One of the most intriguing and difficult challenges in learning group dynamics is the phenomenon of learning while doing. When we are engaged in group activities, we are usually fairly absorbed in what is going on (that is, the group’s purpose or discussion content). However, to improve our competencies to work and play more effectively in groups, we also need to be able to observe the group’s processes. Scholars have worked for years developing instruments designed to help us structure our observations. This chapter is intended to acquaint you with some of the methods for observing groups. As Yogi Berry once said, “You can observe a lot by watching.” Once we learn how to better observe group process, our goal is to use those insights to help us perform better in groups.

Perhaps an illustration will help.

I was once in a very intensive group dynamics class that met for a semester and got into some very deep issues about people’s feelings, hopes, and dreams for their future. As a result, the group members all developed a high degree of cohesion and team spirit. On the night of the last class, the topic of death and dying seemed to be raised by one person after another. The group’s leader then made a very insightful observation. He said, “Do you think it is possible that we are all feeling something about the fact that this class is, in effect, ‘dying’ tonight? Some of us will go off to other countries and we may never see each other again.”

At first, everyone said that they didn’t think that was true. But as with many really penetrating observations about human behavior, one by one the group members started to admit that they did have strong feelings about the class ending that night. So, by observing the group members’ behaviors and then by sharing his observation, he changed the course of the conversation for the remainder of that last class. This is just one example of how effective group observation can enhance our group experiences.