Examines proposition that covert roles within a group are assigned to individual group members based on their propensity to verbally or nonverbally express certain patterns of unwanted, disowned, and projected emotions that are experienced as threatening by other members. Focuses on articulating a model, describing a method, and presenting…

Discusses the definition and origin of the term "groupthink." Examines three studies on groupthink by John Courtright (1978), Matie Flowers (1977), and Philip Tetlock (1979). Concludes none of the three is superior to another but that it can be learned from all three that group decision making is fraught with danger. (ABL)

Model developed to enhance understanding of group processes and dynamics and to help plan for intervention and research in treatment or task groups. Presents a cognitive map of a group, incorporating five sets of group variables: (1) member characteristics; (2) behaviors; (3) group characteristics; (4) episodes; and (5) output. (Author/NRB)

A review of the literature on feedback delivered in small groups reveals there are many gaps in knowledge of the most effective ways for individuals to give and receive information about themselves and each other. The present study was designed to examine further this phenomenon. (Author)

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…

Identifying clients is of prime importance to group leaders. Two variables which have proved useful in understanding therapeutic performance are social risk taking propensity and client expectancy. The present study was concerned with the prediction of group member performance following pretreatment assessment of these two variables. (Author)

This study first investigates the effects of group structure on collective projections in groups, then examines how collective projections feed back and affect group structure. It examines the effects of having a deviant in a group on group projections and responses. (Author)

Time-limited and time-extended groups studied appeared to be similar in stage development with abnormalities in process accounted for by the amount of time the groups have continuously met. Support was given to the concept of stages as a series of cyclical movements characterized by clusterings of related behaviors. (Author)

The development of cohesion and attraction-to-group and the role these variables play warrants serious consideration. A first step toward more adequate conceptualization is separation of the concepts, with the former viewed as a group phenomenon and the latter as the individual's identification with the group. (Author)

This study attempted to determine if decision rule, majority v consensus, had significant impact on certain hypotheses concerning conflicts in small groups. (Author)

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…

Much of the material presented here derives from a study of the termination phase of group development undertaken to test the validity of a portion of a stages model developed by Garland, Kolodny, and Jones (1965). This model for stages of group development postulates five stages of group life. (Author)

Assessed curative factors among therapy groups of offenders experiencing differentially restrictive incarceration from probation through minimum security and maximum security to a special segregation unit for behaviorally problematic prisoners. Found wide differences between the curative factors that participants found most helpful in therapy…

Uses a laboratory experiment involving role-playing groups to show that an assigned majority rule is likely to lead to higher-quality solutions than unanimity and no-decision rule. Results indicated under majority rule workers resistance to the foreman's power often resulted in a successful search for a better solution. (JAC)

Compared the effects of traditional group norming techniques with a method where suggested norms are explicitly outlined at the beginning of the group. Data were analyzed to discover if there were significant differences between traditional norm groups and suggested norm groups in amount of interaction. (Author)