Interpersonal Learning and Interpersonal Feedback

Historical Perspective

In 1955, Raymond J. Corsini and Bina Rosenberg were the first to present a comprehensive classification of group therapeutic factors. William F. Hill and others presented their own models within the next few years. These classifications included elements of interpersonal learning; however, the term interpersonal learning was first proposed by Irvin D. Yalom in his 1970 landmark classification of group curative factors.

Yalom's development of interpersonal learning dimensions had a major influence on later group curative factor classifications. For example, in 1985, Sidney Bloch and Eric C. Crouch presented a model of group therapeutic factors that included “learning from interpersonal action” and “insight (self-understanding).” Together, these two factors closely resemble Yalom's interpersonal learning dimension.

In comparative studies of group therapeutic factors, research findings from the 1970s to the present have consistently ranked interpersonal learning among the most helpful elements in the group process.

Therapeutic Factors in Group Counseling

Therapeutic factors refer to those forces in counseling groups that flow from the interactions among group members (including the group leader or coleaders). These forces promote and support group members' efforts to gain self-insight, pursue goals, and make productive changes in their lives. Some examples of group therapeutic (or curative) factors include cohesiveness, universality (the realization that one's problems are not unique and that others face similar challenges), instillation of hope, and interpersonal learning.

Interpersonal learning is often cited as one of the most important therapeutic factors. Interpersonal learning is particularly important in groups oriented toward member self-insight and the development of social interaction skills (e.g., personal growth groups, encounter groups, and interpersonal groups). Because psychological disturbances are often the result of [Page 659]underlying problematic interpersonal relationships, interpersonal learning serves as a valuable means of directly addressing such issues.

The Interpersonal Learning Process

As members of a counseling group interact among themselves and the group leader, they tend to engage in the habitual patterns of behavior that are characteristic of their interactions in social situations outside of the group setting. Both effective and ineffective social behaviors are on display for other members of the group to observe. In effect, a social microcosm is created whereby members get to see each other as they really are. This provides an ideal environment for the interpersonal learning process.

In his formulation of interpersonal learning, Yalom included both input (gaining insight from others' feedback) and output (trying out new behaviors in the group) dimensions. He also emphasized certain elements that mediate the therapeutic effects of interpersonal learning. The social microcosm of the group must provide a safe and supportive environment for members to be themselves and express here-and-now feelings. Also it must at the same time foster honest feedback and the opportunity for reality testing (e.g., for members to compare their perceptions to the perceptions of others). Members must be able to experience intense emotional awareness of the effects of their interpersonal behavior, both in terms of their feelings about themselves and in terms of others' reactions. In essence, a given group member undergoes a corrective emotional experience whereby the individual is re-exposed, within the supportive group environment, to emotional situations that could not be effectively handled in the past. Through such emotional awareness the member can be motivated to develop cognitive understanding by examining and interpreting the experience with the help of other group members.

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