Abstract
Group cohesion is the relationship among members in a group, but group cohesion is more than just a relationship (Yalom and Leszcz 2005). As shown in the opening example, sometimes students sacrifice everything just to be accepted by a group. Cohesion does not mean simply doing what someone else wants you to do or merely getting along with others. Group cohesion is a positive bond that exists between all group members. You cannot have group cohesion if one or more members of the group are ostracized or subdued into compliance. For group cohesion to be positive and constructive, it must be part of a warm supportive group environment, empathic understanding and acceptance must be shared by all group participants, and there must be a strong sense of attachment or feeling of belonging among individual participants and the group. Group cohesion provides the bond within the group which helps group members heal old wounds of negativism and pursue new pathways of success. Therefore, your program must develop and maintain constructive, positive group cohesion.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Baumeister, R. F., Campbell, J. D., Krueger, J. I., & Vohs, K. D. (2003). Does high self-esteem cause better performance, interpersonal success, happiness, or healthier lifestyles? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4, 1–44.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497–529.
Clanton Harpine, E. (2005a, August). After-school community-based prevention project. In Carl Paternite (Chair), Using community science to promote school-based mental health. Symposium conducted at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
Clanton Harpine, E. (2010a). Erasing failure in the classroom (Camp Sharigan, a ready-to-use group-centered intervention for grades 1-3 2nd ed., Vol. 1). Aiken, SC: Group-Centered Learning.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.
Yalom, I. D., & Leszcz, M. (2005). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (5th ed.). New York: Basic Books.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Harpine, E.C. (2011). Group Cohesion: The Therapeutic Factor in Groups. In: Group-Centered Prevention Programs for At-Risk Students. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7248-4_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7248-4_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-7247-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-7248-4
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)