Operational definitions of two key variables in group communication can provide a theoretical perspective for considering communication behavior in group research: "risk taking," the tendency to prefer long shots with higher payoffs over sure things with lower payoffs; and the "risky-shift" phenomenon, the finding that after…

The principles of group dynamics were applied to systems theories of personality. Parallels were drawn between groups and the mind especially in the area of intragroup conflict and intrapsychic conflict and with regard to group size and the number of subsystems of the mind. The heuristic possibilities of this analogy were discussed. (Author)

This study uses the ethological approach of seeking species characteristics and phylogenetic continuities in an investigation of human behavior. Among primates a striking consistency is the presence of some form of dominance hierarchy in many species. The present study examines peer group dominance hierarchies as they are perceived by children in…

In summary, the results suggest that, with five-year-old children, more might be gained by structuring the task than by structuring the group." (Author)

Study of five teaching teams suggests that much time is wasted in meetings or in areas of limited significance for the education of children. (Author/LR)

Discusses the emotional and psychological problems caused by management information systems. (LR)

Reviews group behavioral issues from past space missions and simulations such as the Skylab Medical Experiments Altitude Test, Skylab missions, and Shuttle Spacelab I mission. Makes recommendations for future flights concerning commandership, crew selection, and ground-crew communications. Pre- and in-flight behavioral countermeasures are…

Describes a model for sequential stages of group development based on yogic chakra system. Compares chakra-based model with other models of group developmental stages. Using context of chakra system, specifies basic dynamic issues and leader interventions for each stage and discusses relationship of individual development to group process. (Author)

Roderick Seidenberg, a friend of Lewis Mumford, was an architect with a sociological perspective on technology. He understood that technology had become a system and that it needed to be situated within a historical context to understand its impact on humans. In this article, his work is compared to that of Jacques Ellul.

Although group project concepts and skills have become a major component in most information systems (IS) academic programs, very little research has attempted to examine factors that may improve or undermine effectiveness of IS group projects. Accordingly, based on relevant literatures, this study develops and empirically tests a model of factors…

In the present study, we examined whether collective efficacy, group cohesion (task and social), and perceived motivational climate (task-involving and ego-involving orientations) in a music ensemble predict instrumentalists' perceived conductor support. Ninety-one (N = 91) skilled high school instrumentalists participated in the study. To assess…