Generally little emphasis is placed on the socioecological characteristics of groups. The Group Environment Scale (GES) provides a means to systematically consider environmental influences within groups. Various uses of GES are explained and a case example using the GES in a prison setting is presented. (Author)

Examines the proposition that the "leader" role is an unconscious myth invented by members of a group to ward off anxieties and uncertainties associated with day-to-day exercise of interpersonal power. Focuses on describing the myth, its consequences for the involvement of group members, and researchable propositions derivable from the myth.…

Defines dispersion as the degree to which the membership of an organization is spatially distributed and contends that employees' attitudes within an organization are affected by their employment level and the relative level of dispersion of their work location. (Available from the Journal of Applied Communications Research, Ed., Drawer NJ,…

The research reported in this article examines the accuracy of outside observers in perceiving emergent leadership in small groups. The level of precision reflected in the average of all subjects, indicated that the observers were generally accurate in knowing how group members were rated by their group. (Author/KM)

Describes use of sociograms in the classroom to cause students to work with others who are generally isolated. Such attempts resulted in more participation in activities by shy students and increased cooperation among students, and overall higher scores by students on tests. (PS)

Among the findings was that the heterogeneous groups showed more change on the FIRO scale. Also, on rating scales measuring positive feeling towards group, the initial superiority of homogeneous groups was reduced by the end of the T group and that heterogeneous groups manifested more significant increases. (Author/CG)

Results of a survey of employees at a Midwestern newspaper company indicate that job characteristics mediate the relationships between the organization's structural context and the attitudes and behavior of individual employees. (Author/RW)

Examines the history of the "Blavatsky" phase of the London Theosophical movement. Focuses on the disparity between the public rhetoric of the Theosophical Society's leadership and the deeper motivations which inspired many Londoners to join the movement. (JMF)

Describes group training model that differs from the traditional T-group model in structure, leadership, and assumptions about learning. The life-cycle model is based on situational leadership, differential structures based on group maturity, and integration of conceptual and experiential learning. (Author)

Describes a solution-focused debriefing group model for adult survivors of violence, which integrates Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) and solution-focused counseling techniques. Discusses how to debrief team members, group size, the seven stages of CISD, and solution-focused debriefing group techniques. (RJM)

Argues that processes of evaluating and assigning membership of categories within given collectives may be identified as operating across diverse social contexts. The maintenance of social identity boundaries is dependent on "knowing" the status of one's own category membership and accomplishing this membership through the interactional work of…

Compares decision processes of consensus and devil's advocacy within an additive task, a disjunctive task, and a conjunctive task structure. Finds that high-conflict decision processes such as devil's advocacy enhances decision making in disjunctive tasks, retards decision making in additive tasks, but has no effect on decision making in…

A study explored the perspectives of 12 parents of children with disabilities who attended inclusive play groups between 1987 and 1996. Factors that should be considered when planning and implementing inclusive play groups to help parents of children with disabilities feel more comfortable within the groups are discussed. (Author/CR)