The purposes of this study were: (1) to test several social decision schemes to obtain plausible explanations of different group processes in solving different disjunctive tasks; and (2) to study both dyads and tetrads solving a eureka and a non-eureka disjunctive task. Social decision schemes theory assumes that a group decision is a joint…

According to Fiedler's Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness, group performance is a function of the leader-situation interaction. A review of past validations has found several problems associated with the model. Meta-analytic techniques were applied to the Contingency Model in order to assess the validation evidence quantitatively. The…

This study examines the impact of one important task characteristic for the process by which groups solve problems. The principal comparison is between a generative problem and a choice task, and whether or not the differences between these types of tasks affect the group's methods for arriving at a decision. Two types of analysis are conducted of…

An attempt was made to ascertain what type of verbal interaction behavior manifested by a group given a problem in curriculum development affects the quality of the product. Thirty ad hoc groups, selected randomly, were given curriculum development tasks to solve. Curriculum Guide Form (CGF) and Bales' Interaction Process Analysis (IPA) were used…

This book describes a program that deals with group dynamics and applies encounter group techniques to the training of teachers. The program consists of two weeks of encounter during the summer; a 3-day workshop just prior to the start of school; and monthly curriculum workshops, monthly encounter groups, and periodic visitations throughout the…

This study analyzes data collected in the summer of 1970. Fifty-seven groups, composed of two white and two black junior high school boys, were filmed as they participated in a cooperative task. Observers scored task-related interaction and socio-emotional behavior from video tapes of each group. Attitudes and perceptions of one another and of the…

When used in combination, the criteria of positive solidarity and anti-institutional orientation can help to refocus the study of social movements towards the analysis of large scale social change outside institutional channels and keep it distinct from the field of collective behavior. (WI)

Attraction had its strongest impact on dyadic satisfaction, a nonperformance outcome of the experiment. Among the all-female dyads, racial composition of the dyad was significantly related to satisfaction: interracial dyads had higher levels of satisfaction than intraracial dyads. (Author/WI)

The concept of group dialectics is considered within a temporal framework. Long-term groups are considered in terms of such temporal concepts as continuity, change, goal direction, attachment and groups in process. A conceptualization of small group dynamics based on time factors is presented. (BD)

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

Eight "myths" about small group processes and outcomes are presented and matched against research and practice. Conclusions are drawn concerning benefits of group experience, group composition, leader impact, role of structural exercises, function of the "here-and-now," self-disclosure and feedback, understanding group processes, and the long-term…

Loosely coupled educational organizations exhibit structural similarities to preliterate societies in their lack of formal leadership and control. The identification of social outsiders as "witches" to explain disasters affecting preliterate societies may have its counterpart in educational organizations when nonconformists are…

Examined whether gender composition and task structure affect communicative behavior in small groups. Groups with different numbers of men and women were given a highly structured assignment and a human relations case study. Interaction process analysis supported the hypothesis only for dominance acts of giving suggestions. (BH)

This research investigated the impact of school setting and size on the culture and climate of a school. Twenty-five schools and 1,163 teachers were involved in the study. There was a significant negative correlation between school size and the school's culture and climate. Other findings were that elementary schools had more positive climates…