Used Hill Interaction Matrix to measure content and quality of interactions in 12-hour therapy group of 12 male drug addicts and 3 therapists. Categories of therapeutic work included conventional, assertive, speculative, and confrontive; categories of content included topic, group, personal, and relationship. Group was highly confrontive; most…

Research from social psychology on the effects of group discussion and of exposure to the opinions of other group members on the decisions groups make is reviewed. The pertinence of this research to standard-setting practices is considered, and the implications for the design of standard-setting procedures are explored. (SLD)

Explored associations of mutual eye contact with self-accepting and other-accepting conduct by small group members as assessed by pooled group peers and self. Results indicated robust and substantial connections between interpersonal behaviors representing the nonverbal and verbal domains despite rather limited reliability of mutual eye contact…

Verbal outbursts of one school board member can undermine everyone's effectiveness. The risk of an outburst can be reduced by taking a few basic precautions that include distributing materials prior to the meeting. If the outburst happens, ideally the whole board will work as a unit to set the meeting back on the proper course. (MLF)

Summarizes research on disjunctive versus conjunctive, and multistage versus single-stage problem solving in a classroom setting. Concludes that students working in groups are less likely to drop out of class, give higher subjective motivation to learn ratings, perform better on tests, know more classmates, and score higher on Raven's Progressive…

Course objectives, organization, and reading for a graduate seminar in educational leadership at Teachers College Columbia University are described. Small student groups assigned the task of teaching course content experience some of the processes presented in the literature, thus providing practice in some of the functions of leadership. (IAH)

Describes differences in the socialization setting provided by all-boy and all-girl play groups, and explores possible reasons for children's tendency to congregate in same-sex groups. Considers three classes of possible explanatory processes: biological factors, socialization pressures from adults, and gender cognitions. (RH)

Compared crime rates of Alaska Native villages operating under Western social control with those of villages maintaining sovereign control (Yupi'it Nation villages). Hypothesized a link between degree of assimilation into Western culture and social disorganization. Rates for felonies and misdemeanors were lower in Nation villages, except for…

Describes the theory and practice of group work with a central focus on what group leaders can expect in the process of leading a grieving-and-loss group. Authors describe their group work with clients experiencing grief and review several theories of grief relating to loss. (Author)

Describes personal growth group processes from a Jungian perspective. Assumes a conceptual framework for personal growth groups that uses constructs from Jung's theory of the individuation process in the first half of life (approximately before age 40). A 3-stage theory, with 18 testable hypotheses is proposed. (JBJ)

Applies the four-stage reviewing sequence of Experience, Express, Examine, and Explore to climbing, skiing, expedition, and group adventures to show how the experiences of success, learning a skill, responsibility, and cooperation can be enhanced. Discusses things a leader can do before, during, and after the experience that will reinforce the…

Presents a model of communication for users, designers, and developers of information systems. Suggests strategies to help design participants interact more effectively to improve the quality of design processes and outcomes. Examples of event sequences, excerpts from tables, and a memo used to research design phases and participants are appended.…

Describes Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS), a form of computer-mediated communication, which can be used to enhance discussions in college and high school classrooms. An example of a GDSS in a high school is included, and results of a questionnaire regarding student preferences are appended. (Author/LRW)

Group Adventure Initiative Tasks require the successful completion of a group task or objective and then provide debriefing and reflection on group processes and individual behaviors. A model of responsible action provides a framework for debriefing by charting behaviors and outcomes of choosing to respond to a situation as "victim"…

Describes a study of tutors' experiences with small groups, offering findings from interviews with 37 tutors from 3 colleges as they relate to existing group dynamics research. Discusses tutor and tutee roles, group cohesion, identification of students' needs, development of a workable plan and timeline, jumpstarting, and floor management. Details…