Applications of Theories of Group Processes

Abstract

Theories of group processes have been and are being applied usefully to natural situations. We review a selection of these theories and examine different types of applications and interventions to which they have led. We then offer a typology of application, five "stages" with examples. As theoretical application proceeds, issues of complexity, rules of correspondence, and competing social interests increase the difficulty of that work, yet the benefits are considerable for theoretical development. NEW KINDS OF ABSTRACT THEORIESWithin the past two or three decades, theorists working in this country and in a few other countries have been developing a new kind of sociological theory. These theories, applied to such problems as how status affects interaction, how the structure of network ties determines power and rewards from bargaining, how identities form and what effects they have on behavior and on structures such as families, how deliberate use of rewards and punishment affects influence, and how events and individuals shape the affective meaning of situations constitute a distinctive type of theorizing. These theorists generally begin quite modestly, attempting to understand certain limited features of cases. In this their aims are very different from those of some earlier theorists, who tried to comprehend characteristics of entire societies, such as the existence of stratification systems, the nature of bureaucracy, or types of social cohesion.The applicability of this new kind of theory is fostered and shaped by at least four distinctive properties that they share.• First, the theories are abstract; the concepts they formulate and that figure in the propositions are defined independently of any particular time and place. Thus theorists may study status-heterogeneous situations, treating gender and skin color as historical instances of the concept status characteristic.• Second, the theories are general; the propositions refer to a potentially unlimited set of cases, rather than only to particular cases~or even to only one!. Among other advantages, this characteristic cultivates growing bodies of cumulative understanding. We know much more today about the classes of situations described in these theories than we did when they were first proposed.• Third, the theories are explicitly formulated, and they derive testable hypotheses using logic or mathematics. The new theorists would say these advantages greatly , and two anonymous reviewers offered many ideas and suggestions incorporated here. NSF grant SES-9911135 supported preparation of this paper. We thank all. Remaining deficiencies are our own. reduce vagueness and remove doubt about what constitutes confirming and disconfirming evidence. • Fourth, for the most part the theories have been developed using experimental laboratory tests. While early statements of a theory may be abstracted from a real world case, these theorists often move into the laboratory for developing and refining their theories.Taken together, these properties describe much of contemp...

Past and Future Applications of Jasso's Justice Theory

“…These studies exemplify a different sort of application from those considered so far (and from those considered by Webster and Whitmeyer 2001). They do not test the theory or any aspect of it.…”

“…Webster and Whitmeyer (2001) noted that interventions are more demanding of a theory than using the theory to explain or to make predictions that then are tested. Consequences, if there are problems with the theory, are more serious, but also the demonstrated utility of the theory becomes greater.…”

“…Application of theories of social processes to natural situations is important, as a number of recent articles have emphasized (Turner 1998;Webster and Whitmeyer 2001). 2 Among other benefits, application demonstrates the usefulness of the theory in question.…”

“…2 Among other benefits, application demonstrates the usefulness of the theory in question. It also can aid development of the theory by revealing areas where the theory makes predictions that appear not to match empirical outcomes, or areas where the theory makes no predictions at all and where it would be useful if it did (Webster and Whitmeyer 2001). Progress of a particular theory can be often maximal through a balanced combination of theoretical work, experimental testing if possible, and various types of application to natural situations.…”

Conducting Applied Experimental Research

“…In this categorization, basic research is oriented to producing and evaluating knowledge; applied research demonstrates the value of accepted knowledge for a practical purpose; and engineering is oriented to solving recognized problems using all available means, including well-established knowledge from basic research as well as other kinds of knowledge such as intuition and experienced-based hunches. Webster and Whitmeyer (2001) describe somewhat different distinctions, with examples of each type. In this chapter, we describe what Cohen would term "applied research and engineering."…”