THE OEDIPAL PARADIGM IN GROUP DEVELOPMENT A Clinical and Empirical Study

Small group researchers and participant observers of psycho-therapy and training groups have for some time attempted to identify and explain the &dquo;phases&dquo; or &dquo;stages&dquo; which char-acterize the development of small social systems. To this end, many different kinds of groups have been studied-laboratory groups, sensitivity training groups, psychotherapy groups, college classrooms, and &dquo;natural&dquo; groups in &dquo;real life&dquo; settings. In addition, several generations of social scientists have struggled with the complexities of social change in a wide variety of collectivities. One perennial goal of at least some small group researchers has been the elucidation of AUTHORS ’ NOTE: This paper is based on dissertations submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor o