From Where Is the Group? To What Is the Group?: Contributions of Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling

摘要

Objective: My journey as the second editor of Group Dynamics: Theory and Research helped me realize two important questions that I and other group dynamics research need to address. Where is the group? And what is the group? Method: I briefly review the literature variously described as group effects, partner effects, and mutual influence to highlight the importance of examining how the group affects the individual. Next, I review the literature, which shows that calculating the mean of group members' perceptions and behaviors does not explain the entire effect of the group. Results: There is extensive evidence that the group or other group members have a strong effect on the perceptions and behaviors of individual group members. In addition, measuring dispersion and homogeneity of group members' perceptions and behavior can add to our understanding of the group effect. Conclusions: Group researchers should expand their examination of the effect of the group by including measures of dispersion and homogeneity in their research.