“A branch of ‘social psychology’ concerned with the study of groups. [Areas of research include the] Interactions [of group members], cohesiveness of groups, leadership, and group decision processes. ” The Dictionary of Behavioural Science (Wolman B. B. 1989) It can be further be defined as the: “Field of inquiry dedicated to advancing knowledge about the nature of groups, the laws of their development, and their interrelations with individuals, other groups, and larger institutions. ” Cartwright & Zander (1968)
Group dynamics can be considered as having interdisciplinary characteristics, and as such strides both psychological and sociological boundaries. As where most fields in psychology concentrate on the individual, social psychologists attempt to comprehend human behaviour in its broader social context. When examining the nature of groups it is imperative that a defining definition can be ascertained. A group can be considered as comprising of three elements: “A group is (a) two or more individuals (b) who influence each other (c) through social interaction”
Forsyth (1990) Groups can also be considered as having a similar coherent framework, from which several key characteristics, can be drawn in order to facilitate easy of understanding. Interaction; Concerned with the way in which individuals in the group exert influence on one another physically, verbally, non-verbally, and emotionally. Structure; It refers to the underlying patterns of stable relationships among group members in group interaction. Roles, status or authority and communication networks all combine to define the structure of the group.