When the members of a group work collaboratively using a group support system (GSS), they often "brainstorm" a list of ideas in response to a question or challenge that faces the group. The satisfaction levels of group members are usually high following this activity. However, satisfaction levels with the process almost always drop…

A new theory of interaction within small groups posits that group members initiate actions when tension mounts between the affective meanings of their situational identities and impressions produced by recent events. Actors choose partners and behaviors so as to reduce the tensions. A computer model based on this theory, incorporating reciprocal…

Functional roles may explain the learning performance of groups. Detecting a functional role is critical for promoting group learning performance in computer-supported collaborative learning environments. However, it is not easy for teachers to identify the functional roles played by students in a web-based learning group, or the relationship…

The relationship of 2 important variables -- group composition and time -- to the verbal behavior of sensitivity training groups, using 2 recently developed assessment procedures, is investigated. Sensitivity groups were composed according to the interpersonal skills of participants, as measured by a structured behavioral technique, the Group…

Provides a conceptual model developed to unify the spectrum of task-, socio-, and psycho-group processes used by guidance and counseling personnel. Describes a structure for group leaders to follow within their various group modalities using four distinguishing variables: objective, size, leader behavior, and member behavior and expectations.…

Two studies examined in-group favoritism and out-group prejudice among two samples of white 4- to 7-year-olds. Findings indicated that the two attitudes were reciprocally correlated in the sample from a racially homogeneous school but not in the sample from a mixed-race school. In-group favoritism did not appear until 5 years of age and was…

The methodology of interpretation of qualitative data was explored using a grounded theory approach to the synthesis of data, examining the construction of categories in particular. The focus is on ways of organizing data and attaching meaning, as research problems embedded in cultural context are explored. A qualitative research training task…

An attempt is made to understand the structural and transformational inter-relationships between processes of classification, segmentation, ranking, and segregation in a suburban high school from a cultural point of view. The first of three sections of the paper reviews the acceptance among social scientists in the last decades of the belief that…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…