SCENARIO
GUYAyESip5
stagesofgroupdevelopment.docxGROUP DEVELOPMENT
Groups go through five sequential stages of development. Some groups, on the basis of their leadership or members’ prior experiences, can move through these stages more quickly than others. Because of the same factors, some groups may never experience all five stages. The five stages of development are:
1.Forming: During the forming stage, members try to determine what the appropriate behaviors and core values of the group are. They focus on exchanging functional information, task definition, and boundary development. They begin to establish tasks and determine how they might meet objectives. During this initial stage, members must gain an under-standing about the reason or purpose for joining and find a social niche in the group.
2.Storming: The second stage of group development, storming, is characterized by high levels of emotion, because members are trying to find their group identity and exert their individuality. At this stage, members are claiming their social power within the group and a hierarchy is established as people question authority, react to what is supposed to be accomplished, and jockey for power within the group. Intermember criticism, scapegoating, and judgments may accompany this struggle for control.
3. Norming: Within the third stage, the development of cohesion and structure occurs when the group’s standards, key values, and roles are accepted. The gradual development of cohesion occurs after the conflicting stage two. In this third stage, the rules for behavior are explicitly and implicitly defined. There is a greater degree of order and a strong sense of group membership.
4.Performing: In the fourth stage, performing, we find that members have found their role(s) within the group and that their energy is focused on the task. The group works through the problems confronting it and, when the task is almost near completion, the group moves to the final phase.
