4. Cohesion Development

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CHAPTER 5
COHESION & DEVELOPMENT
Forsyth, Group Dynamics, 7th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Chapter 5 Outline
1. Sources of Cohesion
2. Developing Cohesion
3. Consequences of Cohesion
4. Application: Explaining Initiations
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Learning Objectives (slide 1 of 2)
• 5.1. Synthesize diverse perspectives on cohesion in a multicomponent,

multilevel, multimethod model.
• 5.2. Compare and contrast the five sources of cohesion: social cohesion,
task cohesion, collective cohesion, emotional cohesion, and structural
cohesion.
• 5.3. Summarize the methods used by Muzafer and Carolyn Sherif in their
study of group development in summer camps, and note the implications of
their findings for understanding cohesion.
• 5.4. Describe the basic assumptions of the following theories of group
cohesion: social identity theory, identify fusion theory, and relational
cohesion theory.
Learning Objectives (slide 2 of 2)
• 5.5. Summarize Tuckman’s theory of group development.

• 5.6. Compare successive stage theories of group development to cyclical
models, providing examples.
• 5.7. Identify the positive and negative consequences of high levels of
cohesion.
• 5.8. Explain the relationship between cohesion and group performance.
• 5.9. Review both field and laboratory studies of the impact of initiations on
commitment to a group and group cohesion.
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1. Sources of Cohesion (1 of 3)
• 1a. Social Cohesion • 1d. Emotional Cohesion
• Interpersonal Attraction • Group-Level Emotions
• Group-level Attraction • Affect & Relational Cohesion
• 1b. Task Cohesion • 1e. Structural Cohesion
• Group Motivation • 1f. Assumptions and
• Efficacy & Potency Assessments
• 1c. Collective Cohesion • Multicomponents
• Cohesion & Entitativity • Multilevels
• Belonging & Identity • Multimethods
What is cohesion, and what are
its sources?
• “The total field of forces which act on members to remain in the group” --
Festinger, Schachter, & Back, 1950, p. 164
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• The attraction of members to one

another and to the group as a
whole; liking for members and for
the group.
1b. Task Cohesion
• A shared commitment among • Collective efficacy: The

members to achieve personal and consensual belief that the group is
group goals; coordination and capable of executing the actions
teamwork. required to attain the group’s goals
• Group potency: The level of the
group’s shared optimism regarding
its collective capabilities.
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1c. Collective Cohesion (1 of 2)
• The degree to which the group

unites its members; perceived
solidarity of the group (entitativity)
and members’ identification with the
group.
1c. Collective Cohesion (2 of 2)
• Entitativity: Collective cohesion is highly correlated with entitativity

• Identity fusion theory: Individuals are willing to engage in extreme forms of
behavior on behalf of their group when the personal self and the collective
selves become amplified.
• Example: Trolley car dilemma
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1d. Emotional Cohesion (1 of 2)
• The emotional intensity of the group • Emotion-based theories:

and individuals when in the group. • Group affective tone (George,
• Élan, morale, esprit de corps 1996)
• Relational cohesion theory
(Lawler et al., 2014)
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1d. Emotional Cohesion (2 of 2)

Marching aimlessly about on the drill field, swaggering in conformity with
prescribed military postures, conscious only of keeping in step so as to make
the next move correctly and in time somehow felt good. Words are inadequate
to describe the emotion aroused by the prolonged movement in unison that
drilling involved. A sense of pervasive well-being is what I recalled; more
specifically, a strange sense of personal enlargement; a sort of swelling out,
becoming bigger than life, thanks to participation in collective ritual (p. 2).
--William McNeill (1995, p.2), in his book Keeping Together in Time
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1e. Structural Cohesion
• Figure 5.1: Unity of a group that

derives from the group’s structural
integrity, including normative
coherence, clarity of roles, and
strength and density of relationships
linking members.
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1f. Assumptions and Assessments
• Equifinality: Potential to reach an end state through many paths

• Multifinality: Reaching different endings from the same starting conditions
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2. Developing Cohesion
• 2a. Theories of Group How does cohesion develop over

