6. REFLEXION DE UNA EXPERIENCIA ESPECÍFICA:
6.2 Salud
A B
C 3)
The above is a VC diagram of a particular quadradie discussion,
squares for boys and circles for girls. The only fact that this diagram shows, however, is that the discussion was not balanced. A was dominant and I) was passive.
More sophisticated diagrams are needed if verbal communication is to be analysed. The same discussion could have been more
thoroughly depicted with the following symbols:
... ... - Length of line shows length of contribution (time)
---- — Solid line shows statement to group
--- Dotted line shows statement to individual to whom line is pointing
--- 4 Reverse arrow shows question requiring reply
A B
C B
Here further information is shown. A dominated the discussion
not only in number of contributions but also in length of time of almost each one* B responded to A submissively, wishing to win his approval (a sociogram showed that B had chosen A). C made a comment to B in the form of a question to try to attract B*s attention (the sociogram showed that 0 had chosen B). G also was concerned over
the fact that B, an isolate, was not speaking. B replied to the question but directed it to G rather than to the group. This was an unstructured group but 0 tried to assume leadership to improve the balancing of the discussion.
Even a more sophisticated diagram is necessary if one is to record the dynamics of a group. The quality of each comment is more important to illustrate than the quantity. And there must be other ways of evaluating each statement. A long statement may suggest that the individual loves to talk and cannot listen. It may be Hmuch ado about nothing”. Some members of a group can say more in ten seconds than others do in ten minutes. On the other hand, a long statement may be necessary and valuable. This depends in part upon the role which an individual plays or is needing to play in a particular group at a particular time.
In the above illustration A played the role of a task leader and C played the role of a socio-emotional leader. Ideally, in a
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discussion group with a task, there is someone who is given, or who
assumes, the role of task leader and seeks to encourage the group to
produce productive ideas arid action* This role may he shared by
several or all. Every group needs at least one socio-emotional
leader’ v/ho seeks to keep harmony, reduce tension, and bring emotional benefit to ail members of the group. (There are, of course, times
in carefully screened T-groups where it may be necessary to create emotional stress. And every parent, teacher, and youth leader knows that at times there are positive benefits from stress.)
In the above diagram, there is shown a conflict between the task leader and the socio-emotional leader. The task leader was the most resourceful of the members. As far? as the task was
concerned there was no need for discussion. The others had little to contribute that was of value to reaching the best solution. The task leader, as far as the task was concerned, should have been a committee of one. But by dominating the discussion, he inhibited the socio-emotional needs of the other members of the group. His dominance kept them from making verbal contributions. Their
exclusion from this caused frustration within themselves. C was aware of this, sought to bring B and I) into the discussion by dix’ecting questions to them, and by avoiding responding to A’s comments. B tried to enter into conversation with A but for his own benefit which, in this case, was to earn A’s approval. B opted out of the discussion and her own verbal reply was a forced response to C”s direct question to her. D, as an isolate, had the greatest need to be an active part of the discussion. She also had the least interest, however, in doing so. She was overwhelmed by A’s dominance and, being naturally shy, she felt all the more threatened by the
discussion. Another possibility, however, was that B did not want
to contribute end was sore 'disturbed by C*s attempt to encourage her to participate than by A’s dominance. If this was the situation, then B was not overwhelmed by A’s dominance but felt that it eased the pressure of G’s attempt to involve her.
The observer, in this case a religious education teacher, had made a sociometric conclusion even before the discussion took place. A chose G. B chose A and 0. C chose A and B. B chose G. G was a star and B an isolate.
The leaders had not been appointed in advance. If the teacher had praised the group when it completed its task, A would have
become a ’’star of the moment” because he had been the most
instrumental in getting the task accomplished. The teacher could have had the four discuss how they felt about the dynamics of the discussion. This would have been a lesson in empathy and awareness. To learn how to male© VC diagrams is within the ability of most
adolescents. Such instruction belongs to the social education dimensions of religious education with an aim of growth towards autonomy. Awareness is an ingredient of caring. Caring is a characteristic of responsible freedom.
4* Group leadership end Autonomy
One of the ground rules for a good discussion is that it should be well balanced, with everyone sharing in the discussion; otherwise the one who dominates keeps the rest from having a sense of belonging. Maslov/ has shown that the need to belong is essential in growth
174.
