In this article, the authors seek to augment Dean Hewes's (1986, 1996) intriguing bracketing and admirable larger effort to "return to basic theorizing in the study of group communication" by making transparent the foundational, and debatable, assumptions that underlie those models. Although these assumptions are addressed indirectly by Hewes, the…

This article presents the authors' response to Hewes's (1986, 1996, 2009) models of communication effects on small group outcomes. As sophisticated and thoughtful as Hewes's new model is, however, the authors take issue with it. For one, there is reason to question whether his approach is feasible. For another, his models are not founded on solid…

This article presents the author's response to Professor Hewes's "The Influence of Communication Processes on Group Outcomes: Antithesis and Thesis." The author believes that Hewes could have been more helpful to the reader and to those who are apt to find inspiration in the steps he has taken in his essay to promote a "return to basic theorizing…

The purpose of the author's contribution to this colloquy was to spark conversation on the theoretical nature of communication processes and the evidentiary requirements for testing their relationship to group outcomes. Co-discussants have raised important issues concerning the philosophical basis of the socioegocentric model (SM) and dual-level…

Highlights broad philosophical issues and future areas of research on personal relationships that derive from the author's earlier work. Discusses the dialectics associated with intraindividual, interpersonal, and intergroup dynamics as well as the effect of the physical environment on personal relationships. (RS)

Presents an exploratory taxonomy of small group interaction-coding systems. Six dimensions that characterize interaction-coding schemes are presented in a hierarchical order ranging from abstract conceptual issues to specific methodological ones. These dimensions are: philosophical perspective, conceptual and operational focus, observer inference,…

Examines what we know and don't know about group leadership and concludes that current metaphors which guide inquiry into leadership are incapable of dealing with the complexity inherent in the phenomenon. Describes and adapts an alternative metaphor, leader as medium, to group communication as relationships. (BH)

Recent years have been marked by a decline in the quantity and quality of small group research for four reasons: (1) the experimenter is an integral component of the system he or she is studying and thereby influences the findings, (2) layers of group process defy complete analysis, (3) small group research is reflexive, and (4) much of the…

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…

Investigates how communication predispositions promote or detract from individual students' motivation relative to their collaborative learning (CL) groups. Finds distinctive patterns of emergent motivation for students in each of the four optimal challenge categories for each of the CL learning modalities. Discusses instructional implications.…

Public relations textbooks and the literature in public relations do not discuss issues management (IM) in terms of nonprofit organizations, focusing instead primarily on corporate activity. Yet nonprofits have serious need for IM, particularly since it is the nonprofits that will be providing the leadership in diversity and multicultural efforts…

The development of skills for group evaluation and facilitation in today's team environment is an essential component of the learning process for the student of communication. Until recently there has been no integrated model for the consideration of small groups and teams that incorporated findings from psychology, social psychology, management…

Noting that brainstorming remains a very popular means of idea generation despite considerable research evidence to the contrary, this paper attempts to debunk the brainstorming myth by first critically reviewing the claims advocating brainstorming and the data supporting these claims. The paper discusses the social science research relevant to…

Criticizes the variable analytic approach to small group communication currently being used by many social science researchers and suggests some alternative ways of doing research based on a human action perspective. (JMF)