
• 2. They have a common goal, the implementation of which allows them to satisfy their significant needs and interests.
• 3. Participate in the general system of distribution of functions and roles in intragroup interaction.
• 4. They share general norms and rules of interaction within the group and in intergroup situations.
• 5. Satisfied with membership in the group and therefore experience feelings of solidarity with each other and gratitude to the group.
• 6. Have a clear and differentiated understanding of each other.
• 7. Connected by stable emotional relationships.
• 8. They present themselves as members of the same group and are perceived similarly from the outside.

Signs small group, which are most often indicated by scientists.

• 1. Limited number of group members. The upper limit is 20 people, the lower is two. If a group exceeds a “critical mass,” it breaks up into subgroups, cliques, and factions. According to statistical calculations, most small groups contain no more than seven people.
• 2. Composition stability. A small group, unlike a large one, rests on the individual uniqueness and irreplaceability of its participants.
• 3. Internal structure. It includes a system of informal roles and statuses, a mechanism social control, sanctions, norms and rules of conduct.
• 4. The number of connections in a group increases exponentially, while the number of group members increases in arithmetic progression. Thus, in a group of three people only four relationships are possible, in a group of four people - 11, and in a group of 7 - 120 connections.
• 5. The smaller the group size, the more intense the interaction within it. The larger the group, the more often relationships fail personal character, become formalized and cease to satisfy group members. For example, in a group of five members, its members experience more personal satisfaction than in a group of seven. A group of five to seven people is considered optimal.
• 6. The size of the group depends on the nature of its activities. Financial committees of large banks, responsible for specific actions, usually consist of six to seven people, while parliamentary committees, which deal with theoretical issues, include 14-15 people.
• 7. Belonging to a group is motivated by the hope of finding satisfaction of personal needs in it. A small group, unlike a large group, satisfies the largest number of vital human needs. If the level of satisfaction received in the group falls below a certain level, the individual leaves it.
• 8. Interaction in a group is only sustainable when it is accompanied by mutual reinforcement of the people participating in it. The greater the individual contribution to the group's success, the greater the incentive for others to do the same. If someone stops making the necessary contribution to meeting the needs of others, he is expelled from the group.
• 9. The group provides everyone with the maximum available benefits, since it is an association of individuals equally useful to each other. Each of them finds more benefit from being in this group than in any other.

The properties of a small group are closely related to its elements structures. These include:

• 1) subject, goals, objectives of joint activity;
• 2) the nature and content of the activity;
• 3) a system of statuses and roles that shape interpersonal relationships.

The structure of a small group determines the nature of its speakers and, in turn, is determined by it. Study dynamic processes, occurring in a given period of time and marking the movement of a group from one stage of development to another, is called group dynamics. It emerged as an independent, primarily applied, direction in the mid-1940s. influenced by the works of K. Levine, J. Homans, R. Bales and others.

Scientists today are focusing on issues of changing group structure, leadership problems, group decision-making, reaching consensus and resolving conflicts, behavior modification, group norms, values ​​and goals.

Group structure- This is a kind of hierarchy of prestige and status of group members. In sociometric practice, it is determined by the number of mutual choices in a small group.

Group effect represents the influence of an informal group on the behavior of individuals. It lies in the positive that a group brings to the work of an individual, in particular, the achievement of results that are beyond the power of the sum of isolated individuals. An important component of the group effect is the psychological mood of the team, the joy of joint creativity.

Group norms is a set of rules and requirements developed by each group (team, organization) and playing important role in regulating the behavior of members of a given group, shaping the nature of their relationships. Such norms are a specific type and a kind of prism of refraction social norms regulating the life of large groups and society as a whole. Group norms allow the group to correlate the behavior of each individual member with the developed standards and to exercise a fairly effective influence on an individual in the event of his behavior deviating from the standard accepted in the group. They perform the functions of social control over the activities of the individual, contribute to the sustainability and stability of the group’s existence. At the same time, group norms can block the group’s perception of the new and prevent the restructuring of all activities in changed conditions.

• See for example: Dontsov A.I. On the concept of “group” in social psychology // Social Psychology: reader. M., 2003. pp. 175–182.

