The purpose of this research was to determine how interactive style influences effectiveness and interpersonal attraction in groups. After college student volunteers completed the Communicator Style Measure (CSM), 72 subjects were selected from three style profiles and assigned to triads that contained high, mid, and low communication style…

How games influence the psychological and social development of children is examined. It is pointed out that the current emphasis on competition and winning at all costs is harmful and that competition is not instinctive but a learned response to society's expectations. Other cultures such as the Eskimo and Chinese are presented as examples of…

The goal of this book is to help teachers create a positive social climate in the elementary school classroom. Six group processes areas are identified as combining to create the social climate of the classroom: (1) attraction; (2) leadership; (3) communication; (4) student norms of conduct; (5) individual expectations; and (6) group cohesion. The…

Biological sex, social area, task area, and psychological sex were used as independent variables when 72 high school students in speech communication classes rated themselves and other members of small discussion groups. The results for males, females, and composite groups revealed that psychological sex was a more significant discriminating…

This guide provides an in-depth description of guidance and counseling as they relate to adult education. One major theme stressed is that guidance is an integral part of adult education, serving students by facilitating their learning and self-fulfillment. Topics covered are the concept of guidance within adult education and the adult education…

A profile of a male sixth-grade teacher is presented with the objective of demonstrating how his perception of his class determined his decision making and leadership style. The teacher was observed over a full school year. This teacher perceived his class as a cohesive, interacting group and he, as its leader, demonstrated the behaviors he wished…

Discharged adolescent schizophrenics (17) and their families participated in a pilot program of multiple group counseling, planned to help ex-patients reintegrate into the community. Patients were selected prior to discharge and randomly divided into three multiple-family groups. Each participating family had had a severe breakdown in the…

The purpose of this study was to observe and describe the functions, processes, and relationships of shared decision-making in the Instruction and Research (I & R) units of multiunit Individually Guided Education (IGE) elementary schools. Data for the study were gathered through interviews and observations of 16 I & R units at 8 IGE…

Consensus is important in the making of a policy decision. If a decision is reached without consensus, morale and unit satisfaction may both suffer. With genuine consensus, a unit tends to willingly support and implement the new policy. After analyzing how observed small groups had actually reached consensus, the following ten techniques were…

A role-making model of the leadership process is tested and refined within a major university setting. The model assumes that administrative leaders attempt to reduce their costs and increase their benefits by differentiating among unit members in the accomplishments of unit tasks. As a consequence of this differentiation throughout departments,…

This study examines social comparison processes occurring in the interactions among normal adolescents in peer groups. Eight types of social comparison processes were predicted. Two of these, specific to adolescent developmental processes, are new. The experimental design called for behavioral observation documenting occurrence of social…

The purposes of this paper are to focus on the property of group cohesiveness as a positive force affecting students' cognitive and personal growth, and to draw some implications from the research on cohesiveness for teachers who employ open classroom techniques. A bibliography is included. (Author/MLF)

The processes involved in staging successful inservice training, staff meetings, and task force sessions are described. Examples are provided and details are given for four phases of preparation: preplanning (including identification of need, setting priority objectives, and determining the type of group session); planning (covering such aspects…

This paper presents the history of parent education in the United States and describes a mother-toddler program designed to help young mothers acquire knowledge and skills in child rearing through modeling, counseling and discussion. Included are reviews of current methods of education for child rearing, the need for programs to aid young parents,…

A study (N=60) was conducted to investigate the relationship between sex and the Bem Sex-Role Inventory in various measures of social influence. These influence measures involved self-reports of power strategies, peer evaluations of influence during group discussions, and personality scales measuring social power concepts. It was found that…