Detachment and objective artifacts

[la...@bwc.org]

Howdy.

A good portion of my facilitation experience comes from Participatory Rural
Appraisal (PRA). One very important aspect of the PRA
methodology that seems to be a common feature in a variety of approaches to
facilitation, is the way in which so many of the
techniques involve having participants create some sort of objective artifact,
usually on the ground, in front of them. In PRA
this might be a map of their village, a matrix table analyzing key features of
different crop varieties, a Venn diagram showing
village power structures, etc. Other techniques similarly have participants
create and focus on some sort of representation or
data, analysis, or ideas.

I've heard it suggested that part of the reason of the success for PRA
techniques is that by creating an objective, real artifact
outside of the participants' own opinions, and by focussing everyone's attention
on that artifact (even if it is a temporary
artifact like a map drawn on the ground) instead of on each other, the
participants are assisted to achieve some measure of
detachment from their own opinions and are diverted from potential conflicts and
disagreements over those opinions.

I'm hoping any of you might be able to direct me to appropriate articles,
papers, etc. on these aspects of the applied psychology
of facilitation techniques; i.e., how the creating of some sort of mutually
agreeable objective reality affects participants'
attitudes and ways of communicating.

ThanksLance Robinson ********************************
* Lance W. Robinson * *
lrob...@hotmail.com * * http://www.web.net/~lrobinso *
********************************

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