An example of how the quality of research on small groups could be enhanced is to develop a framework of scholarship around a series of hierarchical guiding questions concerning the functions of communication in the small group, the characteristics of the behavior and of the producers of that behavior that determine the extent to which particular…

Examines the relationship between patterns of communication (in groups) and group outcomes. Specifically, it attempts to reveal contrasts in the structure of communication between groups whose consensual outcomes are dissimilar. (Author/HMV)

Tests the assumption that the aspects of a group's behavior that lead to judgments of quality probably are equally important and assesses the theoretical import of a discovery indicating differences in the relative impact of different variables on perceptions of the quality of decision making discussions. (MH)

After 24 triads of college students discussed hypothetical situations of serious and moderately serious acts of plagiarism by either high or low status individuals, they designated a punishment. The hypothesis was that the severity of the sanction would be a joint function of the severity of the act, the attribution of responsibility for the act,…