To investigate how a child organizes new objects and how categories function for a chid, twelve 6- and twelve 8-year-olds were individually given several sorting tasks involving 21 three-dimensional nonsense objects. The child was exposed to all the objects; three objects were pointed out and withdrawn; and then the child was asked to describe…

A study investigated the relationship between group structure and leader recognition and compared task performance with group structure and leader recognition to obtain a better understanding of the adult basic education participant. Fifteen women were randomly assigned to three groups and each given a list of six symbols. Their task was to…

Little is known about subordinate attributions connected with perceptions of supervisory influence. Data about first- and second-level supervisors from a nationwide insurance organization revealed that perceived supervisory influence was significantly related to perceptions of supervisory effectiveness, influence over valued rewards and the task,…

The relationship between a group's power and prestige or status hierarchy and group members' patterns of reward allocation was investigated. The addition of evidence concerning actual task performance results in the alignment of reward and status rankings and encourages the use of distribution rules stressing equity as opposed to equality.…

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

Authority-task problems are organizational problems created by inconsistencies between the task process system and both the authority system and the formal hierarchy of offices. A new theory is used to develop a model that predicts how an administrator responds to an authority-task problem. (Author/IRT)

In this field study, black and white naval recruits and squad leaders in groups of varying size and racial composition performed two problem-solving tasks (knot-tying and ship-routing). Black and white leaders, subordinates and group composition (25% black tetrads, 75% black tetrads, racially balanced dyads and tetrads) were compared in measures…

For many persons, a satisfying group experience involves reaching a desired level of personal participation. The experimental laboratory studies of communication network groups have been the most rigorous attempts at understanding the effects of differential participation. It has been shown that centrality of a subject's position influences: (1)…

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…

This experiment attempted to alter the effects of race as a diffuse status characteristic. Black subjects were given instructions meant to induce "high competence" on a task performed with white subjects. All subjects were seventh and eighth graders who did not know each other prior to the experiment. Each group comprised two white and…

In order to help social learning become a more operational theory, this thesis attempts to create a better understanding of the conditions conducive to effective group action in a social context. Parts one and two trace the evolution of social learning theory in education and planning. Part three attempts to identify within a practical setting --…

RATINGS OF THE LEADER'S INITIATION OF STRUCTURE AND CONSIDERATION WERE OBTAINED FROM 36 INTERCULTURAL DISCUSSION GROUPS OF ONE AMERICAN AND ONE INDIAN GRADUATE STUDENT PLUS AN AMERICAN LEADER. RATINGS OF GROUP ATMOSPHERE, ESTEEM FOR LEADER, AND LEADER EFFECTIVENESS WERE ALSO OBTAINED AFTER EACH GROUP COMPLETED AN INTERCULTURAL NEGOTIATION TASK AND…

EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IN HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATIONS MUST BE GOAL-ORIENTED. HIGH-LEVEL LEADERSHIP MUST DEFINE ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS AND CHANNEL ACTIVITIES TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS. STUDIES WERE MADE BY HUMRRO IN MILITARY LEADERSHIP AND SMALL GROUP EFFECTIVENESS. IT WAS FOUND THAT POTENTIAL SQUAD LEADERS, SELECTED FOR ABOVE-AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE AND…