”Xf ’the sense of belonging’ means anything at all,
it means belonging to, being part of, some relatively enduring system of orderly relationships; one does not ’belong’ to a random collection of passing
acquaintances• ” 31
The ’’teacher” is the ’’institutional leader#.' He symbolises the stability of a community or society of which the group is a part* But he can appoint, or let the group appoint, other leaders to give them growth experience* To be given responsibility is essential
for growing towards responsibility and this is essential for autonomy* It is a form of Kant’s game of judgment making.
Wen the group member is formally given a role by a teacher or by the group itself he must take care not to dominate the group ho is loading* There must be an evolution in working himself out of the central position. Too many discussion group leaders are centres of a ”v/heel”.
The spokes of this wheel show the lines of verbal communication. The task leader collects information, but in doing so can be the
centre of focus in the discussion* As he receives information, the other members can off load responsibility onto him. He is the central link. But he benefits at the expense of the other group
The Basis of Social Behaviour* p* 224« One must also acquire, however, the ability to belong in a transient society and be at home among strangers.
members who may contribute but lose interest* Therefore, the able
leader tries to create lines of communication between individuals
other than himself.
The dotted lines in the above diagrams show how the leader
has weakened the lines of communication between himself and the
group members in order to create lines of communication among the other members. In the right hand diagram, the solid lines show that with a good discussion leader the basic communication is betv/een the other members of the group. The task leader is no longer the centre of the group but part of the circle. This allows him to become a task master who sees that the job is done but also a sooio-emotional leader to see that the task is not accomplished
(
at the expense of social development and emotional needs being unmet. He wants to encourage communication to flow in all its possible ways. The wheel blocks the road towards higher stages of autonomy for most members of the group because it focuses responsibility on the hub rather than on the rim. However, a group without a task leader may never get down to its task.
The discussion group lies between the rigid structure of the bureaucratic organisation and the lack of structure of the crowd. The educational and ecclesiastical structures of authority are well
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defined# The school and church are organisations with their
well-defined structures of professional leaders. The classroom and sanctuary often physically position the pro-fessional in an
authoritative position - the desk and pulpit are at the focal ends of the buildings with rows of chairs or pews facing towards them. There is no question who in either building is in authority over the group. This physical arrangement may he best for 0teaching** and ”preaching** for it is the best place to be seen and heard, but it puts the teacher/minister in the position of being the hub of a wheel.
If groups are not formed, and if the basic relationship in
school and church is that between the teacher/minister and individual members of the olass/congregation, then a wheel is formed. A task may be accomplished, but in socio-emotional terms it is the
teacher/minister who benefits most.
H.J. Leavitt, in his ’’classic” experiment on gi’oup structure, communication patterns and their effect on performance (which has dominated much research over* the last twenty-five years) described two extremes of communication flow. One extreme is the wheel, where the flow of communication passes through a centre link (as already described), and the other extreme is the circle where each group member communicates with only two people, the one on either side
and where the flow has no central link. But as described in the diagram above, the circle does not need to be so extreme. Leavitt was only concerned with two consequences of structurei efficiency of solving a problem and satisfaction of group members. His conclusion (within the limits of a relatively simple problem) was that the wheel is the more efficient but also the less satisfying.
The link-maxi in the hub of the wheel Is the most satisfied of those in that kind of a group. The circle is less efficient but more
32
satisfying? though it tends not to produce a leader.” Present structure of school and church suggests that their pastoral benefits are meant for the teacher/minister.
If growth towards autonomy is for the class/congregation then the teacher/raini&ter must relinquish their leadership authority by encouraging groups to emerge with their own leaders. These leaders themselves must utilise their authority for the socio-eraotional growth benefits of the group members. When a group member, even momentarily, exerts influence, he is at that time the leader of the group. The members must themselves be helped to assume task and socio-eraotional responsibility. The discussion leader’ does this by having the primary task of reporting the findings of the group. Balancing discussion, encouraging expression, and giving expression
to the inarticulate feelings of the group is secondary. By being an observing- reporter, he accepts the group as it is and does not assume its responsibility for balancing.
There is often
a difference between leaders appointed by some external authority ... and leaders selected by their own group members: the appointed leader* tends to see himself as a coordinator, the selected loader tends to be more inclined to impose his ovm ideas. The
appointed leader (and, by implication, his group) is, of course, appointed to do a particular job: the aims of the group have been laid down; the task of the leader is to coordinate the group’s activities to
realise that aim. The ’selected’ leader of an informal group often has to define its aims in the first place. The nature of the influence process is thus rather different in these two cases.”33
32.
See I^eavitt, ’’Some effects of certain communication patterns on group performance,”Journal of Abnormal Social Psychology ? 46: 38-50. The greater the complexity of the problem, however, the greater, according to Leavitt, is the effectiveness of the circle over the wheel.
