Small Group Research

Based on a review of the small groups literature on roles, relationships, and groups in organizations, some suggestions are made concerning the ways that research findings might be integrated into a more general theory of groups. Examples of the application of Parsons’s analysis of four functions (meaning, resources, integration, and goal attainment) to small group phenomena are given to illustrate some of the possibilities for the extension of one of several current theoretical perspectives.

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Group Engagement Measure (GEM) with a purposive sample of 61 adult male sex offenders in long-term, open-ended treatment groups. The GEM was highly internally consistent with a low standard error of measurement. Construct validity consisted of assessing the correlations between the GEM and the Group Attitude Scale, the Sex Offender Treatment Rating Scale, and the Facets of Sexual Offender Denial at the scale and subscale levels. The entire scale was favorably correlated with the constructs, and the subscales had mostly significant associations, with correlations ranging from mild to strong, depending on the measure or subscale.

Research suggests that gender role, rather than sex, is associated with the perception of individuals as leaders. This study tests the effect of gender role and intelligence on leadership emergence by using a pattern approach and manipulating task type. Two hundred female undergraduate participants, categorized by their pattern of masculinity, femininity, and intelligence, were placed in groups of 4 members. Groups were randomly assigned to an initiating-structure or consensus-building task condition. In the initiating-structure task condition, both masculine-intelligent and androgynous-intelligent individuals emerged more than feminine-intelligent or mixed-pattern individuals. In the consensus-building task condition, feminine-intelligent individuals did not emerge as leaders more than masculine-intelligent or mixed-pattern individuals. However, partial support was found for the emergence of androgynous-intelligent individuals.

The primary purpose of the current study was to extend previous research by examining actual leaders in a small group setting to empirically assess the efficacy of using leader impression management (LIM) as a predictor of group satisfaction. Specifically, the current study explored LIM as a predictor of group cohesion, consensus, and communication using a sample of 105 undergraduate business students from a midwestern university. Results indicated that the impression management (IM) tactic of exemplification was predictive of group cohesion, feelings regarding group member relationships and decision processes, and feelings regarding group decision outcomes. The IM tactic of ingratiation was positively related to group cohesion. Helplessness was negatively related to feelings regarding group member relationships and decision processes. No IM tactics were predictive of feelings regarding individual effectiveness. Implications for the research findings as they relate to management education and small group research are discussed.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between the length of time that work groups had been meeting and the verbal behavior patterns and perceptions of group members about their groups. The verbal behavior patterns and perceptions of 180 members of 26 work groups were examined. Perceptions of 639 people in 88 work groups also were explored. Significant relationships and differences were noted between the length of time that work groups had been meeting and the verbal behavior patterns and perceptions of group members. Specifically, members of groups that had been meeting longer made significantly less dependency and fight statements and significantly more work statements. They also perceived their groups to be functioning at higher stages of group development. The results of this study lent further support to traditional models of group development. Verbal behavior patterns of members vary significantly in groups of different durations. Member perceptions of their group’s development also vary significantly in groups of different durations.