Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Group effects'

Intragroup conflict research has shown task and relationship conflict have different effects on group outcomes, and suggests groups promote task conflict while avoiding relationship conflict. However, these suggestions have not yet been tested. This study examines the moderating role of group conflict handling on conflict type-group outcome relationships. Results of a field survey of 96 business school project groups showed task conflict inhibited performance when groups used avoidance tactics; however, these effects were negated when avoidance tactics were not used. Similarly, relationship conflict was only harmful to performance when avoided. When the use of avoidance was low, relationship conflict improved performance. Collaboration mitigated the harmful effects of task conflict and compromising mitigated those of relationship conflict on group satisfaction. Results from this work provide an important first look at how group conflict handling behaviors moderate the relationships between conflict types and group outcomes.

Socio-cognitive conflict is a mechanism that drives cognitive development/learning in collaborative learning. Such conflicts occur when individuals have different perspectives on the same problem. To adequately solve problems, groups face the challenge of integrating different perspectives, which when successful can result in an increase in shared knowledge (i.e., knowledge convergence), an intermediate process-related collaborative learning outcome. Knowledge convergence plays an important role in explaining the quality of group performance, an ultimate collaborative learning outcome. However, students do not always learn from one another in groups, with studies revealing variability in collaborative learning outcomes. Among other factors, their communication can be unproductive or productive. This mixed evidence could be because: (1) interactions have not been analyzed using instruments developed with theoretical and empirical underpinnings within a socio-cognitive conflict paradigm to measure a comprehensive range of socio-cognitive processes; and (2) it is insufficient to assign group tasks without providing any scaffolding. My study acknowledges these issues and uses a randomized experimental design that aims to: (1) Test out a script that strives to scaffold interactions to generate collaborative socio-cognitive processes. To analyze interactions, my study uses an instrument capable of identifying a comprehensive range of socio-cognitive processes; and (2) Examine the effect of socio-cognitive processes on knowledge convergence and consequently on the quality of group performance. Findings suggest that the script offers a promising way to facilitate the type of productive communication to make group-work beneficial. It generated interactions with collaborative socio-cognitive processes. Additionally, the frequency of collaborative socio-cognitive processes is positively related to the increase in shared knowledge in terms of the number of similar elements and statements members had in common after dyads’ interactions. Also, the increase in the number of similar elements is positively related to the quality of dyads’ performance, whereas there is no corresponding effect for statements. Implications for designing collaborative learning activities include requiring the duration of students’ interactions to be long enough to have sufficient collaborative socio-cognitive processes so as to have substantial knowledge convergence and higher quality of group performance. Future studies include addressing issues regarding measurement accuracy in analyzing chat-logs and knowledge convergence.

This research was concerned with the collection of empirical data necessary to estimate the effects of decision support tools on the performance of distributed groups. Data was collected in a controlled experimental environment that simulated a geographically-dispersed meeting through the use of videoconferencing and group communication support (GCSS) technology. Results of the use of a Group Decision Support System (GDSS) on group process and outcome variables were mixed. As predicted by the literature the use of a GDSS by distributed groups improved overall group consensus, decision accuracy, and decision effectiveness. The use of a GDSS also increased perceived process structure. Contrary to previous studies, the use of a GDSS increased decision time, and decreased overall satisfaction with the group process. No significant effects were found for perceived consensus, cooperation, amount of information exchange, or confidence in the decision. A strong correlation was found between decision quality and decision time. An even stronger correlation was found between perceived structure of the process and satisfaction with the process. The lack of feedback about the process and its outcomes could explain the lack of a GDSS effect on perceptions of consensus, cooperation, and confidence in the decision. Perception of subjective measures of the process may depend on the presence of the appropriate types of feedback. The results suggest that an increase in structure without a perceived improvement in decision quality (confidence in the decision) tends to reduce group satisfaction. A richer taxonomy for Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) systems is proposed whereby three orthogonal dimensions of group support are defined. These three dimensions of group support are: Communication support, decision support, and presence support. This new taxonomy suggests a number of research directions aimed at the empirical identification of contextual and design factors relevant to distributed group performance and decision making performance in general.
