This study investigates the impact on L2 oral performance of participatory structure of strategic planning (individual vs. collaborative pair planning) and task complexity (simple vs. complex tasks) defined according to the number of elements involved. It also explores individual and collaborative planners' planning behaviours prior to simple vs.…

A study investigated whether the interaction patterns of high consensus groups differed significantly from the patterns of low consensus groups in the final stage of a decision-making task. Eighty-four college students placed into 19 groups were told to select a social problem, investigate it, and develop a solution. At the end of the three-week…

Findings suggest that extroverts are more likely to be susceptible to behavioral contagion, i.e., spontaneous imitation of another's behavior, than introverts. (Author)

Examines conditions which predipose group members to seek redress for a perceived injustice by forming an alliance against a group leader. Predicts that: (1) coalition attempts will be more frequent in unfair cases than in fair ones; (2) members of a revolutionary coalition will attempt to restore equity under specified conditions; and (3)…

This pilot study compared the effect of two writing techniques, Agenda Setting and Group Focus, to a cognitive technique, reading process notes at the start of a group session, to examine their impact on social climate, member involvement, and behavior. Theoretically an intervention that helps members to focus directly on their goals and potential…

Explores the reactions of single persons and small groups-each in a room they had territorialized- and to compare these against the reactions of singles and small groups who were in a comparable room which they had not territorialized. (Author)

Members of two types of self-help groups assessed the occurence of various helping processes in their groups. Found self-help groups emphasized supportive and expressive processes while avoiding confrontive processes; and behavioral techniques were used more frequently by behavioral control groups than by stress coping groups. (RC)

Generally, role-taking research has focused on the development and correlates of role taking in children. To explore role taking in the relatively overlooked population of young adults, a sociometric instrument, the Peer Role-Taking Questionnaire (PRTQ), was developed and used to measure perceived role-taking behaviors. The results were compared…

The desired choice patterns of friendship, leadership, and classroom workship of children attending a desegregated/integrated elementary urban school were determined. Utilizing quota sampling, 159 children were examined on a three-choice, six-criteria, non-ranked sociometric test. Children were not asked to make rejections. Cliques and…

Two curricula, Englemann-Becker and New Nursery School, were analyzed for effectiveness with Head Start children over a period of eight months, using the Slosson and Merrill-Palmer tests, a socialization scale and classroom observations. In congnitive development, there are no significant differences between the two curricula as used by teachers…

A self-report inventory was compared with a situational test as a predictor of the verbal behavior of individual members of small interpersonal skills training groups. As hypothesized, the situational test was a better predictor than was the self-report inventory. A powerful social conformity effect may have operated in both the situational test…