Research supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

The effect of feedback on group cohesiveness (measured in terms of group and task attractiveness) for a person who is performing a simple, highly repetitive task was studied. One hundred business administration students, randomly assigned to five member groups, completed a series of trials having the goal of determining the number commonly held by…

A review of the literature on cooperative, competitive, and independent reward structures and performance is presented, and conclusions are drawn which reformulate current beliefs about the interaction between reward structure and task structure. A brief theory of reward structure and performance is described, and conditions under which…

This manual is intended primarily for use by small groups that must accomplish tasks within specified periods of time. Chapters, directed toward groups in business, industry, education, religious organizations, politics, government, or virtually any situation where a cooperative effort is required, discuss the following areas: group work as…

Forty male and forty female high school students engaged in a group decision making task in both mixed-and single-sex 4-person groups of strangers. Those subjects who participated in a mixed group were also together in a microteaching class. The study addressed three questions: (1) What are the leadership behaviors of females, and do they differ…

Using Status Characteristic Theory as a theoretical framework, increasing status distinctions between professional group members were predicted to decrease the quantity of task related information and quality of decisions made in small problem-solving groups. Three experimental conditions were created: (1) occupational prestige manipulated, (2)…

The model for planning groups presented in this paper is an attempt to provide varying levels of organizational leaders with a device to increase planning efficiency and effectiveness. The planning process is highlighted as it might be viewed through the eyes of the individual responsible for completion of the planning task. The major emphasis is…

This paper reports on an investigation of the interdependent relationship between ecological classroom dimensions and kindergarten students' task-related classroom behaviors, studied independently of personalities or age-group generalizations. Major purposes of the study were: (1) to identify and describe the main action structures observed in the…

Materials presented in this curriculum guide are designed to provide students with the information and skills they need to work effectively in task-oriented groups. The curriculum is presented in eight self-contained units or modules, each of which emphasizes a particular set of group interaction attitudes, knowledge, and skills. These include…