New technologies transform research specialties and potentiate new fields. Sociometers--wearable electronic sensors collecting quantitative, dynamic data about embodied social interactions at hyperfine scales--represent such a possibility for small group research. This article introduces this new method and its distinctive qualities and…

An external evaluation documented what occurred in an inaugural summer camp to teach high school students how to preserve religious freedom by learning about and acting on the history and current state of church-state separation and other first amendment issues. Camp designers hoped to promote religious diversity values and civic engagement in…

This study examines how group size affects power structure. Elementary conditions under which human interaction generally occurs constrain power to equalize as the length of the interaction sequence increases and to polarize as the size of the group increases. (Author/DE)

Based upon research conducted aboard a ship, this article substantiates the hypothesis that whether or not homosexuality is excused will depend upon the compatibility of such tolerance with the prevailing terms being used to rationalize the experience of differential power. (Author/JC)

This paper focuses on a comparison of two models, with special attention to the ways in which authority and peer relations are viewed. The need for theoretical and technical amalgamation to advance our understanding of group phenomena is stressed. A comment by James Crowfoot, University of Michigan follows. (Author)

The group discussion literature was examined to determine how fully its principles had incorporated social power principles, and to incorporate relevant power principles into the principles of group discussion. Discussion principles were classified by properties of group members, properties of groups, conditions imposed on groups, interaction…

Sponsored by National Institute of Mental Health grant MH-08274.

An organizational study of the dynamics of interaction between the parent college and one of its component units is presented. The analysis is not limited to formal organizational structure and function. At relevant points, the dynamics of informal groupings and relationships are introduced. The research involved examination of a vast number of…

Explores the impact of the Central Office Staff (COS) on educational decisionmaking in a medium-sized city from an insider's'' perspective and sets forth several testable hypotheses. (Author)

Focus is the measurement of power at the community level considering the social organizational context. (SE)

Examines ways of modifying incremental influence. Results suggest that referent power can be altered by affecting the interpersonal attraction of group members. Implications for organizational intervention and practice are discussed, and some possible modifications to the theoretical framework of power are advanced. (Author)

Indepth studies of micropolitics at the school level are presented in this book, which includes nine qualitative studies of school politics conducted by different researchers. Chapters 2 through 10 examine the formal and informal processes and structures that constitute everyday political life in the schools. The studies explore how individuals…

Using a sample of 757 middle-aged and older residents of the Atlanta metropolitan region, the relationship between primary group contact and morale was investigated. With a control for sex and dependency, results indicated that: (1) interaction with children has a negative impact on the morale of dependent, older males; (2) visits with children…

A study (N=60) was conducted to investigate the relationship between sex and the Bem Sex-Role Inventory in various measures of social influence. These influence measures involved self-reports of power strategies, peer evaluations of influence during group discussions, and personality scales measuring social power concepts. It was found that…