Regression Tendencies and Conflict

1
Regression Tendencies and Conflict Generation in
Groups Individuality versus Collectivity     Dr
. Athena Chatjoulis- Department of Communication
and Media Studies, University of Athens.
2
- My experience from running groups of young
adults in short or long term psychotherapeutic
groups - Issues the way in which the
ambivalence expressed by the members of the
group to remain or not in the group was
reflecting their ambivalence to remain or not
in their job or even their ambivalence to remain
in their relationship
3
Questions Do I want to belong to a
group? Do I want to be alone? Do I want
to be inside or outside the system, or
inside and outside the system the work, the
family
4

• -gt Discuss
• - how the study of the unconscious processes
• that take place during group formation can
  help
• us to understand
• -gt the individuals need of belongingness and
• his ambivalent feelings concerning his desire to
  become a member of a group or stay out of it
• how the collective phenomena in any group, may
• put the individual in a situation of
  insoluble
• conflict by generating anxiety feelings and
  
• regression tendencies

5

Argument -gt This fundamental ambivalence
between collectivity and individuality is
even more prominent in post-modern flexible
societies as it is the individuals need of
belongingness
6
The analysis is mainly centered on the
group-as-a-wholeapproach and Bions theory and
on the various stages the group goes through
-gt the emerging group stage, -gt the
fraternal community stage or the
affiliated group, -gt the differentiated
group, -gt the stage of fragmented group
(Ettin, 1996, 2000, Neri, 1998)
-gt
7

The basic assumption for this type of analysis
is that the group is the primitive form of
expression of any social organization and that
humans as social animals perceive themselves
only in relation to the group they belong
to. Their group-self consists the core of
their personal identity.
8
Groups are defined not as an aggregate cluster
of persons, but as collective formations of
interacting individuals, (Lewin, 1951)
9
Scientists who worked on group phenomena and
mass psychology as well as analysts of
individual psychodynamics (Le Bon, McDougall,
Freud), associated the unconscious processes
which underlie individuals behavior with the
behavior of small and large groups and
the society as a whole, using psychoanalytical
and sociological notions and models to
describe and interpret relational and group
phenomena.
10
In addition, research on the dual relation
between parent-child, and on the therapeutic
relationship between analyst-client and on the
notions of transference and counter transference
offered many insights to group psychology.
11
For example, the studies - on the defense
mechanisms (Anna Freud), or - on the processes
of projective identifications (Klein) were used
to analyze how people try to protect themselves
at any cost from personal and social stress in
order to maintain an integrated ego. -Later
they were used by other researchers (Zalesnik,
1984) to demonstrate how social systems defend
themselves against collective stress in order to
maintain their organizational cohesion.
12
The group-as-a-whole, Perhaps we ought to
reverse the traditional assumptions,equally
shared by psychoanalysts, about the individual
being the ultimate entity and that group
phenomena are to be interpreted through the
individual. The opposite is true. The group, the
community is the ultimate, primary unit of study
and the inner processes of the individual are
internalizations of the forces operating in the
groups the individual belongs to S.H.Foulkes
13
The group-as-a-whole approach Lewin (1951),
Bion (1961, 1970), Foulkes (1964) - is the
result of the special model for the analysis of
group relations developed at the London Tavistock
Institute of Human Relations Bion (1961), Rice
(1963), Foulkes (1964). Rioch (1970) and Back
(1972
14
The group-as-a-whole approach evolved in a
heart of a century marked by two world wars
Two fundamental themes are emphasized in this
approach a)      the perennial tension
between individual and collective
needs and b) the equally ubiquitous
tension between authoritarian and
democratic patterns of group
life.
15
Overall these approaches suggest that the
outcome of the union of any number of people
who make up a group either for clinical,
organizational or political purposes is a new
entity with autonomous, evolving,
structural,dynamic and relational attributes
reflecting but overriding the individuals it is
comprised of.
16
As Foulkes mentions the group-as-a-wholeis
not just a turn of phrase, it is a living
organism, as distinct from the individuals it is
comprised of. It has mood and reactions, a
spirit, a feeling and a particular atmosphere
(Foulkes, 1964, p. 70).
17
Thus, when individuals become members of a
group, their behavior changes and a collective
identity emerges a task group, a sports team,
a lynch mob, a utopian community, an
organization they all become a new whole, a
Gestalt, whereby the group is the point of
focus and the individual members become the
background.
18
Bion, speaks of the mental states (mentality)
of the group in the group there is a
regressive mentality (which in some measure
corresponds to Freuds mass group) and
evolutive mentality (shown, for example, in a
capacity to co-operate in order to attain an
end).
19
Bion -gt Turned his attention to the analysis
of more primary levels of the individuals
mental life and concluded that group phenomena
cannot be understood according to the model of
the Oedipus complex or the model of family ties.
 -gt Developed his theory Using concepts from
M. Klein object-relation theory, from Lewins
field theory and From the theory of general
systems (Bertalanffy, 1968).
20
Bion life in any group evolves on two levels
on the level of task, which constitutes the
work group or rational group, and on the level
of primary psychic phenomena, which
constitutes the basic assumptions group.
21
The work group is characterized by a state of
co-operative and deliberate mental activity. The
task is explicit, rational, conscious and
immediately related to objective reality. For
Bion, the work group is a collective mentality
and at the same time an aspect of the individual
mind.
22
The phrase work group used by Bion, is there
to illustrate that a learning activity is
necessary for the achievement of the groups
aims, and that participation in the work-group
also implies having developed some skills which
Freud had indicated as characteristics of the
individuals Ego, that is attention, verbal
representation and symbolic thought.
23
The basic assumptions group is characterized by
an implicit, irrational, fantasy-dominated state
which emerges when regression or emotional needs
prevail. It is a collective expression of the
group whereby the physical, psychological and
mental elements are not differentiated but
constitute a field where emotions arise
instinctively and instantly overwhelming and
dominating the mental activities of the group.
It is a primitive mentality state.
24
In the basic assumption group the group operates
as if certain things were true like, for
instance, that the leader is all-powerful and
wise. This may lead to over-dependency on him.
In other words, the primary needs, fantasies and
desires of each group member come to
surface. This may create an emotionally charged
and illogical atmosphere which prevents the
group from pursuing its task, i.e. from becoming
a work group
25
The basic assumptions are the basic
assumption of dependency, the basic assumption
of fight-flight and the basic assumption of
