Synchronicity in a Human Relations Lab: A Gateway to Intra, Interpersonal and Group Dynamics

Human relations labs, often part of professional development programs, focus on understanding and improving intrapersonal, interpersonal and group process as well as dynamics. They provide a safe space for participants to explore their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in a group setting - usually with strangers and sometimes with their team and people from the same workplace. Synchronicity, an intriguing concept introduced by Carl Jung, can add a unique dimension to the work done in these labs, promoting deeper understanding and more effective communication. This article lists some ways in which synchronicity can be used as a tool to explore interpersonal processes in the lab. Some of these ways have been experienced by me personally and others are based on feedback from my peers.

Firstly, synchronicity can facilitate enhanced self-awareness. Participants can be encouraged to observe and share synchronistic events in their lives, which may reveal unconscious patterns, fears, or desires. For example, a participant's mention of repeated 'coincidental' encounters related to a specific theme might offer insights into their subconscious preoccupations. Recognizing these can aid in personal growth and improved interpersonal relations. Here is a concrete example as it happened in a lab. Among them was a 36 year old female participant, a mid-level manager, who appeared as quiet and reserved. During one of the sessions, she brought a 'there and then' data invoked by a 'here and now' incident and begins to talk about a recurring synchronistic event that has caught her attention.

Over the past few weeks, she had noticed an unusual frequency of encounters with the theme of public speaking. She found herself randomly stumbling upon TED talks on improving presentation skills, meeting old acquaintances who had just joined public speaking course, and even chanced upon a book on rhetoric while scrolling reels. Initially, she dismissed these as mere coincidences. But as these 'chance' encounters increased, she began to wonder if there might be something more. Sharing this series of events in the lab prompted the group to explore this pattern further. As the facilitator gently probed her feelings about these synchronicities, she confessed a hidden desire - she wished to be more outspoken at work, to effectively voice her ideas and opinions, something her adapted behaviour and persona often held her back from doing. The synchronistic events related to public speaking were possibly a reflection of this latent aspiration.

The facilitator used this as an opportunity for the group to delve deeper into her inhibitions about speaking out. They discovered that she held a subconscious belief that voicing her ideas might lead to conflict or rejection, something she preferred to avoid. Through this exploration, she gained insights into her fears and their impact on her professional growth. Her sharing also prompted others in the group to discuss their own fears and inhibitions, leading to a greater understanding of each other and themselves.

This example illustrates how synchronicity, once explored, can act as a catalyst for self-awareness and improved interpersonal relations. It provided her with a new understanding of her subconscious preoccupations, and also offered the group a chance to deepen their mutual understanding.

Secondly, at a group level, sharing synchronistic experiences can foster empathy and understanding within the group. When participants share their experiences, others get a glimpse into their internal world. It not only promotes a deeper understanding of each other (interpersonal process) but also strengthens the bonds within the group (group process). It highlights the shared human experience of mystery and wonder, potentially leading to enhanced group cohesion.

Thirdly, using synchronicity as a tool can enhance problem-solving and decision-making skills. Participants can be guided to examine synchronistic events for possible solutions to their personal or professional issues. However, the most important point here is to remember that the aim is not to interpret these events as magical signs but to utilize them to trigger innovative thinking and fresh perspectives. Let's delve into a specific example, as it happened in another lab, to illustrate this process.

An entrepreneur (Male, 42 years) participating in a Human Relations Lab, grappling with the difficult decision of whether to pivot his startup's business model due to an unforeseen market shift. He has been pondering over this for weeks, but he's unable to make up his mind, stuck between the risk of change and the fear of stagnation (as he reported while talking about his purpose of attending the Lab and expectations from the lab). One day during a sharing session in the lab, he starts recounting recent, seemingly unrelated, synchronistic events. He tells the group about how, since past few weeks, he is seeing crows everywhere, anytime he thinks or talks about pivoting. One day as he was talking to an old college friend, who successfully reinvented his business, and suddenly a crow descended to the terrace and started looking at him. The group started drifting towards 'interpreting' the symbol and incidents. The facilitator intervened by saying that he is seeing an escape from the current feelings and what is live now in the group towards ideation and interpretation; and nudged the group to address the these events, not as mystical signs instructing the experiencer to change his business model, but as personal meaning of crow as experienced by him and others in this moment.

During the discussion, he realizes that crow represents adaptability and positive change for him but for some other members, it represented bad news. This prompts him to consider whether his unconscious is trying to surface the deep seated optimism to encounter the conscious fear of the pivot which is resulting into a resistance to change, rather than a calculated evaluation of risk and reward. As the group delved deeper, they start brainstorming on how same incident can mean different to different people, triggering a flow of innovative ideas. He begins to see the pivot not as a risk-laden necessity, but as a potential opportunity for growth and differentiation.

Post this session, he is less likely to just blindly follow the "signs" and pivot his business. Instead, he takes this fresh perspective back to his team, and together they conduct a more open-minded and creative risk-benefit analysis of the potential pivot. In this instance, the exploration of synchronicity has enabled him to break free from his decision-making deadlock, sparking fresh insights and catalyzing a more innovative approach to his business challenge.

Moreover, synchronicity can serve as a tool for mindfulness. By encouraging participants to pay attention to synchronistic events, they are essentially being invited to be more present and observant. This practice can foster increased mindfulness, which is known to improve interpersonal effectiveness and reduce conflict.

However, caution should be exercised while using synchronicity in a human relations lab. It's crucial to ensure that participants don't slip into superstitious thinking or apophenia*, where they see connections where none exist. The emphasis should always be on using synchronicity as a tool for introspection and enhanced understanding, not as a predictive or supernatural phenomenon.

Furthermore, facilitators must respect the participants' comfort levels and belief systems. Some participants may find the concept of synchronicity too abstract or mystical. In such cases, other more conventional tools may be more appropriate.

*Apophenia is the tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things. The term was coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad in his 1958 publication on the beginning stages of schizophrenia.