Abstract
The problem of defining what a group is can be traced back to the beginnings of the century and beyond when psychologists concerned themselves with the notion of ‘group mind’ and crowd behaviour (Hollander, 1981). Essentially any definition of a group must distinguish it from a crowd or aggregate of individuals. In order to achieve this most current writers emphasize a psychological component such as influence, awareness or interaction amongst members of the group. Here are some examples: Schein defines a psychological group as:
any number of people who (i) interact with one another, (ii) are psychologically aware of one another, and (iii) perceive themselves to be a group (Schein, 1980, p. 145).
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© 1985 Elizabeth Chell
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Chell, E. (1985). Group Structure and the Process of Participation. In: Participation and Organization. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17810-0_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17810-0_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-34820-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-17810-0
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