The purpose of this study was to explore group forming strategies by examining participation behaviours during whole class discussions associated with active participation in a following small group activity. Written communication data, posted in class discussion forums (843 messages/70,432 words) and small group forums (732 messages/59,394…

The purpose of this research was to study the characteristics of the intragroup relations between the middle-status adolescents in a student group and the other status categories. It is assumed that the social and psychological portrait of an open adolescent student group, the character of the orientation and the level of its development, and the…

Examines the nature of development of a self-analytic seminar through stages and its impact on sex-role stereotypes and gender interactions among participants and with the seminar leaders. Explores relationships between feminist thought and psychoanalysis and supports the positive influence on recognition of mutual needs among the sexes.…

Rated selected sessions of two long-term psychotherapy groups (N=143) using Gottschalk-Gleser anxiety and hostility verbal content analysis scales. Found group judged to be clinically more successful demonstrated prolonged periods in various states and that affect dimensions of states were consistent with group developmental stage hypothesis…

Time-limited and time-extended groups studied appeared to be similar in stage development with abnormalities in process accounted for by the amount of time the groups have continuously met. Support was given to the concept of stages as a series of cyclical movements characterized by clusterings of related behaviors. (Author)

Reconceptualizes groupthink symptoms as observable group interaction patterns. Proposes two coding systems for detecting the illusion of unanimity symptom, detecting both degree of unanimity and degree of the illusory versus substantive nature of that unanimity. (SR)

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…

Data show that giving information to members of a group is more important in determining the perception by others that the person is facilitating group performance. Asking for information and opinions is more important in actual facilitation of group learning. Social-emotional support becomes important after initial phases of group interaction.…

An observational field study documents the early appearances of group behaviors in different age groups of preschool children in communal settings in Israel. (CM)

Frustration has been primarily investigated in relation to aggressive behaviors, but may elicit other behaviors depending on the responses available to the individual. To test the effects of task frustration and task success on subsequent group behavior, college women (N=80) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: task success, task…

Investigated reliability and dimensionality of Bales's Interpersonal Rating Forms (IRF) using volunteer subjects (N=266) enrolled in undergraduate communications course. Results documented shortcomings of IRF as a measuring instrument finding the subscales neither reliable nor dimensionally structured; only 2 of 18 items in each subscale are…

Provides an insight into the group process of therapy and compares and contrasts the T-group process with therapy group process. The here-and-now orientation was present in T-group and therapy-group interaction. Greater relational conflict was present in the T-group. Members of the therapy group were much more defensive than members of the…

This study examined the peer social behaviors of 38 deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) and 44 hearing children (preschool through grade 1) during free play in small integrated groups. Videotapes were analyzed for peer interaction, play, peer initiations/child responses, and child initiations/peer responses. D/HH and hearing children showed similar…

This paper reports on a pilot study designed to investigate how regulating group size or social density, in the form of peer-dyad intervention, may contribute to peer interaction in children who have severe language disorders. Subjects were five males and one female ranging in age from 42-48 months all of whom had a severe developmental delay in…

Two social psychological theories--similarity theory and equity theory--are employed to elucidate the relationship between group members' abilities and group performance on tasks involving high levels of interdependence. Contrasting hypotheses are drawn regarding specific ability compositions that should evoke performance above or below the simple…