The report studies the effects that the achieved status of the principal (power figure) has on the productivity of a heierarchically differenitiated group (participants have unequal ascribed status relationships) when all of the group members have an equal share in making decisions. The study tests two hypotheses: (1) as leader achieved status…

The purpose of this investigation was to describe behaviors observed as comprising leadership contention and gender differences in groups. As defined in this study, leadership contention differs from leadership in that it is comprised of behaviors individuals derive from their beliefs about what leaders do and is also specifically concerned with a…

The purpose of this study was to make a preliminary effort to explore subordinate perceptions of authority as measured by semantic differential-type scales through factor analytic techniques in order to determine the dimensional structure which results from subordinate responses to the question of authority use. Descriptions of authority from…

A critical review of the small group literature is undertaken in an attempt to identify those characteristics which distinguish the dyad, the two-person group, from larger groups. Comparisons of dyads to larger groups are made in five categories of major small group variables: influence processes, affiliation processes, role differentiation and…

A close reading of "Improvisations for the Theater" and "I and Thou" will show that there is a common ground linking the games theory of Viola Spolin and the philosophy and religious teachings of Martin Buber. Relation, to Buber, is the direct and immediate response where two people share mutually with one another. It is this…

The purpose of the present study was to determine if a procedure could be devised to eliminate the need for a therapist in reinforcing for expressions of affect, feedback, or empathy. Twenty-six male and 22 female undergraduate volunteers were randomly assigned to 12 "human relations" groups, comprising three replications of four conditions: 1.…

The term "risky shift" is used to describe the tendency of groups to make a collective decision that is less conservative than the members might make as individuals. Previous research on this subject has been based on three analytical categories: demographic makeup of groups, group familiarity with the task and information, or individual…

Taking the broad range of human communications as a background, this book elaborates upon communication theory and mass media methods to delineate facets of organizational communication. Of major concern are topics in information and systems theory, the types of barriers to communication in organizations, communications both up and down the chain…

The focus of this work is the introduction and description of a quasi-new concept called socio-communication. In chapter 1 the term "socio communication" is defined as "human interaction, among and between different classes of people, by means of verbal and nonverbal expression in day-to-day social situations." In chapter 2 social communication…

Two studies are presented in which three fourth- or fifth-graders, assigned to five experimentally-created conditions which differed systematically in presence or absence of task-roles and group roles, were asked to cooperate in making a block-pattern on a round board. Behavior was pre-coded in various group-oriented and individual-oriented…

Opportunities for citizen participation in federal environmental decisions relative to air pollution and its control are assessed in this booklet. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as the federal agency charged with enforcement of the Clean Air Act, offers guidelines for responsible citizen action. Designed for groups already organized…

The management field of Organization Development approaches institutions from the social, technical, and economic systems with major emphasis on group process. Organization Development contains many possibilities for libraries and their staff to meet the challenge of our greatly changing environment. This paper outlines the methods by which an…

An instrument was developed and tested which would measure intermediate interaction behavior in small-group communication. The study was designed to uncover the several dimensions of such behavior and produce a reliable, valid measure for each dimension that would yield data amenable to parametric statistical analysis. Analysis of two experiments…

This paper describes a study which was carried out to examine the intra-group verbal behavior of "person-oriented" and "non-person-oriented" individuals. Extrapolating from conceptual systems theory, it was expected that the "person-oriented" (conceptually abstract) individuals would deal with different referents,…

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…