Perceptions and Factions in a Therapeutic Community

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the perceptions and beliefs, the cognitive structures, found among staff members of a psychiatric ward in a British Psychiatric Hospital.¹ It is based on the analysis of data from a cognitive grid test, which was devised during field research.² The evidence suggests that members of small groups do not share a single, common structure of perceptions and beliefs, rather that a complex relationship exists between the social structure of the group and the beliefs its members hold. Cognitive structure or organization here refers to the degree of rigidity or flexibility that characterizes an individual's perceptions. It is suggested that a person who is highly structured perceives in a more global way than a person who is less structured. The data from the cognitive grid test offer a partial insight into whatever cognitive structures might exist with a group.³ The guiding hypothesis of the present study is that, contrary to previous assumptions, especially by those working in componential analysis, there are no grounds for assuming that people who are similar in position or social status necessarily possess a similar cognitive structure. Indeed, relationships between cognition and social structure may be very complex.