developmental sequence in small groups - mit.pdf

Psychological Bulletin 1965, Vol . 63, No. 6, 384-399 DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCE IN SMALL GROUPS 1 BRUCE W . TUCKMAN Naval Medical Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 50 articles dealing with stages of group development over time are separated by group setting, as follows : therapy-group studies, T-group studies, and natural- and laboratory-group studies. The stages identified in these articles are separated into those descriptive of social or interpersonal group activities and those descriptive of group-task activities. Finally, 4 general stages of development are proposed, and the review consists of fitting the stages identified in the literature to those proposed . In the social realm, these stages in the develop- mental sequence are testing-dependence, conflict, cohesion, and functional roles. In the task realm, they are orientation, emotionality, relevant opinion exchange, and the emergence of solutions . There is a good fit between observed stages and the proposed model. Further study of temporal change as a dependent variable via the manipulation of specific independent variables is suggested. The purpose of this article is to review the the area of small-group development will be literature dealing with the devlopmental cited, and a frame