Tavistock Institute
Encyclopedia
The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations is a British charity concerned with group behaviour
and organisational behaviour. It was launched in 1946, when it separated from the Tavistock Clinic
.
including Elliott Jaques
, Henry Dicks, Leonard Browne, Ronald Hargreaves, John Rawlings Rees
, Mary Luff and Wilfred Bion
, with Tommy Wilson as chairman, funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation
. Other well-known names that joined the group later were John D. Sutherland, John Bowlby
, Eric Trist
, and Fred Emery
. Kurt Lewin
, a member of the Frankfurt school
in America, was an important influence on the work of the Tavistock, according to Eric Trist, who expresses his admiration for Lewin in his autobiography.
Many of these founding members of the Tavistock Institute went on to play major roles in psychology. John Rawlings Rees
became first president of the World Federation for Mental Health
. http://www.moderntimesworkplace.com/archives/ericsess/tavis1/tavis1.html
Jock Sutherland became director of the new post-war Tavistock Clinic, when it was incorporated into the newly established British National Health Service
in 1946. Ronald Hargreaves became deputy director of the World Health Organization
. Tommy Wilson became chairman of the Tavistock Institute. http://www.moderntimesworkplace.com/archives/ericsess/tavis1/tavis1.html
and his followers. Other names associated with the Tavistock are Melanie Klein
, Carl Gustav Jung, J. A. Hadfield, Beckett, Charles Rycroft
, Wilfred Bion
, and R. D. Laing. http://www.bbk.ac.uk/english/skc/beckbion/
and applied psychology
. Its clients are chiefly public sector organizations, including the European Union
, several British government
departments, and some private clients. The Institute owns Human Relations
, the international social sciences journal. It also edits the journal Evaluation.
It provides two MSc
degree courses:
The Clinic is now part of a National Health Service
trust, while the "Tavistock Institute", which once did research in many areas and was funded by many sources, is now a charity.
The name "Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology", which was the name used for the original parent body, is now used to refer to an organization that grew out of that parent body but now specializes in couples relationships under the section name of the "Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships".
Group behaviour
Group behaviour in sociology refers to the situations where people interact in large or small groups. The field of group dynamics deals with small groups that may reach consensus and act in a coordinated way...
and organisational behaviour. It was launched in 1946, when it separated from the Tavistock Clinic
Tavistock Clinic
The in London was founded in 1920 by Dr. Hugh Crichton-Miller, a psychiatrist who developed psychological treatments for shell-shocked soldiers during and after the First World War. The clinic's first patient was, however, a child. Its clinical services were always, therefore, for both children...
.
History of the Tavistock
The Institute was founded in 1946 by a group of key figures at the Tavistock ClinicTavistock Clinic
The in London was founded in 1920 by Dr. Hugh Crichton-Miller, a psychiatrist who developed psychological treatments for shell-shocked soldiers during and after the First World War. The clinic's first patient was, however, a child. Its clinical services were always, therefore, for both children...
including Elliott Jaques
Elliott Jaques
Elliott Jaques was a Canadian psychoanalyst and organizational psychologist. He developed the notion of requisite organization from his 'stratified systems theory', running counter to many others in the field of organizational development...
, Henry Dicks, Leonard Browne, Ronald Hargreaves, John Rawlings Rees
John Rawlings Rees
John Rawlings Rees OBE MD RAMC was a wartime and civilian psychiatrist and became a brigadier in the British Army. He was a member of the group of key figures at the original Tavistock Clinic and became its medical director from 1934...
, Mary Luff and Wilfred Bion
Wilfred Bion
Wilfred Ruprecht Bion DSO was an influential British psychoanalyst, who became president of the British Psychoanalytical Society from 1962 to 1965....
, with Tommy Wilson as chairman, funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
. Other well-known names that joined the group later were John D. Sutherland, John Bowlby
John Bowlby
Edward John Mostyn "John" Bowlby was a British psychologist, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, notable for his interest in child development and for his pioneering work in attachment theory.- Family background :...
, Eric Trist
Eric Trist
Eric Trist was a British scientist and leading figure in the field of Organizational development . He was one of the founders of the Tavistock Institute for Social Research in London.-Biography:...
, and Fred Emery
Fred Emery
Frederick Edmund Emery, nick Fred, was an Australian psychologist. He was one of the pioneers in the field of Organizational development , particularly in the development of theory around participative work design structures such as self-managing teams. He was widely regarded as one of the finest...
. Kurt Lewin
Kurt Lewin
Kurt Zadek Lewin was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology....
, a member of the Frankfurt school
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
in America, was an important influence on the work of the Tavistock, according to Eric Trist, who expresses his admiration for Lewin in his autobiography.
