Psychological Models of Team Dynamics

There are many models used to describe team dynamics.  Many of them describe the psychological aspects of group dynamics, such as:

• Group dynamics (Lewin) which considers how people interact and the common perceptions that arise within a group.
• Psychoanalysis (Freud and Bion) which is concerned with the (natural) defensive behaviours of team members.
• FIRO/Human Elements (Schutz) which considers the compatibility between people using behaviours of inclusion, control, openness, and how those behaviours relate to inner feelings of significance, competence, and likeability.
• The Tuckman model considers four stages of development for a team - forming, storming, norming, and performing.
• Team Roles such as MTR-i or Belbin examine how team performance is related to nine psychological roles taken by different team members.
• Personality type theories, such as Myers Briggs, Disc, Herrmann Brain Dominance, consider how the different preferences of team members affect their interactions and team performance.
• Team Islands and In/Out groups, showing how sub-teams can form as a result of members having different characteristics or being separated by a geographical boundary.

non-psychological models relevant to team dynamics

© 2013 S. P. Myers

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