Small group

sociological and socio-psychological concept denoting simplest form a social group with direct personal contacts between all its members, established emotional relationships of likes and dislikes and specific group values, attitudes, norms and rules of behavior. Typically, a group unites from 2 to 15 people (family, work team), but with a stable composition it can include several dozen people (school class).

M. g. develop in all spheres of human activity. If a local group is a grassroots cell of a labor, educational, military, sports, public or other organization, the relations between the members of which are regulated by rules fixed in the relevant regulations, charters and other documents, then such a group is called formal. If a social group arises primarily on the basis of personal sympathies (friendly company), then it is called informal. Within the framework of a formal M. group, one or several informal groups may form.

The state of a group is characterized primarily by its cohesion, that is, the degree of unity of behavior among group members with the possibility of choosing this behavior. Since in a group of people all behavior is refracted through interpersonal relationships, a general indicator of the cohesion of a group of people is its structure and the amount of likes and dislikes of its members towards each other, measured by sociometric methods (see Sociometry). There are distinguished between strongly united, weakly united and disunited group groups. The more positive choices (sympathies) one or another group member receives, the higher his status in the group.

M. g. has an important influence on personality development. Already in early childhood, a person becomes a member of several M. groups (family, playgroups), through which his initial initiation (“primary socialization”) occurs to the values, norms and rules of behavior in society; on this basis such groups are called primary. As the personality develops, the character and number of groups of which the individual is a member changes; in modern society, an adult is simultaneously a member of a family and a work group, and also often a member of several public organizations, has a group of friends, etc. In different groups, an individual has a different status, and a low status in some types of groups can be compensated by a higher status in other groups, which is very important for the formation of the individual’s overall positive well-being; otherwise, a tendency towards antisocial forms of behavior may develop. At the same time, the individual sometimes becomes involved in antisocial groups (hooligan companies, gangs of thieves).

Along with the internal structure, which gives the city a relative independence, the city has an external structure that expresses its dependence on larger social groups and organizations.

Under capitalism, the nature of relations in capitalism in the sphere of labor and other spheres is determined by antagonistic production relations in a capitalist enterprise and in society as a whole. Under socialism, collectivist relations of cooperation and mutual assistance permeate all spheres and levels of activity of members of society and transform labor groups in the sphere of labor into primary labor collectives, where the interests of society, the collective, and the individual are directly combined.

Bourgeois sociologists declare the city a “society in miniature” (G. Simmel), and primary groups- the foundation of the entire social structure (C. Cooley). Such interpretations distort real social connections and ignore the conditioning of M. by existing social, primarily class, relations. See also the article Social groups and literature attached to it.

N. I. Lapin.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet encyclopedia . 1969-1978 .

See what a “Small Group” is in other dictionaries:

See SMALL GROUP. Antinazi. Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2009 ... Encyclopedia of Sociology

See Art. Social group. Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary. M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. editor: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983 ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

In sociology and psychology, the simplest type of social group with direct personal contacts and certain emotional relationships between all its members, specific values ​​and norms of behavior; develop in all areas of life... Big encyclopedic Dictionary

- (socio., psychol.), the simplest type of social group with direct personal contacts and certain emotional relationships between all its members, specific values ​​and norms of behavior; develop in all areas of life (family... encyclopedic Dictionary

SMALL GROUP- a relatively small number of directly contacting individuals united common goals or tasks; in a small group, as a rule, there is an authoritative leader around whom the rest of the group members are united. If the small group is busy... ... Professional education. Dictionary

small group- mažoji grupė statusas T sritis Kūno kultūra ir sportas apibrėžtis Palyginti nedidelė tarpusavyje tiesiogiai bendraujančių ir sąveikaujančių žmonių visuma. Svarbiausias mažosios grupės požymių yra grupės struktūra, t. y. tarpusavyje sureguliuotų… …Sporto terminų žodynas

SMALL GROUP- a group that actually exists in a certain system of social relations; acts as a subject of a specific type of social activity, “as a link in a certain social system, as part of a social structure” (Bueva, 1968, C... Glossary of Political Psychology

Small group- (see Small group) ... Human ecology

Small group- a social group whose members are in direct interpersonal interaction. The quantitative composition of the M. g. does not exceed several dozen people. The totality of microorganisms functioning in various spheres of social life... ... Sociological reference book

