Positive interdependence

Positive interdependence is an element of cooperative and collaborative learning where members of a group who share common goals perceive that working together is individually and collectively beneficial, and success depends on the participation of all the members.[1][2]

In contrast to negative interdependence (i.e., individuals can only achieve their goal via the failure of a competitor) and no interdependence (i.e., a correlation does not exist between individuals' goals), positive interdependence happens when "individuals perceive that they can attain their goals if and only if the other individuals with whom they are cooperatively linked attain their goals". Consequently, positive interdependence results in members of a group "encouraging and facilitating each other's efforts...in order to reach the group's goals".[3]

Positive interdependence can also be understood by its effects on the psychological processes of learners in a group setting. It promotes substitutability (the degree to which actions of one group member substitutes for the actions of another), positive cathexis (investment of positive psychological energy in objects outside one's self), and inducibility (openness to influencing and being influenced by others), whereas Negative Interdependence creates nonsubstituability, negative cathexis and a resistance to being influenced by others.[4][5]

  1. ^ Johnson, R.T.; Johnson, D.W.; Holubec, E.J. (1998). Cooperation in the Classroom. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. pp. 4, 7–8.
  2. ^ Choi, J.; Johnson, D.W.; Johnson, R.T. (2011). "Relationships Among Cooperative Learning Experiences, Social Interdependence, Children's Aggression, Victimization, and Prosocial Behaviors". Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 41 (4): 976–1003. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00744.x.
  3. ^ Johnson, R.T.; Johnson, D.W. (2009). "An Educational Psychology Success Story: Social Interdependence Theory and Cooperative Learning". Educational Researcher. 38 (5): 366–367. doi:10.3102/0013189x09339057.
  4. ^ Johnson, R.T.; Johnson, D.W. (2000). "Teaching students to be peacemakers: Results of twelve years of research" (PDF). In Salomon, Gavriel; Cairns, Ed (eds.). Handbook on Peace Education. Psychology Press. pp. 226–227. ISBN 978-0-8058-6252-2.
  5. ^ Deutsch, M. (1949). "A theory of cooperation and competition". Human Relations. 2 (2): 129–152. doi:10.1177/001872674900200204.