You may observe discomfort in many forms with parallel process thinking, including frustration, projection, a feeling of being overwhelmed or a general feeling of instability, and unwarranted changes in moods. ![]() Are there distressing emotions popping up out of nowhere? Do you not feel like yourself? Is there a noticeable change in the relationships you have with people, or do you see a shift in the dynamics between people on your team? Is there a new discomfort on account of change in another system? Is there a mirroring struggle between other groups? Emotional intelligence, and particularly self- and social-awareness are extremely important in recognizing this phenomenon because in order to identify it, you need to access how you’re reacting emotionally and what you are perceiving. There are certain identifiable characteristics of a parallel process in action. They include effects on individual psyches, in interpersonal relationships between individuals, between persons and groups, across subgroups within groups, and among groups.” Indicators of Parallel Processes They occur within of the same order and across of different orders. He states, “Parallel processes are naturally occurring phenomena. (The more similarities among the group to begin with, the more likely that the behaviors will be the former the less similar, the more likely they will be the latter.)Īlderfer’s theory argues that within systems, there is a naturally occurring tendency for parallel changes. He theorized that “parallel processes occur when one projects elements of its condition onto the other, and the other absorbs what is projected.” Affected individuals can show either identical or opposite behavior. Psychologist Clayton Alderfer’s classified parallel processes as part of his Five Laws of the Embedded Intergroup Relations Theory. So let’s examine this idea of parallel processes. If you can understand parallel process thinking, then it has potential to serve as a guide for better problem-solving. But this theory is important because it affects everybody. When focusing on results with clients, especially within a limited timeframe, energy is usually spent toward practical application. We talk to people and through years of experience, theories in behavioral science organically drive what we do, how we speak to people, how we solve problems, how we help, and how we advise. ![]() In this case, the competitive dynamics of the men in the hospital unit fueled the conflict between these two women.Ĭonsultants don’t always think of the theories associated with the work we do. This is a phenomenon called parallel process thinking: when dynamics of one system are picked up and enacted by another system. After assessing the behaviors, the researchers determined the women’s hostility was actually fueled by feelings of competitiveness among the three senior men in the unit. In 1989, Kenwyn Smith published a study entitled “ Fix the Women”, describing a consulting situation characterized by fighting between two women in a troubled unit of a state hospital.
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