Master of Science

Corporations spend a great deal of time and money trying to facilitate innovation in their employees. The act of introducing something new, a product or a service that is viable and innovative is often increased by enhancing or nurturing creativity.This experimental study investigated the effect of group verbally interactive brainstorming (social interaction) on creativity, not by comparing the number of ideas generated on a simple task in a brainstorming session, but by assessing creativity in the final product of a complex heuristic task. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of group interactive brainstorming to individual brainstorming on individual creativity assessed in the final product.The hypothesis which was tested in this study was that participation in group verbally interactive brainstorming prior to developing a design solution would not facilitate creativity in the final product more than individual brainstorming. Indeed, it was hypothesized that individuals brainstorming in teams.Participants were 36 interior design students in a FIDER accredited program at Virginia Tech. The Multidimensional Stimulus Fluency Measure (MSFM) was administered before beginning the experiment in order to determine individual differences in creativity. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a treatment group than participated in group verbally interactive brainstorming prior to developing a product individually, or a control group that participated in an individual brainstorming session. All subjects then created a design project individually that was assessed for creativity by judges who were recruited from professional interior design organizations. Creativity was measures using the Consensual Assessment for Interior Design Creativity (Barnard, 1992). A post session questionnaire also was used to measure attitudes and perceptions of the subjects about the creative process.Analysis of variance revealed no significant differences when creativity scores were compared between two brainstorming groups. That is, projects developed by interior design students did not differ significantly in creativity systematically between the two brainstorming techniques. When scores on the two dependent variables of secondary interest (novelty and appropriateness) were compared between groups they also did not differ significantly.Responses to post-session questionnaires indicated that although students found it more difficult to generate ideas in a group, they still believed they would generate more ideas and preferred to generate ideas in a group rather than alone. However, when developing a project students preferred to work independently.This study supports past research which suggests that group verbally interactive brainstorming does not enhance creativity. In this study, interactive brainstorming neither enhanced nor constrained creativity in the final product. The creativity scores were higher for those in the individual brainstorming condition, although not significantly so. This study also supports findings which indicate that people still believe they will generate more ideas in a group and that they prefer to generate ideas as a group.
Ph. D.

Com a individus, definim les nostres identitats de grup mitjançant la categorització dels altres individus i de nosaltres mateixos en moltes categories socials com la de gènere, raça, religió, nacionalitat, conviccions polítiques i professió, entre moltes altres. Aquest procés de categorització ens confereix una noció de "qui" som, a quins grups socials pertanyem i, el que és més important, com s'espera que ens comportem. Aquesta tesi gira entorn a dos fenòmens d'especial rellevància en la literatura sobre la identitat de grup; la discriminació i els conflictes intergrupals. La identitat de grup es considera un factor subjacent de les conductes discriminatòries i l'aparició de conflictes entre membres de diferents grups socials. Hi ha una àmplia evidència que mostra que la mera categorització en categories socials és suficient per desencadenar conductes discriminatòries contra membres d'altres grups socials. A més, la història de la humanitat ofereix molts exemples de conflictes i genocidis més arrelats en la diversitat d'identitats de grup que en les disputes econòmiques. No obstant això, no tots els membres d'un grup social discriminen en la mateixa magnitud, ni tots els grups socials estan involucrats en conflictes. El primer treball d'aquesta tesi proposa una mesura empírica que va més enllà de la categorització dels individus en categories socials. Utilitzant la voluntat d'adquirir béns representatius de grups socials, aquest article mesura i quantifica la intensitat de la identitat de grup per investigar els factors que reforcen i atenuen la identitat de