The+Groupology+Dictionary+of+Group+Words

media type="facebooklike" key="https%3A%2F%2Fgroupology.wikispaces.com%2FThe%20Groupology%20Dictionary%20of%20Group%20Words" width="279" height="82" align="center" People create shared understandings by exchanging in formation through words, but a word’s meaning changes over time and through experience. Why a particular word gains usage in a community and, in time, generalizes to all users of a particular language—or even other languages—is a group-level process: as Wittgenstein (might) have said: “Whether or not a cow is a cow or not is up to society to decide.”

This project focused on words used to describe groups of people--key terms for groupology, if you will. Each analysis considers the source of the word, and its original meaning, but it also traces the way the word has changed over time--and might even speculate about why.

Take, for example, the word //egregious//. These days, people use this word to describe truly despicable behaviors and qualities. For example, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase bank, when asked about the company’s failures, concluded “we made a terrible, egregious mistake” [|(New York Times, 2012]). Jerry Sandusky, the serial child molester at Penn State, committed “egregious crimes” according to [|most commentators]. The failure to nominate Hugh Laurie for an Emmy for his role in House was described as an “egregious” error ([|Washington Post, 2012]). Yet, egregious did not always mean something spectacularly bad, corrupt, or despicable. It just meant “unusual.” It comes from the Latin word ēgregius: to be different from (stick out from) the group (the flock). Why this change in the word’s meaning? Do people need words that describe bad things more than they need words for describing good things? Is the shift rooted in the American society empty claim to value individualism, when in face conformity and obedience are prized? Thought is not language, but nonetheless: the content of a language betrays the interests, activities, and values of those in a particular culture.

Words for Groupology
 * 1) Mob
 * 2) Leadership
 * 3) Posse
 * 4) Team
 * 5) Network
 * 6) Cohesiveness
 * 7) Morale
 * 8) Role
 * 9) Synergy
 * 10) Power
 * 11) Cult
 * 12) Ostracism
 * 13) Gang
 * 14) Cliques
 * 15) Brainstorming
 * 16) Queues