Many of these founding members of the Tavistock Institute went on to play major roles in psychology. John Rawlings Rees
John Rawlings Rees
John Rawlings Rees OBE MD RAMC was a wartime and civilian psychiatrist and became a brigadier in the British Army. He was a member of the group of key figures at the original Tavistock Clinic and became its medical director from 1934...
became first president of the World Federation for Mental Health
World Federation for Mental Health
The World Federation for Mental Health is an international membership organization founded in 1948 to advance, among all peoples and nations, the prevention of mental and emotional disorders, the proper treatment and care of those with such disorders, and the promotion of mental health. Members...
. http://www.moderntimesworkplace.com/archives/ericsess/tavis1/tavis1.html
Jock Sutherland became director of the new post-war Tavistock Clinic, when it was incorporated into the newly established British National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
in 1946. Ronald Hargreaves became deputy director of the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
. Tommy Wilson became chairman of the Tavistock Institute. http://www.moderntimesworkplace.com/archives/ericsess/tavis1/tavis1.html
Focal point for psychoanalytical theory
Many well-known psychologists and psychiatrists have passed through the Tavistock Institute over the years, and it became known as the focal point in Britain for psychoanalysis and the psychodynamic theories of Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
and his followers. Other names associated with the Tavistock are Melanie Klein
Melanie Klein
Melanie Reizes Klein was an Austrian-born British psychoanalyst who devised novel therapeutic techniques for children that had an impact on child psychology and contemporary psychoanalysis...
, Carl Gustav Jung, J. A. Hadfield, Beckett, Charles Rycroft
Charles Rycroft
Charles Frederick Rycroft was a British psychologist and a well-known author. For most of his career he had a private psychiatric practice in London.-Life:...
, Wilfred Bion
Wilfred Bion
Wilfred Ruprecht Bion DSO was an influential British psychoanalyst, who became president of the British Psychoanalytical Society from 1962 to 1965....
, and R. D. Laing. http://www.bbk.ac.uk/english/skc/beckbion/
Current activities
According to its website, the Institute engages in educational, research, and consultancy work in the social sciencesSocial sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
and applied psychology
Applied psychology
The basic premise of applied psychology is the use of psychological principles and theories to overcome problems in other areas, such as mental health, business management, education, health, product design, ergonomics, and law...
. Its clients are chiefly public sector organizations, including the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, several British government
Politics of the United Kingdom
The politics of the United Kingdom takes place within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is the head of state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government...
departments, and some private clients. The Institute owns Human Relations
Human Relations (journal)
Human Relations is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering original research on social relationships at and around work and organizational forms, practices, and processes that affect the nature, structure, and conditions of work and work organizations. The journal is published by SAGE...
, the international social sciences journal. It also edits the journal Evaluation.
It provides two MSc
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
degree courses:
- Advanced Organisational Consultation, http://www.tavinstitute.org/aoc/, jointly with City University, LondonCity University, LondonCity University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
http://www.sba.oakland.edu/ispso/html/AOCTavi.htm - Leading Change and Organizational Development, jointly with the National School of GovernmentNational School of GovernmentThe National School of Government is a part of the Cabinet Office that runs training, organisational development and consultancy courses for UK civil servants and private individual learners...
and the University of BirminghamUniversity of BirminghamThe University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
http://www.nationalschool.gov.uk/news_events/stories/msc_lcod.asp
Relation to other 'Tavistocks'
The Tavistock Institute shares common roots with other organisations that emerged from the Tavistock Clinic. This is a source of much confusion, though the facts can be ascertained from the historical account of the Tavistock by Eric Trist, one time chairman of the Institute. http://www.moderntimesworkplace.com/archives/ericsess/tavis1/tavis1.htmlThe Clinic is now part of a National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
trust, while the "Tavistock Institute", which once did research in many areas and was funded by many sources, is now a charity.
The name "Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology", which was the name used for the original parent body, is now used to refer to an organization that grew out of that parent body but now specializes in couples relationships under the section name of the "Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships".
Further reading
- Tavistock Institute website
- The Foundation and Development of the Tavistock Institute to 1989 by Eric TristEric TristEric Trist was a British scientist and leading figure in the field of Organizational development . He was one of the founders of the Tavistock Institute for Social Research in London.-Biography:...
and Hugh Murray. - Young, Robert M. "The Culture of British Psychoanalysis"
- Trist, Eric L. et al. The Social Engagement of Social Science: A Tavistock Anthology : The Socio-Ecological Perspective (Tavistock Anthology), University of Pennsylvania, May 1997. ISBN 0-8122-8194-2
- Eric Trist - Autobiography online