Small group- (Common Slavic, has a correspondence in other Indo-European languages, for example, Lat. malus - insignificant, weak, worthless, bad, bad) conventionally accepted value of a social group consisting of 10 or less people. Usually group psychotherapy... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

SMALL GROUP- By arbitrary agreement, a group of approximately ten or fewer people. Most small group studies involve studying such small numbers of people in direct contact with each other, in... ... Explanatory dictionary of psychology

Books

• Beyond Russian Dictionaries, A. Flegon. For the above reasons, as well as for other, less important ones, I believe that the time has come to release a dictionary containing obscene words in the Russian language. Words included in the present...

Group is a social, relatively stable set of people, distinguished on the basis of certain characteristics, connected by the system relationships. Traditionally, the following are distinguished: group characteristics:

– participants’ awareness of their belonging to the group; – establishing certain relationships between them;

– internal organization, including the distribution of responsibilities, as well as elements such as leadership, hierarchy, etc.;

– the potential ability of participants to engage in concerted actions through which their individual needs can be met.

For various reasons, there are several types of groups:

Big and small;

Conditional and real (contact);

Permanent and temporary;

Formal (official) and informal (unofficial).

Large groups - these are numerous social communities, distinguished by professional, economic, national, religious, gender, cultural, educational and other various characteristics. For example, nations, nationalities, socio-political parties, etc.

Small group– a small group of people (up to 15–20 people) who are united by a common social activity, are in direct communication, contribute to the emergence of emotional relationships, the development of group norms and the development of group processes. Such groups include, for example, a family, a school class, a work team, etc. A small group is always a real (or contact) group, its hallmark is the spatial and temporal co-presence of people, which makes communication and interaction among group members possible. Small groups have always played an extremely important role in the lives of people and the whole society. They are necessary for the full life of every person, acquiring security, ensuring conditions for the harmonious development of a person, mastering social and professional experience, preserving and enriching it. Small groups can be formal (official) or informal (unofficial). In the first case, the group has a normatively established structure, an appointed or elected leader, and group members have legally fixed rights and obligations; in the second, the group has no legal status and is characterized mainly by its established system of interpersonal relations.

Conditional groups unite people according to a certain characteristic (gender, age, profession, etc.); real individuals included in such a group do not have direct interpersonal relationships, may know nothing about each other and may never even meet. As a rule, such groups are identified for research purposes to compare the results obtained in them with the results obtained in real groups. Real groups of people are characterized by the fact that their members are interconnected by objective relationships - these are truly existing associations of people.

The small group has socio-psychological characteristics, which can be divided into two classes:

1) formal, describing the structure, ways of organizing joint activities and communication between people;

Formal characteristics include number of members groups, communication channels, distribution of responsibilities between group members and others, to meaningful ones - group interests, needs, opinions, values, norms, goals, interpersonal relationships, and cohesion And psychological climate group - the main characteristics of the level of its socio-psychological development.

The means of regulating the behavior of group members, the nature of their interaction and communication are group norms - this is a set of rules that are developed by the group and help increase its stability and stability.

An indicator of group cohesion is value-orientation unity, which records the degree of coincidence of positions and assessments of group members in relation to the goals and values ​​of the group.

A small group can be reference And non-referential. The reference group performs the function of social comparison, since it is a source of both positive and negative images, as well as a normative function, since the reference group is the source of norms of behavior and rules of communication. In her, the individual finds a role model for himself, her goals, norms and forms of behavior become significant for him. A small group is considered non-referential if the psychology and behavior of its members are alien, indifferent or unacceptable to the individual.

The set of processes that occur in a small group is called group dynamics; they characterize the entire life cycle of the group:

Education;

Operation;

Development;

Stagnation (stagnation);

Within a group, its different members occupy different positions, which are characterized by the concepts: position, status, internal setting And role.

Position refers to a person's official position in a group. Status- this is the real position in the system of intra-group relations, an indicator of the actual authority of a person for other members of the group. Indoor installation- This is a person’s personal, subjective perception of his own position in the group. Role is defined as a normatively defined and collectively approved pattern of human behavior; it can be determined by an official position, or it can be elected by a member of the group himself, for example, a “jester”, “scapegoat”, leader, etc.