grup dels individus. Els resultats proporcionen evidència sobre com la convergència i divergència en els comportaments de membres d'un grup social reforcen i atenuen la intensitat de la identitat de grup dels individus, la qual cosa és crucial per predir l'aparició de conflictes intergrupals a nivell col·lectiu i forts graus de discriminació a nivell individual. La literatura que estudia els efectes de la identitat de grup en la presa de decisions individuals s'ha centrat principalment en estudiar la discriminació i els conflictes intergrupals assumint que la identitat de grup dels individus és coneguda i observable. No obstant això, moltes identitats de grup es basen en conviccions i creences que no són directament observables a partir dels trets físics dels individus i, per tant, poden ser incertes (per exemple, la religió i la ideologia). El segon treball presentat en aquesta tesi explora els efectes de la incertesa de la identitat de grup sobre els patrons de discriminació quan els individus decideixen amb qui interactuar, i les seves repercussions en l'eficiència de la coordinació col·lectiva. La gestió de la diversitat i incertesa de les identitats de grup és un factor important per determinar els guanys i l'èxit de les organitzacions i empreses, especialment quan la força laboral és diversa i pot tenir dificultats de coordinació i cooperació. Els resultats trobats en el segon treball mostren el paper que juga la incertesa de la identitat de grup en les preferències d'interacció dels individus i ofereixen diverses idees gerencials per dissuadir la discriminació entre els empleats alhora d’interactuar i augmentar la seva eficiència de coordinació quan treballen en equip. Finalment, l'últim treball presentat en aquesta tesi contribueix a la literatura de polítiques i intervencions orientades a mitigar la discriminació i els prejudicis entre membres de grups socials en conflicte. Si bé aquesta literatura s'ha centrat en estudiar com el contacte entre membres de diferents grups socials redueix la discriminació i els prejudicis, hi ha una manca d'evidència sobre intervencions amb les mateixes finalitats que no requereixin contacte entre individus. L'últim treball presentat en aquesta tesi explota un context natural en què els individus de dos grups socials actualment en conflicte es veuen obligats a cooperar per aconseguir un objectiu comú superior sense poder posar-se en contacte. Aquest context ofereix l'oportunitat de posar l'èmfasi no en el contacte entre individus sinó en els objectius comuns superiors com a factor atenuant de la discriminació. Els resultats mostren que els individus es van tornar més egoistes a mesura que s'aconseguia gradualment l'objectiu comú superior. A més, els individus d'un grup social en particular també van augmentar la seva discriminació a mesura que s'aconseguia gradualment l'objectiu comú. Aquests resultats mostren com els objectius comuns superiors poden esdevenir un factor mitigador de la discriminació i l'egoisme.
Como individuos, definimos nuestras identidades grupales mediante la categorización de los demás individuos y de nosotros mismos en muchas categorías sociales como la de género, raza, religión, nacionalidad, convicciones políticas y profesión, entre muchas otras. Este proceso de categorización nos confiere una noción de "quiénes" somos, a qué grupos sociales pertenecemos y, lo que es más importante, cómo se espera que nos comportemos. Esta tesis gira en torno a dos fenómenos de especial relevancia en la literatura sobre identidad grupal; la discriminación y los conflictos intergrupales. La identidad grupal se considera un factor subyacente de las conductas discriminatorias y la aparición de conflictos entre miembros de distintos grupos sociales. Existe una amplia evidencia que muestra que la mera categorización en categorías sociales es suficiente para desencadenar la discriminación contra miembros de otros grupos sociales. Además, la historia de la humanidad ofrece muchos ejemplos de conflictos y genocidios más arraigados en la diversidad de identidades grupales que en las disputas económicas. Sin embargo, no todos los miembros de un grupo social discriminan en la misma magnitud, ni todos los grupos sociales están involucrados en conflictos. El primer trabajo de esta tesis propone una medida empírica que va más allá de la categorización de los individuos en categorías sociales. Utilizando la voluntad de adquirir bienes representativos de grupos sociales, este artículo mide y cuantifica la intensidad de la identidad grupal para investigar los factores que refuerzan y atenúan la identidad grupal de los individuos. Los resultados encontrados proporcionan evidencia sobre cómo la convergencia y divergencia en los comportamientos de miembros de un grupo social refuerzan y atenúan la intensidad