This article proposes that one way to help a group liberate itself from dysfunctional conflict and defensive routine is through the introduction of generative metaphor. By intervening at a tacit, indirect level of awareness, group members are able to generate fresh perceptions of one another, thereby allowing for the revitalization of the social bond and a heightened collective will to act. After exploring insights into the recent literature on social cognition and selective perception, a case is presented in which generative metaphor was successfully used to help a dysfunctional group build (1) liberated aspirations and the development of hope, (2) decreased interpersonal conflict, (3) strategic consensus around a positive vision for the future, (4) renewed collective will to act, and (5) egalitarian language reflecting a new sense of unity and mutuality in the joint creation of the group's future. Stages of the generative metaphor intervention are discussed, and propositions are developed concerning those factors that will likely enhance the generative potential of metaphor as an agent for group development and organizational change.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Anderson, C. A.
, Lepper, M., & Ross, L. (1980). Perseverance of social theories: The role of explanation in persistence of discredited information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 1037-1049.
2.
Barrett, F. (1990). The development of the cognitive organization. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
3.
Bartunek, J.
(1984). Changing interpretive schemes and organizational restructuring: The example of a religious order. Administrative Science Quarterly, 27, 355-372.
4.
Beck, A.
(1967). Depression: Clinical, experimental, and theoretical aspects. New York: Harper & Row.
5.
Bion, W.
(1959). Experiences in groups. New York: Basic Books.
6.
Black, M.
(1962). Models and metaphors. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
7.
Boulding, K.
(1966). The image. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
8.
Bower, G.
(1981). Mood and memory. American Psychologist, 36, 120-148.
9.
Bradford, L. P.
, Gibb, J. W., & Benne, K. (1964). T-Group theory and laboratory method. New York: Wiley.
10.
Bruner, J.
(1986).Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
11.
Cantor, N.
, & Mischel, W. (1977). Traits and prototypes: Effects of recognition memory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 38-49.
12.
Cooperrider, D. L.
(1990). Positive imagery, positive action: The affirmative basis of organizing. In S. Srivastva, D. L. Cooperrider, & Associates (Eds.), Appreciative management and leadership: The power of positive thought and action in organizations. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
13.
Cooperrider, D. L.
, & Srivastva, S. (1987). Appreciative inquiry into organizational life. In W. A. Pasmore & R. W. Woodman (Eds.), Research in Organizational Change and Development (Vol. 1, pp. 129-169). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
14.
Eden, D.
(1988). Creating expectation effects in OD: Applying self-fulling prophecy. In W. A. Pasmore & R. W. Woodman (Eds.), Research In Organizational Change and Development (Vol. 3, pp. 1-38). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
15.
French, W. L.
(1969). Organization development objectives, assumptions, and strategies. California Management Review, 12(2), 23-24.
16.
French, W. L.
, & Bell, C. (1978). Organization development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
17.
Frohman, M.
, Sashkin, M., & Kavanaugh, M. (1976). Action research as applied to organization development. Organization and Administrative Sciences, 1, 129-161.
18.
Goleman, D.
(1985). Vital lies, simple truths: The psychology of self-deception. New York: Touchstone Books.
19.
Habermas, J.
(1981). The theory of communicative action. Boston: Beacon Press.
20.
Haley, J.
(1973). Uncommon therapy. New York: Touchstone Books.
21.
Hausser, D.
, Pecorella, P., & Wissler, A. (1977). Survey guided development II. La Jolla, CA: University Associates.
22.
Heidegger, M.
(1962). Being and time. New York: Harper & Row. (Original work published 1927)
23.
Higgins, E. T.
, & McCann, C. D. (1984). Social encoding and subsequent attitudes, impressions, and memory: Context-driven and motivational aspects of processing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 55-70.
24.
Hill, T.
, Lewicki, P., Czyzewska, M., & Boss, A. (1989). Self-perpetuating development of encoding biases in person perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 373-387.
25.
Horowitz, M.
(1983). Psychological responses to serious life events: The denial of stress. New York: International Universities Press.
26.
Isen, A.
, & Shalker, T. (1982). The influence of mood state on evaluation of positive, neutral, and negative stimuli. Social Psychology Quarterly, 45, 58-63.
27.
Isen, A.
, Shalker, T., Clark, M., & Karp, L. (1978). Affect, accessibility of material in memory, and behavior: A cognitive loop?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 1-12.
28.
Judge, A.
(1990). World governance through metaphor. Paper presented at the Symposium on Social Innovations in Global Management, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
29.
Jussim, L.
(1986). Self-fulling prophesies: A theoretical and integrative review. Psychological Review, 93, 429-445.
30.
Kolb, D.
(1984). Experiential learning. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
31.
Levinson, H.
(1972). Organizational diagnosis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
32.
Morgan, G.
(1986). Images of organization. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
33.
Nisbett, R.
, & Ross, L. (1985). Human inference: Strategies and shortcomings of social judgment. New York: Prentice-Hall.
34.
O'Sullivan, C. S.
, & Durso, F. T. (1984). Effect of schema-incongruent information on memory for stereotypical attributes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 55-70.
35.
Pages, M.The illusion and disillusion of appreciative management. In S. Srivastva, D. L. Cooperrider, & Associates (Eds.), Appreciative management and leadership: The power of positive thought and action in organizations. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
36.
Polak, F.
(1973). The image of the future. New York: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.
37.
Ricover, P.
(1974). The conflict of interpretations: Essays in hermeneutics. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
38.
Rosenhan, D.
, Salvoey, P., & Hargis, K. (1981). The joys of helping: Focus of attention mediates the impact of positive affect on altruism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40, 899-905.
39.
Schon, D. A.
(1979). Generative metaphor: A perspective on problem-solving in social policy. Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
40.
Srivastva, S.
, & Barrett, F. J. (1988). The transforming nature of metaphors in group development: A study in group theory. Human Relations, 41, 31-64.
41.
Srull, T. K.
, & Wyer, R. S. (1980). Category accessibility and social perception: Some implications for the study of person memory and interpersonal judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 841-856.
42.
Turner, V. W.
(1974). Dramas, fields, and metaphors. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
43.
Weick, K. E.
(1979). The social psychology of organizing. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
44.
Whitehead, A. N.
(1955). Adventures of ideas. New York: Mentor Books.
