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In the preceding section I described one cause of oscillation in a group. I wish now to consider a phenomenon that may lead either to such oscillation or else to schism. In my fifth article I said that ‘development’ was an important function of the W group. It is also one of the respects in which the W group differs from the basic-assumption group. The W group is necessarily concerned with reality and, therefore, might be said to have some of the characteristics Freud attributes to the ego in his discussion of the individual. Since the W group is concerned with reality, its techniques tend ultimately to be scientific. The point now is the resistance that is set up when development is demanded of the group or of the individuals composing it.
According to his personality, the individual adheres to one of two sub-groups. One sub-group opposes further advance, and in doing so appeals to loyalty to the dependent leader, or to the group bible, which, as we have seen, is a substitute for the dependent leader. The adherents of this sub-group appeal to tradition, ‘the word of (the group) god’, or to somebody who has been made into the group god in order to resist change. Members of this sub-group manipulate the dependent leader or substitutes they claim to support in such a way that adherence to the group will not demand any painful sacrifices and will therefore be popular. Mental activity thus becomes stabilized on a level that is platitudinous, dogmatic, and painless. Development is arrested and the resultant stagnation is widespread.