Group Development

Fundamentals

The model I proposed of developmental stages for various group settings over time were labeled (1) testing and dependence, (2) intragroup conflict, (3) development of group cohesion, and (4) functional role relatedness. The corresponding stages of task activity were labeled (1) orientation to task, (2) emotional response to task demands, (3) open exchange of relevant interpretations, and (4) emergence of solutions. But I summarized the four stages as forming, storming, norming, and performing. I provided a developmental model of group process by organizing and conceptualizing existing research data and theoretical precepts rather than by presenting original empirical data to support my model.

Only one empirical study could be found to test my hypothesis. Philip J. Runkel and colleagues studied three groups of 15 to 20 college students in a classroom setting. The task of each group was to decide on a project, collect and interpret data, and write a final report. During meetings of the work group, 16 observers, armed with descriptions of my model of stage development, observed the group until something happened that fitted a behavior described by me as belonging to one of the four stages of group structure or task activity. The observers rotated among groups in an effort to reduce observer bias. Ratings from observers supported my theory of group development, dubbed Tuckman’s hypothesis. Moreover, I amended my model to include a fifth stage, labeled adjourning. Other researchers such as J. Stephen Heinen and Eugene Jacobson also arrived at the conclusion that groups do appear to develop and grow in an orderly, predictable manner and have tended to follow the same pattern.

It is noteworthy that since 1965 there have been few studies that report empirical data concerning the stages of group development. It is also of interest that most authors, although writing from a theoretical framework, call for further research to verify their hypotheses. A virtually untapped field is the empirical testing of existing models of group-stage development. A major outcome of this review has been the discovery that recent research posits the existence of a final discernible and significant stage of group development—adjourning. The model now stands: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. A description of the core elements and insights of each stage follows.

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