Easier method to test for Eloquent Collection or instance?

In the case where you are using Eloquent's with relationships ->with() is there an easier way to test if what is returned is an instance of the relationship or a collection. If there is only one record Eloquent will return that as an instance of the model, but if there are more then one you end up with a Collection which makes sense, however, if you a re using dynamic property then you need to test e.g.

    private function groupMembers( $permission )
    {
       // check for instance 
        if ($permission->groups->members instanceof SecurityGroupMember)
        {
            $this->members->push( $permission->groups->members) ;
        }
        // check for Collection
        if ($permission->groups->members instanceof Collection)
        {
            foreach ($permission->groups->members as $member)
            {
                $this->members->push( $member );
            }
        }
        return $this;
    }