Books / Psychodynamic & attachment
Experiences in Groups and Other Papers
Wilfred R. Bion’s 1961 collection brings together papers on group experience and presents his account of work groups and basic assumptions.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Wilfred R. Bion
Edition: 1961 Tavistock edition
Publisher: Tavistock Publications
Edition year: 1961
Language and origin: English (United Kingdom)
Form and genre: Clinical & Theoretical Monograph
Level: Intermediate
Historical era: 1960–1979 · Humanistic, Cognitive & Systemic Turn
Covers: Bion’s account of work groups and basic assumptions; Dependency, fight-flight and pairing in group theory; Group experience and the history of group psychotherapy
APA 7th reference: Bion, W. R. (1961). Experiences in groups and other papers. Tavistock Publications.
What it is
Experiences in Groups and Other Papers is a collection by Wilfred R. Bion, first published by Tavistock in 1961. The acknowledgements in a later electronic edition identify a 1943 paper with John Rickman, seven Human Relations papers published from 1948 to 1951, and a later review.
What it covers
Bion distinguished work-group activity from emotional states associated with three basic assumptions: dependency, fight-flight and pairing. These are concepts in his psychoanalytic account of groups. His interpretations should not be treated as direct observations of an unconscious state in every group.
Theory and context
The collection is part of the history of group psychotherapy and group relations. It offers one theoretical account of group behaviour; the passages checked for this entry do not establish that its interpretations or practices improve outcomes.
Limits of this entry
The catalogue and selected pages of a later electronic edition were consulted, including its contents, acknowledgements and discussion of basic assumptions. The complete book and the paired work were not reviewed. Subject review is pending.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: Organization in the Mind: Psychoanalysis, Group Relations, and Organizational Consultancy (David Armstrong, 2005)
Reference: Armstrong, D. (2005). Organization in the mind: Psychoanalysis, group relations, and organizational consultancy. Karnac Books.
A collection on psychoanalysis, group relations and organisational consultancy. Its full text was not reviewed for this entry.
Source-mapped claims and evidence notes
Claim 1: Bion described work-group activity and three basic assumptions: dependency, fight-flight and pairing. (Selected passages in a later electronic edition were consulted; these concepts are interpretations, not established descriptions of every group.) [Source 2: Bion, W. R. Experiences in groups and other papers. Later electronic edition, Taylor & Francis.]
Sources and inspection notes
National Library of Medicine. Experiences in groups, and other papers, catalogue record.
Supports: Catalogue identifies Bion and the 1961 Tavistock publication.
Bion, W. R. Experiences in groups and other papers. Later electronic edition, Taylor & Francis.
Supports: Selected title, contents and acknowledgements pages and the discussion of basic assumptions were consulted. The complete book was not reviewed.
Supports: Publisher record confirms the article title, date and publication details; the article was not independently reviewed in full.