Following Bennis and Shepard's work, groups are thought to become preoccupied with problems of gaining reassurance about six basic human tasks in turn. One can show that these problems, called focal problems, have two forms, inclusive and narrowed, and that progressing through the problems requires three subphases. (Author/ABL)

Discusses observations of a group of boys who formed a study group under direction of a local charismatic rabbi in an Israeli slum. Discusses boys' transistion from delinquent to nondeliquent behavior in terms of reference group theory. Found major attracting factors of group to be warmth and caring with order and discipline. Discusses…

Varied composition of three-man military teams (N=64) by assigning members according to team composition in all possible combinations of ability and motivation. Found both ability and motivation had an additive effect on crew performance, thus leading to conclusion that when teams perform highly interdependent tasks, performance is apparently…

The social and collective aspect in human activities has become one of the main issues in Vygotskian analyses of learning and development. The study assumed that this aspect presupposes some feeling of belonging together and having a shared commitment on the part of the participants. Asserting that relatively little attention has been given to…

This report, the third annual study of primary program implementation, outlines case study observations of learning groups and of teachers relations to groups. The learning atmosphere of a learning group is determined by presence of conducive or disruptive elements, input of children, and relation of the group to the teacher, in addition to good…

This research summary reports on a 4-month long study of 30 children, ages 10-13, who live at the elementary boarding school on the island of 'Ua Pou, Marquesas Island, French Polynesia. Of the sample of 15 boys and 15 girls, 20 of the children are from a single small valley. Follow-up studies also were done of the families of these children. The…

This research describes an observation study of 100 children, ages 9-13 years, on the island of 'Ua Pou, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. The children were in a French government boarding school in the main valley of the island. Complex, sophisticated group processes among the Marquesan children were observed. The role structures of the group…

This book describes a British project which used cooperative group work as a curriculum approach to help reduce children's social difficulties and encourage cooperation and friendship across such barriers as race, sex, or disability. The book consists of eight chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of research findings and theory related to peer…