Collective Guilt as a Force for Change
Collective Guilt as a Force for Change
Systems psychodynamics scholars and practitioners believe that when people assemble for a task, two forms of mental activity occur simultaneously: The task-oriented work group and the anxiety-fueled basic assumption group. Much has been written about the dynamics of basic assumption groups yet relatively little research has examined the work group or the space between configurations, what Winnicott might have called the ‘potential space’ between one identifiable group position and another. The following paper addresses this gap by hypothesizing that under the right conditions an instinctive, developmental push— an unconscious sense of guilt—may propel some basic assumption groups’ swing back to work mode. Areas warranting further research will also be identified.
collective guilt, group violence, systems psychodynamics, Wilfred Bion, basic assumptions
1-18
Fraher, Amy L.
5c2ad136-717b-43b1-be85-c7a970f85116
2007
Fraher, Amy L.
5c2ad136-717b-43b1-be85-c7a970f85116
Fraher, Amy L.
(2007)
Collective Guilt as a Force for Change.
Socioanalysis, 9, .
Abstract
Systems psychodynamics scholars and practitioners believe that when people assemble for a task, two forms of mental activity occur simultaneously: The task-oriented work group and the anxiety-fueled basic assumption group. Much has been written about the dynamics of basic assumption groups yet relatively little research has examined the work group or the space between configurations, what Winnicott might have called the ‘potential space’ between one identifiable group position and another. The following paper addresses this gap by hypothesizing that under the right conditions an instinctive, developmental push— an unconscious sense of guilt—may propel some basic assumption groups’ swing back to work mode. Areas warranting further research will also be identified.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Published date: 2007
Keywords:
collective guilt, group violence, systems psychodynamics, Wilfred Bion, basic assumptions
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 427846
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/427846
ISSN: 1442-4444
PURE UUID: 8f1cbaa5-fb07-4d7c-bc16-87a14dac2007
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 30 Jan 2019 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 00:00
Export record
Contributors
Author:
Amy L. Fraher
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics