Sensitivity training is a learning process designed to develop an individual’s self-awareness and sensitivity to other people and the environment. Sensitivity training takes place in a group of from 8 to 20 persons, including a leader. Members of this encounter group speak openly about their feelings and reactions to others in the group. Some group leaders involve members in various games to produce strong emotional experiences. These games include such activities as having two members stare into each other’s eyes, or having a member act out a feeling of affection or anger.
Some psychologists regard sensitivity training as a major development in their field. They believe it can make a person more aware of inner feelings and help the person get along more effectively with others. Some educators use sensitivity training techniques in teaching. Business people attend encounter groups to learn how to work more productively with others.
Other psychologists criticize sensitivity training. They call it experimental and claim that its effectiveness has not been proved. They declare that many group leaders lack proper training. Such critics also believe that encounter groups do not take enough care to exclude people who might react badly to sensitivity training. They point out that some participants have been physically or psychologically injured at meetings.
Kurt Lewin, a German-born psychologist, conducted the first encounter group at an interracial workshop in New Britain, Conn., in 1946. The Esalen Institute in Big Sur, Calif., developed and popularized sensitivity training during the 1960’s.
