Group dynamics as sociological theory

Inaugural lecture--Rand Afrikaans University, Department of Sociology, 12 May 1969In this inaugural lecture the basic necessity of a fundamental knowledge of the nature of scientific theory is emphasized. Scientific theory is defined, as a set of systematically organized, logically consistent and universally valid propositions concerning a specific phenomenon from which existing empirical generalizations and further hypotheses could be deductively derived. The nature of propositions in the field of group dynamics is investigated to determine the extent to which it constitutes valid scientific sociological theory. Special attention is paid to the contribution made by Romans in his The Human Group to the development of sociological theory in the field of group dynamics, and to the necessity of quantification in handling this system of empirical relationships between variables. Finally a number of propositions concerning the normative aspect of group behaviour, the relationship between groups and their environments, and normative and comparative reference groups are discussed to illustrate the extent to which the propositions contribute to an explanation of the influence of groups on human behaviour