SOME ASPECTS OF SOCIAL PROCESS

Kurt Lewin, whom we commemorate today, remains a very real presence in the world of social science; and my colleagues and I are grateful for this opportunity to acknowledge the influence of his work and his ideas. The field of study of the group which I represent has been that of social adaptation and social change; our practical effort that of securing opportunities to observe social process in real life situations. In this lecture, only an outline can be given of the situations and roles through which access was obtained for research purposes, and of the types of data and hypotheses which have emerged; but more detailed reports have just been published, or are in press. Although the examples to be given are military or industrial, scientific concern is with the dynamics of behaviour, and not with industry or armies. Experience of social process in these areas may, however, hope to contribute to the conceptual and methodological problems of work with many types of groups, even a group such as the family, whose central and guarded position in the life space of the individual gives it special relevance for any systematic approach to social dynamics. The intention of this paper is to give some examples of mechanisms which operate at the level of both the individual and the group, but without recognition; and to illustrate how such mechanisms may affect the working and adaptation of groups in change situations. Five examples will be given; and in conclusion, a brief comment will be made on participation and authority, and on the reality and complexity of unrecognized mechanisms in group life.