Minimal group paradigm: history of creation and contemporary development

Abstract

The minimal group paradigm development stages are considered. Special attention is paid to analyzing preconditions for minimal group paradigm creation and development of representations of a group as a cognitive phenomenon. The authors distinguish two directions for research: the first one focuses on analysis of minimal group paradigm as a research method while the second one focuses on treating groups as a cognitive phenomenon and studying the role of social categorization in intergroup processes.