Scientific ideas on the large groups development: A critical analysis on the background of small group models development
Анотація
There are discussed the concepts of phase (stage) development of large groups which are widely known in post-Soviet countries and are proposed by Russian authors in Soviet times (G. G. Dilihenskiy) and in the past decade (A. L. Zhuravlev and T. P. Yemelianova). It is shown that despite of existing differences both concepts have common flaws, which primarily relate to the simplification of a large group development picture which is irrelevant to the reality, the interpretation of this development as an essentially unidirectional, linear process as it is free from internal contradictions (intra-group conflicts and regressive tendencies). On the background of such large groups development’s simplifications almost the only exception as to the discussed issues in the scientific context is the theory of ethnogenesis by L. M. Gumilyov, but in the socio-psychological sense it has a local significance, since it concerns only ethnic groups and cannot be mechanically extrapolated to the other large groups. It is suggested that the "non-conflict" simplicity of the concepts proposed by Russian authors is explained by the ideologizability of large groups problems and by the influence of Soviet collective theories, where group development is also considered as linear climbing of the small group to the collective or, conversely, anti-collective level. Therefore, in order to clarify the notions of large groups development there are analyzed Western models of small group development designed by B. Tuckman and his followers; these models are characterized by wellestablished, time-tested and practically relevant scientific knowledge. Based on the conducted analysis, there is a need, firstly, to take into account the moments of progress and regress in the conceptions of large group development; and secondly, to abandon the strict correlation of large groups development phases (stages) with the levels of their development. The modification of B. Tuckman's model, performed by A. White and J. Fairhurst, which removes the fatalism (an indispensable finiteness) from the picture of group development, is also essential for clarifying the development conceptions not only for the small groups but also for the large ones. The question is raised about the creation of a general theory of group development, which would contain the complementary combinations of options oriented on the specifics of different types of large, medium, and small groups
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