This study looks at the relationship between the size of the small interacting group (in numbers of persons) and its environment; in this case, the density of its immediate population. Results indicated a significant inverse relationship between population density and the size of small interacting groups. (Author)

Reports results of a study which tested the following model to predict group panic behavior: that panic reactions are characterized by the exercise of inappropriate leadership behaviors in situations of high stress. (PD)

Presents study results examining social pressure within sexually homogenous groups. Explains that cohesiveness, based on common beliefs, was established in half of the sample while prevented in the remainder. Reports that groups were required to reach consensus after conflict was introduced. Concludes that low cohesion groups showed the greatest…

The question whether individual study of risk problems (familiarization) leads to greater risk taking was investigated. Several explanations of the risk taking shifts are explicit in their requirement for group or social interaction. Investigations of whether risk shifts can be produced in the absence of group interaction have produced conflicting…

The degree of acquaintance among group members (friends or strangers) and the opportunity for group members to observe each other's actions (anonymous or non-anonymous) were manipulated in a 2 x 2 factorial design, to determine the amount of aversive stimulation that would be administered to a target person. When group members could not observe…

Examines the function of conflict in the process of achieving group consensus. Available from: Human Communication Research, Robert L. Cox, Executive Secretary, International Communication Association, Box 8563 University Station, Austin, Texas 78712. Telephone: 512-471-4821. Subscription Rates: institutional or non-members, $15.00 per year;…

The decisions President Richard Nixon and his closest advisors made in the Watergate coverup were products of what Irving Janis calls "groupthink." Groupthink, a type of decision-making emphasizing unanimity over objective evaluation, develops when the decision makers (1) form a group of marked cohesiveness, (2) insulate themselves from…

Recent investigations of the effects on group output of competitive contingencies, reward deliveries to group members contingent upon achieving a higher or lower task rate than another group, have suggested that competitive contingencies are a positive function of group output. When rewards are contingent upon a higher comparison outcome, group…