Social+interdependence+theory

=Overview= The theory of social interdependence was developed by Morton Deutsch and Johnson & Johnson. It assumes that the behaviour of individuals in a group depends on the dependence of their goals.


 * 1) **no interdependence:** individuals may reach their goal independent of other individuals
 * 2) **negative interdependence:** individuals can only reach their goal if others don't (=competition)
 * 3) **positive interdependence:** individuals can only reach their goal if every member of the group also reaches their goal

Positive interdependence is what we need in group work, otherwise students will sit together but work individually.

=How to achieve positive interdependence=
 * One way of achieving positive interdependence is the group puzzle (also called jigsaw approach).
 * you could tell students that anybody in the group needs to be able to deliver the final presentation, and draw lots on the day of presentation.

=See also=

=Further Reading= more information