Investigates factors that members of organizational work teams (school administrators and personnel who volunteered to work with students with ongoing drug and alcohol problems) believe facilitate and inhibit group performance effectiveness. Finds that compatible work schedules, motivated group members, adequate informational resources, competent…

A pilot research project developed and tested an instrument to measure affective feelings about participating in task groups (grouphate) and to relate that instrument to what participants believed to be true about their group experiences. In 3 small group discussions, 15 members of an undergraduate research methods course identified…

Students are exposed to group interaction long before they reach the college classroom through their living, social, and educational groups. As a result, they bring preconceived notions about group interaction effectiveness. Students also receive a great deal of exposure to group interaction from television. Situation comedies, students' favorite…

One aspect of organizational work groups has been ignored by both group and organizational communication researchers. The concluding period or termination of an organizational work group is disregarded while research focuses on the assignment, development, and maintenance of groups. In the organizational context, how work groups process the…

A study analyzed six prime-time television shows--"The Cosby Show,""Cheers,""Dear John,""Designing Women,""Golden Girls," and "Roseanne"--to examine group communication as it is portrayed on a daily basis in these shows, or how groups interact in the sitcom genre. One episode of each of…

A study examining small group performance replicated and extended a previous study by L. Kelly and R. L. Duran to reanalyze their operationalization of cohesiveness. To test the hypotheses of the original study and to explore questions about using the polarization index as an indication of group cohesiveness, the study used a large number of…

Problems in organizational groups are often defined around one pivotal and difficult group member. Based upon C. Stohl and S. Schell's concepts of farrago (a confusing group member who becomes the relational focus of the group), 28 undergraduate students and management personnel who frequently participate in group work were interviewed to validate…

To address the lack of research focusing on naturally occurring groups within an organizational context, a study examined the selection process and criteria that individuals use when allowed to self-select members for task groups. Subjects, 248 students enrolled in a basic communication course at a midwestern university, self-selected themselves…

This study investigated William Schutz's three-dimensional theory of interpersonal behavior and compatibility (FIRO) to determine its validity as a group measure of compatibility. Data were collected from 248 students enrolled in a multi-section course in small group communications at a large midwestern university. Subjects self-selected…

Despite the increasing popularity of cooperative learning techniques in elementary instruction, many educators believe that children do not possess effective group interaction skills and advocate that children be taught the group communication skills necessary for group interaction as a separate instructional component. Unfortunately,…

A study assessed the validity of applying the Spitzberg and Cupach dyadic model of communication competence to small group interaction. Twenty-four students, in five task-oriented work groups, completed questionnaires concerning self-competence, alter competence, interaction effectiveness, and other group members' interaction appropriateness. They…