pairing. At the basic assumptions level, the
group behaves as if one of these states truly
existed, and as if certain behaviors were
vital for the survival of the group. Basic
refers to the survival motivation of group
assumption underlines the fact that the
survival motivation is based, not on fact or
reality, but on the collective projections of
the group
26
-gt the basic assumption of dependency, Aim to
attain security and protection from a leader
-gtthe basic assumption of fight-flight as if
its survival depends on some form of action
manifested either as an attack or flight
(flight from the groups task, -gt the basic
assumption of pairing. establishment of bonding
between two individuals -a pair- which will
give birth to an idea or a new leader, a
Messiah who will save the group, and help it
complete its task.
27
In Bions essay, Experiences in groups (Bion,
1961), the two group states, the work group
and the basic assumptions group do not exist in
a continuum but appear as both concurrent and
opposite. We could say, that the evolved man
(expression of the work group) and regressed man
(expression of primitive mentality) are present
in both the caveman and his modern descendant
technological man.
28
- Besides, the active and simultaneous presence
of these two states both in the group as a whole
and in each one of its members puts the
individual in a situation of insoluble conflict.
If he participates only in the work group, he
feels deprived of warmth and strength. If he
persists in the basic assumptions group, he
knows he may find it impossible to pursue his
own goals as a thinking individual.
29
The various stages the group goes through
during its formation -gt the emerging group
stage, -gt the fraternal community stage or
the affiliated group, -gt the differentiated
group, -gt the stage of fragmented group
(Ettin, 1996, 2000, Neri, 1998)
30
-gt the emerging group stage, is characterized
by a collective illusion whereby the
individuals-members of the group exist and
interact as being in the best group of the
world, on the one side, and by experiences of
personality fragmentation, on the other.
31
-gt the emerging group stage, Initially, a
sense of euphoria grabs the members of the
group who are flooded by pleasant feelings of
belonging somewhere. The aim is to become a
team, a good team, where everybody is able to
interact without fear of loosing their
individuality. This collective fantasy is an
answer to the individuals fear of fusion into
the group. It is a desire for security, a desire
to preserve a threatened ego.
32
-gt the emerging group stage, This
collective illusion is also a positive aspect in
the groups evolution because it is a way to
answer the immediate need of members to be
together, even if they still lack the ability
to establish relationships between them.
33
-gt the emerging group stage, Although they are
still unable to constitute a group of people
capable of working together, they may
nevertheless be together as if they were in a
dream where everyone may walk his own way, speak
his ownlanguage, incomprehensible to the others,
but all of them still living in the same dream.
34
-gt the emerging group stage, On the other hand,
the regression tendencies prevailing in this
stage reflect the level of the basic assumptions
group where fantasies and emotions emerge and
reinforce the struggle between collectivity and
individuality. The group should continue to
exist as-a-whole and work together to move
on..but I dont want to loose myself
35
-gt the emerging group stage, These opposing
feelings however, may bring the individual in a
state of confusion. What members experience
as individuality at this stage is not autonomy
but isolation. Autonomy and isolation are
confounded for although members want to be
autonomous, they also desire to co-exist in the
group.
36
-gt the emerging group stage, Thus, autonomy
can only be experienced as withdrawal and
becomes threatening In this stage, the need for
differentiation and the need for relationships
require a constant redefinition of self-image by
the other object, a constant need to distinguish
between the Ego, the you and the us.
37
-gt the emerging group stage, Anzieu, Bion and
Neri, analyzing this stage of illusion and
non-differentiation, talk about a state of loss
of boundaries, where similar feelings occur as in
the passage from sleep to waking. It is a stage
where there are feelings of loss of reality, and
where, although there is no detachment from
experience, neither there is a possibility of
directing ones own participation in a voluntary
and active way.
38
-gt The fraternal Community Stage or The
affiliated Group The processes of the
emerging group state, gradually lead to
construction of new group schemes by stimulating
adequate collective forms of thinking and
information processing. The thoughts of
individuals-members of the group become relevant
to each other as each member continues the
thoughts or words of the members speaking before
them (resonance phenomenon).
39
-gt The fraternal Community Stage The discussion
mainly concerns the state or experience of the
group in the here and now communications and
interrelations. It is the phase, in which there
is a growing awareness of the existence and
working potential of the group as a collective
subject, and as a community capable of thought.
40
-gt The fraternal Community Stage the moment of
fusion, Jean Paul Sartre (1984) He suggests
that there comes a moment in the evolution of a
group, the moment of fusion, whereby what was
previously an aggregate of people is transformed
into a different coherent whole, a suprapersonal
whole.
41
-gt The fraternal Community Stage The true
notion of collective thinking starts at the exact
moment the group enters this stage of fusion
whereby each individual emerges from
isolation,exploitation, incapacity and takes an
active part in the group. The individual is not
alone in life but as a member of the group he may
adapt to reality or try to change it.
42