Development time?
• 2b. Five Stages of Development
• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Adjourning
• 2c. Cycles of Development
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2a. Theories of Group Development
• Theories of group development • Successive stage theories

describe recurring patterns of • Cyclical models
change in a group’s structure and
interactions that occur over the
course of the group’s existence.
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2b. Five Stages of Development (2 of 2)
• Tuckman’s Stage Theory of group

development
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2c. Cycles of Development
• Tuckman: A successive
stage model Task
• Bale’s Equilibrium model: Orientation
A cyclical model
• Punctuated equilibrium
model
Relationship
Orientation
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3. Consequences of Cohesion
• 3a. Member Satisfaction and What are the positive and negative
Adjustment consequences of cohesion?
• 3b. Group Dynamics and
Influence
• 3c. Productivity
• The cohesion → performance
relationship
• The performance → cohesion
relationship
• Exceptions and conditions
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3a. Member Satisfaction and Adjustment (1 of 2)
• If asked to choose between two groups, most people would likely pick a
cohesive group over a run-of-the-mill group.
• But a cohesive group is an intense group, and this intensity affects the
members, the group’s dynamics, and the group’s performance in both
positive and negative ways.
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3a. Member Satisfaction and Adjustment (2 of 2)
• Cohesion is associated with increases in member satisfaction and

decreases in turnover and stress
• Roy’s (1959) “banana time” case study documented the benefits of
membership in a cohesive workgroup.
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3b. Group Dynamics and Influence
Positive Consequences Problematic Consequences

• Enhanced member satisfaction • Intensification of emotional and social
• Reduced tension, stress processes (e.g., “old sergeant’s
syndrome)
• Higher group engagement
• Increased influence, pressure
• Reduced turnover
• Hostility
• Longer duration of membership
• Groupthink
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3c. Group Productivity (1 of 2)
• Figure 5.3: The relationship between cohesion and performance is complex

and reciprocal
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3c. Group Productivity (2 of 2)
• Figure 5.4: The productivity of

cohesive groups depends on the
norms of that group: if norms do not
support hard work, then cohesive
groups will be unproductive!
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4. Application: Explaining Initiations
• Groups often initiate members to increase their commitment to the group

and the group’s overall level of cohesiveness.
• Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance predicts that people who must
invest in their group will become committed to it.
• Festinger, Schachter’s and Back’s classic study of the “Seekers”
supported this prediction
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4a. Cohesion and Initiations
• Aronson & Mills studied the relationship between a severe initiation and
liking for a group.
• The people they studied rated the group more positively if they experienced
a “severe” initiation.
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4b. Hazing
What Sustains Hazing? Dangers of Hazing

• Bonding: Increases dependency on • Ineffective: Not as effective a
the group means of increasing commitment
• Dominance: Establishes hierarchy, as other group-level activities
status • Dangerous: Harmful and fatal in
• Commitment: Increases some cases
psychological costs and • Illegal: Banded in most
commitment jurisdictions
• Tradition: Defended as a sacred
tradition
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6/23/2023

Learning Objectives (slide 1 of 2)

• 5.1. Synthesize diverse perspectives on cohesion in a multicomponent,

Learning Objectives (slide 2 of 2)

• 5.5. Summarize Tuckman’s theory of group development.

• The attraction of members to one

1b. Task Cohesion

• A shared commitment among • Collective efficacy: The

1c. Collective Cohesion (1 of 2)

• The degree to which the group

1c. Collective Cohesion (2 of 2)

• Entitativity: Collective cohesion is highly correlated with entitativity

1d. Emotional Cohesion (1 of 2)

• The emotional intensity of the group • Emotion-based theories:

1d. Emotional Cohesion (2 of 2)

1e. Structural Cohesion

• Figure 5.1: Unity of a group that

1f. Assumptions and Assessments

• Equifinality: Potential to reach an end state through many paths

• 2a. Theories of Group How does cohesion develop over

2a. Theories of Group Development

• Theories of group development • Successive stage theories

2b. Five Stages of Development (2 of 2)

• Tuckman’s Stage Theory of group

2c. Cycles of Development

3a. Member Satisfaction and Adjustment (1 of 2)

3a. Member Satisfaction and Adjustment (2 of 2)

• Cohesion is associated with increases in member satisfaction and

3b. Group Dynamics and Influence

Positive Consequences Problematic Consequences

3c. Group Productivity (1 of 2)

• Figure 5.3: The relationship between cohesion and performance is complex

3c. Group Productivity (2 of 2)

• Figure 5.4: The productivity of

4. Application: Explaining Initiations

• Groups often initiate members to increase their commitment to the group

4a. Cohesion and Initiations

What Sustains Hazing? Dangers of Hazing

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