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[[underlined]]"Individual"Roles[[/underlined]]

Attempts by "members" of a group to satisfy individual needs which are irrelevent to the group task and which are non-oriented or negatively oriented to group building and maintenance set problems or group and member training.

a. [[underlined]]The aggressor[[/underlined]] may work in many ways -- deflating the status of others. 

b. [[underlined]]The blocker[[/underlined]] tends to be negativistic and stubbornly resistant, disagreeing and opposing without or beyond "reason" and attempting to maintain or bring back an issue after the group has rejected or by-passed it.

c. [[underlined]]The recognition-seeker[[/underlined]] works in various ways to call attention to himself.

d. [[underlined]]The self-confessor[[/underlined]] uses the audience opportunity which the group setting provides to express personal, non-group oriented, "feeling", "Insight", "ideology", etc.

e. [[underlined]]The playboy[[/underlined]] makes a display of his lack of involvement in the group's processes.

f. [[underlined]]The dominator [[/underlined]] tries to assert authority or superiority in manipulating the group or certain members of the group.

g. [[underlined]]The help-seeker[[/underlined]] attempts to call forth "sympathy" response from other group members.

h. [[underlined]]The special interest pleader[[/underlined]] speaks for the "small business man", the "grass roots" community, the "housewife", "labor", etc., usually cloaking his on prejudices or bases in the stereotype which best fits his individual need.

[[underlined]]The Problem of Role Flexibility[[/underlined]]

The previous group experience of members, where this experience has included little conscious attention to the variety of roles involved in effective group production and development, has frequently stereotyped the member into a limited range of roles.  These he plays in all group discussions whether or not the group situation requires them.  Some members see themselves as primarily as "evaluator-critics" and play this role in and out of season.  Others may play the roles of "encourager" or of "energizer" or of "information giver" with only small sensitivity to the role requirements of given group situation.  The development of skill and insight in diagnosing role requirements has already been mentioned as an objective of group member training.  An equally important objective is the development of role flexibility, of skill and security in a wide range of member roles, on the part of all group members.