Lewin, K. Group Decision and Social Change. In G. E. Swanson, T. M.
Newcomb, & E. L. Hartley (Eds.) Readings in social psychology. (1952)
Group decision making concerns the relation of motivation to action
and the effect of a group setting on the individual's readiness to change
or to keep certain standards.
Initial study was in food buying habits of a midwestern town. Decisions
came from buying channel or garden channel. Decisions are based on a state
of varying forces acting against or for a particular action. Sometimes there
are gatekeepers who exert strong influences on purchasing (like housewifes).
Actions to change decision making must address the psychology of the gatekeeper.
Action starts with planning, fact-finding, and exectution, with feedback
loops and subsequent modifications.
Realistic fact-finding and evaluation is prerequisite for any learning.
Study of Red Cross and Sweetbreads
Objective was to increase usage of beef hearts, sweetbreads, and other meat
intestinals (in 45 minutes).
Three groups were given a lecture with persuasive arguments.
Three groups used group decision making processes. The groups discussed
potential barriers to adopting intestinals (taste, rejection by husband,
etc.), and the persuasive arguments were added in as appropriate.
Followup showed only 3% of lecture groups served sweetbreads, but 37% did
in the discussion groups.
Reasons:
1. Degree of Involvement. Methodology secured involvement without impeding
freedom of decision. Problem was discussed as "housewives like yourselves".
2. Motivation and decision. Action may not be the direct result of movitation,
but because the one side of force structure has been weakened beyond a certain
point (it may be a compromise).
3. Individual vs Group. It's often easier to change social practice of
a group of people than individually, partly because of the unwillingness
of the individual to stray too far from group standards (this refers to
individual decisions in a group setting.).
4. Expectation. Only after group discussion did leader mention a followup
was possible.
5. Leader personality.
Further studies showed even groups of people who didn't know each other
were more effective than lecture or even one-on-one instruction (mother
feeding of newborns training).
Social forces can exist in a state of quasi-equilibrium. Movement to a
new social state can be by strengthing propelling forces or weakening restraining
forces. Each strategy may have a different effect. Raising social level
w/o a change in forces may result in tension. Group methods are sensitive
to resistance and help reduce tension in the transition. And the degree
of involvement in group decision making is often important to the amount
of effect on habit.