Leader– this is a member of the group for whom it recognizes the right to make responsible decisions in significant situations; the leader may or may not be a formally appointed leader.

According to the nature, content and direction of activity, leaders are of several types (Fig. 17).

Rice. 17. Classification of the concept of “leader”

The leader is always the most authoritative person who really plays a central role in organizing and regulating the joint activities of the group. Promotion to leadership occurs spontaneously and depends on the effectiveness of a group member’s contribution to solving group problems.

Unlike the leader supervisor - this is an officially appointed or elected person who is entrusted with the functions of managing the group and organizing its activities. The leader is legally responsible for the functioning of the group and has formally regulated rights and responsibilities.

If it is impossible to become a leader until others perceive the person as such, then a leader is appointed regardless of the perception of subordinates. Thus, leadership is a social phenomenon in its essence, and leadership is psychological.

Under leadership style understand the set of techniques and means typical for a leader (manager) psychological impact, influence on other group members:

♦ democratic style– the leader takes into account the opinions of group members and consults when developing and making decisions;

♦ liberal style– the leader avoids fulfilling his duties, things in the group go on their own, all issues of intra-group life are decided by the group members themselves.

In practice, the most successful is not just one of the three listed styles, but a combined one, in which the leader knows how to behave differently and flexibly changes the line of relationships depending on the situation and the prevailing situation in the group.

The socio-psychological structure of a group is also characterized by a certain system of interpersonal connections that ensure interaction and transfer of information from one group member to another, called communication channels. In practice, two types of communication channel structures are most often encountered: centralized(Fig. 18) and decentralized(Fig. 19).

Rice. 18. Centralized structure of communication channels

Rice. 19. Decentralized structure of communication channels

The centralized structure of communication channels is characterized by the fact that one of the group members is always at the intersection of all directions of communication, in the center of attention, and plays the main role in organizing group activities; decentralized is characterized by the equality of all participants, i.e. each member of the group has the same capabilities as everyone else to receive, process and transmit information.

In practice, the choice of a particular structure is determined by the goals and objectives facing the group.

Team

Among small groups, collectives occupy a special place. A team is a small group whose members are united by business, moral and personal ties and through common efforts ensure the receipt of a socially valuable result of their activities. It is the connections between people that are the decisive factor determining the cohesion, activity and vitality of the team of which they are members.

Main features team:

– general activities;

– compliance of activities with socially significant goals;

– predetermination of interpersonal relationships by goals, values ​​and content of joint activities;

– conscious, sustainable unity, cohesion; – the presence of a certain organizational form of association of team members;

– consistency and consideration of the basic interests of all team members;

– stability and harmony of relationships based on mutual responsibility, self-government, recognition of socially significant authorities and the individual needs of each member of the team.

Functional connections between team members arise on the basis of the performance by each of them of their professional duties. The service-functional roles and connections of staff members form professional structure team. On its basis is formed socio-psychological structure, the purpose of which is to consolidate and unite the team into a single whole, acting as an integral subject of labor. The first structure is focused on the professional activities of the team, on achieving the goals set for it, and the second - on its inner life, on the socio-psychological sphere. Both structures are necessary - the absence or weakness of one negatively affects the other and the team as a whole.

The team is forming its own type of interpersonal relationships; these relationships are characterized by:

High cohesion;

Value-orientation unity;

Collectivist self-determination;

The social and value nature of motivation;

The presence of public opinion;

Traditions;

Established relationships.

In order to successfully regulate the processes of functioning and development of relationships in a team, the manager is obliged to adhere to certain rules in his activities, which include:

♦ using a favorable influence on relationships between people in a well-organized, interesting work, involving its performers in meaningful business and personal contacts, bringing them closer, allowing them to get to know each other more deeply and find attractive traits;

♦ careful preservation of already established healthy relationships, using them in the distribution of tasks, responsibilities, etc.;

♦ fairness in everything, an attempt to avoid pitting some team members against others, praising some and groundlessly blaming others, thoughtlessly encouraging unhealthy rivalry.

Thus, team management is the leadership of the collective and individual psychology, taking into account all the subtleties and complexities of patterns inner world person and interpersonal relationships. The leader’s high demands and democracy are based on his understanding psychological laws life of the team.