• -gt The fraternal Community Stage
• Awareness of being a group
• people realize that their belonging to the group
• is no longer under discussion
• -They become more decline to put themselves at
• risk
• -They see the leader as being less rigid and
• distant, and more human and vulnerable.
• They loose their dependence on and the fear of
• the leader (therapist)
• They try to locate their personal thoughts and
• questions within the group field.

43

• The fraternal Community Stage
• - Characterized a collective, productive
• and creative marriage between its members.
• The state of Bions work group prevails
• - Members are not fused and the group does
• not have to be one-dimensional.
• - People discover themselves through
  relationships
• and interactions with other group members
• This state stimulates feelings of
• belonging somewhere and having a
• common purpose.

44

• The fragmented group
• Emphasis is placed on individuality and
  differentiation. This becomes dysfunctional, the
  group splits.
• A state of decomposition characterized by
  unsolved conflicts or autistic communication.
• Members are not talking to each other or, if they
  do, they do not address each other but rather
  speak of each other. They feel isolated,
  separated and lost. The group fails to be a
  source of support, safety or identity.

45
The differentiated group is characterized by a
well-organized and self-determined structure
where the forces of collectivity and
individuality totally complement each other, The
investigation of personal roles against group
roles as well as maintaining an isomorphic
relation between members and the whole contribute
to preserving the state of the differentiated
group
46
In all stages of group evolution, members
interact and interrelate by transferring and
projecting emotions and values on the cultural
level of the group. In the members
consciousness, the group gradually turns into a
common object they can share but also one to
which they may project undesired emotions and
actions.
47
Role of leader Ask questions about the status of
the group at every moment of its existence -
when and how differences between members can
be evaluated and integrated in the
group-as-a-whole? - when interactions between
members hide aggressive feelings and conflicts? -
What are the concealed fears behind projections?
- What are the concealed primary needs? -
What ambivalent feelings are floating in the
group and how could they be integrated in the
group-as-a-whole?
48
  If the individual abandons its difference
within a group and allows the other members to
influence it by way of suggestions and
impositions, it conveys the impression that it
does it because it feels the need to be in
harmony with them and not in opposition
perhaps it does it ihnen zu Liebe (for their
love). Freud (1930) Civilization and its
Discontents,
49
A member of the small psychotherapy group,
Michael, wonders I dont know if Im any
good with my job, Ive got nothing to compare it
with and continues, Im not sure I want to stay
in this job. I, on the contrary, says Helen,
will do my best, I want to keep this job, I
want to build up my CV, I want to work for other
companies too.
50
Accordingly, -Helen is worried when people are
missing from the group while she herself is
always there, the first to arrive. -In
contrast, Michael is always late, making excuses
for his absence, always questioning if the group
will manage to go on, or even if it is worth
to exist.
51

• In Late-modernity
• Any need to satisfy feelings of belongingness
• is considered negative, an obstacle to freedom,
• a shameful thing, a proof of personal failure.
• - However, in a society where people believe
• they do not need anyone and nobody needs
• them, they feel that they can only survive being
  
• in a team.

52

• It is only through the group that people
• can achieve true recognition of their
• achievements, or of their individuality.
• It is only in relation to the other that one
  can
• feel that he exists as a separate even
• an autonomous being.

53
-In post-modern organizations, workers are
encouraged (e.g. with sales bonuses, capital
shares, etc.) to make the organization or the
team they belong to as their own team, and thus
to fight for its success. -This identification
with the group or the leader of the organization
offers narcissistic satisfactions similar to
those experienced in the primary family, while
increase regression and the fear of loss of
self-limits and fear of de-individuation
54
- in post-modern organizations flexible
organizations presuppose flexible leaders Faced
with the big technological and economic changes,
todays leaders feel weak and incapable of
demonstrating the necessary confidence and
authority like they used to do in the past,
i.e. to reproduce a power model to identify or
fight with. Workers have no one to transfer the
feelings of idealization and the images of
ideal ego
55

• in post-modern organizations
• - leaders must overcome themselves
• and go beyond the status assigned to them
• pretending to be not only strong
• but also weak and insecure.
• However, what happens when leaders expose
  themselves and their weaknesses?

56
In post-modern organizations ..if ambivalence
is manifested in the transference and counter
transference feelings of group members vis-à-vis
the leader, does the exposure of the leaders
weakness, the feelings of disappointment and
shame from exposing weakness, not give rise to
feelings of alienation responsible for the
hidden psychological wounds of post-modern
organizations? (Hirschhorn, 1997)
57

• In the small analytic group
• Questions
• how much otherness can the group
• accommodate?,
• when and what type of cohesion is necessary to
  
• develop collective thinking and a collective
• mind in the group? or
• how we can people to preserve their
• individuality beyond the roles and functions
• assigned to them by the group, without leaving
  
• them in isolation

58
A discourse of ambivalence a discourse that
allows discontinuity in life narratives, which
although not containing a series of achievements
or adventures with difficulties and sacrifices,
allow for experimentation with the
new identities which they may develop,
reconstruct or even reject while being able to
express their need of belongingnessand being
able to exist in and out of the system in the
case of work and in the case of relationships..