Three folk psychology predispositions towards group behavior were proposed: (a) The folk psychologist breaks group behavior down into the actions of individuals; (b) He attributes group and group member behavior to causes internal to the group, and ignores situation causes; and (c) He attributes behavior to fixed rather than alterable causes. It…

The effect of group composition on risk taking was investigated by having various 3-man groups discuss caution-oriented items. Results indicated: (1) only one of nine group types exhibited a significant shift to caution; (2) except for the homogeneous groups, in which there were no shifts, significant shifts in individual decisions did occur, at…

The stimulus value of group boundaries was investigated in a field experiment. It was hypothesized that the size of a group and the status of its members would reduce the permeability of a boundary around an interacting group. Two or 4 interacting people of high or low status interrupted the traffic flow in a university hallway. Results indicate…

This study examines the relationship between organizational demands and secondary school teachers' behavior. Teachers develop various techniques to compensate for the dictates of the organization; survival techniques are ways to tolerate the organization without leaving it. This study was carried out in two New England secondary schools in a…

College students (N=419) completed the Self-Disclosure Situations Survey measuring the social-situational determinants of self-disclosure. Studied four research questions about the effects of setting and gender on self-disclosure. Research indicated that males self-disclose more in dyads than in small groups and females self-disclose more in…

The Group Test of Openness (GTO) was shown to have a moderate degree of stability. Predictive validity was demonstrated through a 14-week high school course in counseling skills in which scores on the GTO increased. GTO focused on behavior within a group and had an objective method of scoring. (Author)

The controversy about the causal ordering of leader behaviors and unit performance is reviewed. The analysis indicates that neither the behavior-performance nor the performance-behavior proponents have provided convincing evidence. A longitudinal study of the development of these interrelationships from the initial stages is described. The results…

Fifteen "criminal" and political uprisings from inmate movements in American, Soviet, and German prisons are compared. Conditions of deprivation related to prison violence are linked with attitudinal, structural, and temporal factors. Findings are that inmate movements are a rare phenomenon in comparison with isolated prison uprisings. (KC)

Examines behavioral and intellectual conformity as major attitudes in shaping political behavior. Manifestations of coercion within human and animal social units are presented, including religious intolerance, prohibition of artistic activity and literary expression, and rejection of outsiders. Available from: Managing Editor, Department of…

Presents one teacher's tongue-in-check suggestions for how to behave on an accrediting team. (JD)

Frustration has been primarily investigated in relation to aggressive behaviors, but may elicit other behaviors depending on the responses available to the individual. To test the effects of task frustration and task success on subsequent group behavior, college women (N=80) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: task success, task…