A Satire: The Phenomenology of the Confirmed Thinker, or "Catch-22 in a T-Group"

A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF PARTICIPANTS IN A HUMAN RELATIONS GROUP SUFFER SOME LOSS OF SELF ESTEEM. DISSATISFACTION WITH HUMAN RELATIONS GROUPS IS BASED ON THE PARTICIPANT'S RELIANCE ON CONCRETE SENSATION VERSUS INTUITION AND UPON THINKING VERSUS FEELING. THERE IS A DANGER IN THE POWER OF A GROUP LEADER OF A HUMAN RELATIONS GROUP TO DEFINE REALITY AND ESTABLISH NORMS IN THESE AMBIGUOUS SETTINGS. THERE IS A POTENTIAL DESTRUCTIVENESS OF ABSOLUTISTIC VALUES WHICH CAN CONSTRUE WIDE RANGES OF NORMAL BEHAVIOR IN NEGATIVE TERMS - AND THE NEED TO MODERATE THEM. THERE IS THE DANGER OF INTERPRETING LEARNING SYTLES WHICH DO NOT FIT THIS PARTICULAR TECHNOLOGY AS BEING DEFENSIVE OR CLOSED TO LEARNING - AND THE NEED TO INCORPORATE THESE STYLES OR TO PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE, MORE CONVENTIONAL PEDAGOGIES FOR THEM. THE OVERALL IMPLICATION IS NOT THAT T GROUPS AND SIMILAR LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES ARE DESTRUCTIVE, BUT THAT THEY NEED TO BE USED SELECTIVELY AND ADMINISTERED WITH CAUTION. REFERENCES.