Numerous researchers discuss the solidarity-producing effects of crime, natural disasters and mass tragedies; however, there is much we do not understand about the processes involved in the phenomena. We specify the social relationships that "generate" and "sustain" solidarity by building on Hunter's descriptions of the…

This book is intended to assist group leaders, teachers, counselors, and peer helpers in the development of relationships and active learning. The first chapter, "Icebreakers," begins with an overview that explains the nature, purpose, and importance of these activities. Icebreakers are used to help group members learn about each other in a…

Group members tend to like other members of their own group more than members of groups to which they do not belong. This paper focuses on some of the initial determinants of this own-group preference and on the isolation of factors which increase or decrease it. The major finding appears to be that the mere anticipation of cooperation or…

Describes characteristics of immature, or regressive groups, including avoidance of conflict, abdication of responsibility, and psychic numbness; and characteristics of mature, or generative groups, including group transcendence. Examines the notion of group mind and concludes that the evolution of mind is dependent on the group's psychological…

Examined acceptance and congruence in four Tavistock groups consisting of college student volunteers (N=30) using scales measuring curative factors, group process, and congruence. Found participants with higher rankings on the group acceptance measures experienced greater degrees of congruence following the group experience. Discusses implications…

A study examining small group performance replicated and extended a previous study by L. Kelly and R. L. Duran to reanalyze their operationalization of cohesiveness. To test the hypotheses of the original study and to explore questions about using the polarization index as an indication of group cohesiveness, the study used a large number of…

Consensus is important in the making of a policy decision. If a decision is reached without consensus, morale and unit satisfaction may both suffer. With genuine consensus, a unit tends to willingly support and implement the new policy. After analyzing how observed small groups had actually reached consensus, the following ten techniques were…

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 study was an attempt fo document aspects of small group work in classrooms engaged in the process education curricula called "Materials and Activities for Teachers and Children" (MATCH). Data on student-student interaction was related to small group work and gathered by paper-and-pencil sociometric questionnaires and measures of group…

Research has found the Social Judgment Analysis (SJA) approach, with its focus on judgment policy and cognitive feedback, to be a significant factor in developing group member agreement and improving member performance. A controlled experiment was designed to assess the relative quality of the judgment making process provided by SJA.…

This book, which is intended for educators and trainers involved in designing group activities, examines the theory and practice of group activities. The first three chapters, which introduce theories about group instruction, deal with the following topics: the rationale for group instruction (types of group methods and reasons for using them);…