Group Dynamics

Gifted children and adults are accustomed to not being like those around them, and this can make them feel like they exist outside of groups. The term gifted defines individuals by their exceptionalism, by how they stand out or by how many standard deviations they are from the mean. This focus on the individual, however, risks losing sight of the fact that everyone belongs to many groups, such as their family, school, workplace, organization, team, or group of friends. Characteristics of human groups and the implications of group dynamics research for gifted students are reviewed in this entry.

Groups need not be cliques of enforced homogeneity. Indeed, families, schools, sports teams, and organizations of all types contain different roles for different individuals. They can be unified by a variety of common goals—like winning a game or making money—or by affiliations—such as a shared interest or religion. Yet, most groups necessitate a degree of sublimation of individuality and insist that members submerge the full spectrum of their differences for the sake of group cohesion. A church, for example, is not the place for someone to show off his or her stamp collection any more than a philatelic organization will tolerate endless proselytizing by the religious devotee.

How gifted individuals respond to group membership often depends on their past experiences with groups. The gifted girl who has been forced to hide her differences and talents might bristle at these constrictions on her individuality, but the gifted boy who was always singled out as different or isolated because of his talents might relish the feeling of belonging that groups offer. The girl whose parents pressured her to fit in might fight for her right to be herself, whereas the boy whose parents insisted he outperform all his peers might want nothing more than the opportunity to be like everyone else for a change.

To understand the unique challenges that the gifted member faces in groups, it is useful to understand how groups function. Group dynamics have been studied by psychologists since Kurt Lewin first suggested that the behavior of groups could be systematically investigated. Groups, like individuals, have conscious and unconscious motivations for their behavior. They are held together by the internal consistencies of identity and simultaneously strained by internal conflicts and uncertainties. Groups have stages of development that typically begin with their formation, followed by the development of overt and covert rules and norms for the behavior of the group. Only after this process of self-definition is complete can the group begin its work. This work can go on indefinitely, with membership and change happening organically in the flow of events, or the group can terminate its work and dissolve or re-form around new membership or a new task.

The group's initial stage of establishing identity, norms of behavior, rules, and tasks can determine a member's experience in a group. This can work to the disadvantage of gifted group members. Too often, the highly intelligent, reflective members will take a backseat to the more impulsive, powerseeking or quick-to-act members and end up with rules, norms, and tasks that aren't their own. This can lead to their marginalization and finally their bitter withdrawal from a group that has strayed from what they wanted it to be.

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