Chapter 8 Experiences of Participating: Group Processes and Group Dynamics

The experiences and impressions that I describe in this chapter derive chiefly from the groups in which I have been working as a moderator. These groups have been very different and accordingly the group processes have developed in divergent ways, forming the basis for an ample description of various group phenomena. However, in order to prevent the following presentation from being limited to my own experiences or from running the risk of it being biased only to a moderator’s perspective, I have supplemented the description with comments and commentaries made by many of the participants in a questionnaire about the workshop and how it worked out.

Group processes and group dynamics have determined how the workshop groups have functioned in interesting ways; as they have been influenced by several specific preconditions concerning the setting, the frame and the task. The changes that have been introduced year by year as we have tried to learn from experience have had a great impact on work with the group task, how it has developed and how it has been managed. Some of the more important will, therefore, be briefly outlined.

The composition of groups has been decided on in advance with some of the participants being selected for certain functions. Each

group had a moderator who was responsible for leading the group work. This involved introducing the task and the working model and making the group work with the task and stick to it. Initially, none of the moderators was prepared in any special way for this job, and each had to work out his or her own understanding of what was expected and needed as well as his or her own style. But from the beginning of the project a permanent group of moderators have met regularly and exchanged their experiences; these meetings (the meetings in Paris described in Chapter 6) have had a supporting function.

The recruitment of participants to the groups was strictly regulated. Those who wanted to take part