„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

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INTERPERSONAL FEEDBACK AS CONSENSUAL
VALIDATION OF CONSTRUCTS
Donald A. Devine
A central feature of group process that is frequently discussed is interpersonal feedback.
Few attempts, however, have been made to relate the significance of interpersonal
feedback in the group situation to the process of individual ideation and its subsequent
relationship to behavior (Miller & Porter, 1972; Robinson & Jacobs, 1970).
The fact that giving feedback and receiving feedback are two of the implicit or
explicit objectives of a treatment or awareness-oriented group is well documented
(Bach, 1966; Ellis, 1973; Miller & Porter, 1972). Because of the emphasis that group
members give to the exchange of feedback (an interpersonal process that serves to
consensually validate reality), the parallel intragroup processes of ideation, construct
formation, and inferring are often overlooked.
In our daily interpersonal relationships we form constructs, ideas, or assumptions
about others based on the actions of these others. Both the overt and subtle behaviors of
others are used as the basis for creating a cognitive framework that is then used to
interpret future behavior.
This process of making inferences from behavior is of crucial importance, because
the assumptions, once formed, will tend to be resistant to change (Kelly, 1963) and will
also shape behavioral responses (Ellis, 1973; Kelly, 1963). It is useful to specify the
relationships to behavior of an interpersonal process (consensual validation) and of an
intrapersonal process (construct formation) and to foster awareness of these
relationships. Figure 1 briefly describes these relationships. As can be seen in the figure,
once the initial behavior (Behavior 1) has set this process in motion, it is difficult to
interrupt the flow of interaction that follows.
CONSENSUAL VALIDATION
The one asset of a treatment or awareness group that is not available in an everyday
situation is validation. Groups such as these allow each group member to validate the
inferences that he or she is making concerning a person’s behavior via verbal or
nonverbal feedback. An informal “hold” procedure can be established that willenable a
group member to check his or her inferences concerning present, ongoing group and
individual behavior with the other members of the group. Ideally, this form of validation
will also allow group members to become sensitive to and reevaluate the assumptions
Originally published in The 1976 Annual Handbook for Group Facilitators by J. William Pfeiffer and John E. Jones (Eds.), San Diego,
CA: Pfeiffer & Company.
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer ❚❘ 187