33.
178.
The leader, then, who is appointed rather than selected is less
likely to dominate. But his dominance is still determined more by the type of person he is than by how he is selected* There is value in an adolescent group not selecting its own leader for the additional benefit that when it comes to leaving school and taking employment the young person will have had additional experience of working under leadership somewhat imposed upon him* There is value in a
group having a leader it would not normally select imposed upon it* It perhaps must work through the anxiety of bad leadership. Also the appointed leader* might, otherwise, not have the opportunity of being a leader*
But there is an over-all greater value in a group’s not having a leader externally appointed* It experiences the process of
selecting a leader and until that is accomplished it experiences the frustrations of not having a leader.
If a group does not achieve its goal, the leader, whether appointed or selected, can be treated as a scapegoat* This
unpleasant experience is a growth opportunity but it can be disastrous. It is the responsibility of the group to show socio-emotional
leadership qualities under such circumstances.
Although the discussion leader may have the primary responsibility of coordinating and reporting, there Is a tendency to put onto him the task and socio-emotional responsibilities. Therefore when a teacher'/minis ter assists with the selection of a leader and transfers authority for a particular task to that leader, the leader must try to pass the responsibility on to the group, who respond and articulate. The leader reports back, the teacher/minister receives the report and
individuals in that group* The balancing of conversation-flow
requires leadership skill in every situation* Although this thesis is concerned with the school situation, it can be seen how religious education in the church could equally be affected by a less
authoritarian role taken by ministers and youth leader’s.
It is important that all members are encouraged to identify with the group through participation, Social awareness (i.e. identification)
is a factor’ in maturity and therefore in autonomy, Peter Kelvin compared this to driving a cars
‘‘Strictly speaking, interaction is a type of skill in its own right? it does, however, have greatest affinity with perceptual-motor skills such as driving a car, Xt is, for instance, both
meaningful and reasonably justifiable to talk of ‘handling’ people just as one ’handles* cars or horses? and whether we are concerned with man or machines, effective handling depends on ’getting to know*, on ’getting the feel of’ whatever is being handled* And the skill consists of handling it smoothly.”34
The analogy with driving was also used by Eric Berne* After claiming that the release or recovery of awareness is a capacity essential to autonomy, he wrote furthers
“Awareness requires living in the here and now, and not in the elsewhere, the past or future. ...
“The man whose chief occupation is being on time is the one who is furthest out. With his body at the wheel of his car, his mind is at the door of his office. ... While he is driving, he irs almost completely lacking' in autonomy.,..“35
A “feeling” for people implies an awareness of the relationehi£> situation, the dynamics of the group, in which this “feeling for” takes place. This requires living in the here and now. Living in
34.
Ibid.. pp. 26-61.
35.
180.
the past stereotypes the other people in the group in such a way as to inhibit change which is necessary for growth in relationships. Living in the future anticipates changes which have not and x^erhaps may not take place. Of course one must acknowledge the past and anticipate the future. Any knowing of the other person depends upon past association and any flexibility depends upon anticipating the future. But the present must be the dominant time factor. Otherwise one is not involved empathically in the present discussion - one’s mind is really in another time sone.
5. Group Discussion and Social IMuoation
It has been shown how a sociogram depicts liking/disliking
relationships and how the VC diagram depicts the verbal communication. But the star and the isolate mr?y be chosen or rejected for
situational as well as personality reasons. ”1 don’t like him" may mean ”1 don’t like the relationship.”
Social education is the process which allows a human being to grow in ability to live in the company of other people. It reflects his own needs, and the needs of others, for growth towards autonomy. This teaching by parents and others is often coupled with rewards. Discussion holds the rewards of approval mid encouragement. Kev/ards can bind the person to the viewpoint or action being rewarded. To help check this,
”... the capacity for conceptual thought, the ability to handle concepts of value, and the process of internalisation, may be said to liberate the individual from undue dependence on expectations derived from particular
relationships.”36
36.
Xt is necessary to differentiate two levels of socialisation* In
the narrow sense one internalises (makes one*a own) those norms of
behaviour which are the ground rules for communicating and relating
to other people* In the broader sense one internalises attitudes
and values* The first is healthy and essential* The second caxi
block the road tov/ards autonomy*
’’Parents, deliberately or unaware, teach their
children from birth how to behave, think, feel and perceive* Iiiboration from these influences is no easy matter, since they are deeply
ingrained and are necessary during the first two or three decades of life for biological and social survival* Indeed, such liberation is