This study focuses on the local school board as an example of a small decision-making group involved in political decision-making. School boards in Kentucky (n=57) were included in the sample. Examined in particular the concepts of conflict and cohesion between school board members. (Author/EJT)

An instructor cannot expect thirty learners to participate immediately in "meaningful dialogue" without opportunities to lessen their anxiety by testing group norms, sharing expectations, and developing a sense of membership. The article offers an alternative to the aristocratic learning experience in the context of a hospital inservice job…

Gestalt therapy in groups is not limited to individual work in the presence of an audience. Describes several ways to involve gestalt groups interactionally. Interactions described focus on learning by doing and discovering, and are noninterpretive. (Author/EJT)

Three group processes--regular face-to-face interacting groups, the nominal group technique (NGT), and Delphi procedures--were compared in terms of their ability to facilitate the quantitative and qualitative productivity of a decision making group. The results unequivocally supported the superiority of the Delphi procedures. Findings also tended…

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…

The inservice program and materials described here focus on behaviors as they occur in groups, isolating them for purposes of identification and definition. Three group roles are identified in the program: task roles, unifying roles, and anti-group roles. A description is provided of program purposes, content, activites, resources, and history of…

The purpose of this research was to determine how interactive style influences effectiveness and interpersonal attraction in groups. After college student volunteers completed the Communicator Style Measure (CSM), 72 subjects were selected from three style profiles and assigned to triads that contained high, mid, and low communication style…

The goal of this book is to help teachers create a positive social climate in the elementary school classroom. Six group processes areas are identified as combining to create the social climate of the classroom: (1) attraction; (2) leadership; (3) communication; (4) student norms of conduct; (5) individual expectations; and (6) group cohesion. The…

A role-making model of the leadership process is tested and refined within a major university setting. The model assumes that administrative leaders attempt to reduce their costs and increase their benefits by differentiating among unit members in the accomplishments of unit tasks. As a consequence of this differentiation throughout departments,…

This study examines social comparison processes occurring in the interactions among normal adolescents in peer groups. Eight types of social comparison processes were predicted. Two of these, specific to adolescent developmental processes, are new. The experimental design called for behavioral observation documenting occurrence of social…

This paper presents the history of parent education in the United States and describes a mother-toddler program designed to help young mothers acquire knowledge and skills in child rearing through modeling, counseling and discussion. Included are reviews of current methods of education for child rearing, the need for programs to aid young parents,…

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…

This text explores the organization, methodology, and effectiveness of small group instruction. The following topics are discussed in detail: 1) rationale and objectives for small group instruction; 2) group roles and interpersonal dynamics; 3) different types of groups and their instructional purpose; 4) group organization; 5) skills required in…

This paper describes an investigation of the effects of group interaction and consensus on information processing behavior when information is received sequentially or simultaneously by the information processing unit. Responses were compared to the Bayesian norm and further analyzed to determine the extent to which groups differed from…

The author trained confederates to exhibit either opinionated, moderately opinionated, or unopinionated styles of leadership, then assigned them to discussion groups. Each group was assigned a specific topic and instructed to decide on a specific policy toward the topic. They were also asked to make ratings that measured four other attitudes: the…