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The Sources of Paradoxin Group Dynamics

In this chapter, we elaborate the central thesis of the book, that group life is inherently paradoxical. As indicated in the first chapter, we do not mean by this that groups are not other things as well. We are concerned, however, with the observation that groups are filled with a wide range of emotions, thoughts, and actions that are experienced as contradictory and that these contradictory forces create a circular process that can be paralyzing for groups. The simultaneous presence of opposite and contradictory forces and the repetitious “stuckness” that often accompanied these forces led us to consider ...

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