| Abstract: | In 8 self-analytic groups, members who were objects of group-wide criticism were studied to determine what kinds of members groups move against. The 1st or only drop-out in 5 groups had been attacked by other members for displaying characteristics similar to the consultant role: analytic, distant, and nondisclosing. Members who behaved counter to sex-role expectations—women expressing anger and men expressing distress—were objects of group-wide attack in all groups. It was theorized that, in the most extreme form, groups act out the myth that their survival depends on some point of view being suppressed; thus, scapegoating reflects a group's interface with its limitations and its mortality. Interventions in the scapegoating process require that a group learn to describe rather than act out the tensions that arise out of internal diversity. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
