Welcome to Reversal Theory and Group Psychodynamics

Reversal Theory posits that groups accomplish their work by moving among four main modalities, each with two poles: challenge / consensus, purposeful / playful, perform / join, and self-attunement / other-attunement. When groups become anxious about their work, they can regress. For example, a group operating in the challenge mode may slide into a stance of fighting, and a group in the performing mode may ritualize its conduct. Groups that are truly lost may become primitive; members who are “just fighting” may begin to attack and try to destroy one another’s viewpoints or personal standing in the group.