Lowell Cooper

Unconscious Planning in Small Groups

The authors offer a new hypothesis to solve the general theoretical and practical problem of how collaborative groups evolve: Namely, that these small groups engage in unconscious planning to solve their own problems, and that consultants work best by augmenting this group planning. This hypothesis borrows the concept of individual unconscious planning propounded by Weiss (unpublished) and furthered by Weiss et al. (1977) and Sampson (1976) from the context of individual psychoanalysis and explains group development as the coordinating of individual planning, i.e., as group planning. This involves making prominent in early meetings what general problem the group wishes to control and master, as well as a logical sequence of the order in which difficulties need to be confronted. After introducing the problem, the authors consider four major aspects of the group planning theory: First, the presentation of the theory itself, compared to previous theories of group development; second, exemplification of the theory by detailed narratives of two study groups in an experimental group relations conference conducted by the authors; third, the considerable scientific problems in this and further tests of the group planning theory; fourth, this theory as a special case of the general theory of biological evolution, and in particular the theory of more effective cultural evolution through the use of scientific method (Popper, 1972).

Co-Therapy Relationships in Groups.

While there is growing agreement on the value of co-therapy relationships in groups, there is also ample recognition of major pitfalls and interferences which can arise (Rosenbaum, 1971; Yalom, 1970). Theoretical literature is still generally rather sparse and at the relatively embryonic stage of clinicians describing pros and cons of their co-therapy experiences (Hulse et al., 1956; Adler and Berman, 1960; Gans, 1962; MacLennan, 1965). There has been virtually no systematic writing on the group dynamics of co-therapy relationships and the use of such a perspective by therapists to further specific learning around which the group may have been formed.

Cooperative and Clashing Interests in Small Groups. Part I. Theory

Exploitation is as old as our knowledge of society and recurs continually in almost every social organization that we know, while cooperation is less common, more private, and continually breaking down. The authors are interested in routes that small groups discover for running against this exploitative current of history. The ordinary danger in new small groups is that divergent interests will be neither recognized nor balanced. Members will have contradictory plans for the use of the group situation, often unconscious, which are managed by ignoring or negating one or both parties. The authors have found, however, that groups are also capable of unconcious collective planning to handle these collisions. They describe five major principles of unconscious group planning, illustrate these principles in the narratives of two contrasting small groups, and compare this new theory with the classical perspectives on small-group dynamics.

Toward the Study of Society in Microcosm: Critical Problems of Group Relations Conferences

In the first half of this article, the authors consider the basic structure, culture, and technique developed for the Group Relations Conference, which aims to be an open institution for studying in microcosm the working problems of society. They argue that the traditional culture and technique are nondevelopmental, hence can do very little about societal dynamics simply being replayed in conferences, which in turn lowers the morale of these events seriously. They believed that the inherent development thrust of conference members could be as powerful as the regressive instincts and class interests that ordinarily overrun conferences, if the interferences with group development were carefully attended to by consultants. Two experimental conferences have confirmed the hypothesis and, furthermore, shown the phases of the critical second-stage development, in which group members make prominent and master the inherent aggression in groups about differences.

Safety in Groups: An Existential Analysis.

matter of course, in structures such as hierarchies, roles, task assignments, we tend to take them for granted. In therapeutic settings, these conditions are less clearly present and more subtle: they are not immediately provided by the structure of the situation, and the participants spend much time in attempts to establish them although such work proceeds at a largely covert level. In group therapy situations, the setting of primary interest in this paper, the group events which occur from the opening moments through to the establishment of a work group, and those events which divert the participants from their work task, are considered processes geared toward establishing and reassuring safety. In this paper, we will try to explicate on the notion of safety from an existential point of view, synthesizing ideas from Bion (1959), Gendlin (1962, 1971), and Laing (1965). A fundamental building block of Laing’s theory of personality rests on his notion of ontological security: &dquo;A

Conflict in Group Therapy: The Management of Individual Differences

We present a new model for understanding how individuals manifest conflict in group psychotherapy and the major changes in technique following from this model. It is proposed that individuals make unconscious decisions to expose conflict when it is safe to do so, as opposed to traditional dynamic theory, in which conflict emerges when it erupts out of defensive control. Control-mastery theory is described and compared with traditional dynamic approaches to group therapy. An extended clinical example (not included but available on request) demonstrates technical innovations that are useful for management of group conflict and that respond to the presence of often strongly contradictory individual growth needs in the group setting.

UNCONSCIOUS PLANNING BY PATIENTS FOR GROUP THERAPY

There have been some dramatic changes in recent years in psychoanalytic theory and technique which have influenced us very much and which we have found powerful in our group work. This new framework is based on concepts from psychoanalytic ego psychology which have been synthesized into a theory of psychotherapy called control-mastery theory. This theory is being developed by Joseph Weiss, M.D. along with his colleague Harold Sampson (Weiss, et al., 1977, 1980; Sampson, 1976; Weiss, 1971). Both are on the faculty of the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute as well as of Mount Zion Hospital and Medical Center. Weiss and Sampson also head a large research group which has been carrying out formal studies of the new theory as contrasted to traditional psychoanalytic theory. (Weiss et al. 1977, 1980).

Motoric, ideational and sensory expressive styles: further validation of the Stein and Lenrow types.

The study sought to reproduce the Stein and Lenrow 8 expressive styles on a new sample and to extend their definitional characteristics through additional validity studies. Computer programs for empirical type derivation and prediction were used to analyze data from 24 college male and 24 female Ss (self-report, behavioral and experimental tests). Five styles were reproduced closely, 3 were divergent on 1 or 2 dimensional scores and were not studied. Results (based on small ns) generally confirmed and elaborated original five styles, tentatively characterized as Inhibited Type, He Man, Sensuous Female, Emotionally Distant Type, and Independent Sensory Type.