de la identidad grupal de los individuos, lo cual es crucial para predecir la aparición de conflictos intergrupales a nivel colectivo y fuertes grados de discriminación a nivel individual. La literatura que estudia los efectos de la identidad grupal en la toma de decisiones individuales se ha centrado principalmente en estudiar la discriminación y los conflictos intergrupales asumiendo que la identidad grupal de los individuos es conocida y observable. Sin embargo, muchas identidades grupales se basan en convicciones y creencias que no son directamente observables a partir de los rasgos físicos individuales y, por lo tanto, pueden ser inciertas (por ejemplo, la religión y la ideología). El segundo trabajo presentado en esta tesis explora los efectos de la incertidumbre de la identidad grupal sobre los patrones de discriminación cuando los individuos deciden con quién interactuar, y sus repercusiones en la eficiencia de la coordinación colectiva. La gestión de la diversidad e incertidumbre de las identidades grupales es un factor importante para determinar las ganancias y el éxito de las organizaciones y empresas, especialmente cuando la fuerza laboral es diversa y puede tener dificultades para coordinarse y cooperar. Los resultados encontrados en el segundo trabajo arrojan luz sobre el papel que juega la incertidumbre de la identidad grupal en las preferencias de interacción de los individuos y ofrecen varias ideas gerenciales para disuadir la discriminación entre los empleados para interactuar y aumentar su eficiencia de coordinación cuando trabajan en equipo. Finalmente, el último trabajo presentado en esta tesis contribuye a la literatura de políticas e intervenciones orientadas a mitigar la discriminación y los prejuicios entre miembros de grupos sociales en conflicto. Si bien esta literatura se ha centrado en estudiar cómo el contacto entre miembros de diferentes grupos sociales reduce la discriminación y los prejuicios, existe una falta de evidencia sobre intervenciones con los mismos fines que no requieran contacto entre individuos. El último trabajo presentado en esta tesis explota un contexto natural en el que los individuos de dos grupos sociales actualmente en conflicto se ven obligados a cooperar para lograr un objetivo común superior sin poder ponerse en contacto. Este contexto ofrece la oportunidad de poner el énfasis no en el contacto entre individuos sino en los objetivos comunes superiores como factor atenuante de la discriminación. Los resultados muestran que los individuos se volvieron más egoístas a medida que se lograba gradualmente el objetivo común superior. Además, los individuos de un grupo social en particular también aumentaron su discriminación a medida que se lograba gradualmente el objetivo común. Estos resultados muestran como los objetivos comunes superiores pueden mitigar la discriminación y el egoísmo.
As individuals, we define our group identities by categorizing others and ourselves into many social categories like gender, race, religion, nationality, political convictions, and profession, among many others. This categorization process confers us a notion of “who” we are, which social groups we belong, and more importantly, how we are expected to behave. This thesis revolves around two phenomena at the core of group identity literature; discrimination and intergroup conflicts. Group identity is considered an underlying factor of discriminatory behaviors and the emergence of conflicts between members of social groups. There is extensive evidence showing that the mere categorization into social categories is enough to trigger discrimination against members of other social groups. Moreover, human history provides many examples of conflicts and genocides rooted in group identity diversity more than in economic disputes. However, not all social group members discriminate in the same magnitude, nor all social groups are involved in conflicts. The first paper of this thesis proposes an empirical measure that goes beyond categorizing individuals into social categories. Using willingness to acquire representative goods of social groups, this paper measures and quantify group identity intensity to investigate reinforcing and attenuating factors of group identity. The results found provide evidence on how convergence and divergence in behaviors among social group members reinforce and attenuate the group identity intensity of individuals, which is crucial in predicting the emergence of intergroup conflicts at the collective level and strong degrees of discrimination at the individual level. The literature studying the effects of group identity on individual decision-making has largely focused on studying discrimination and intergroup conflicts assuming individuals’ group identity is known and observable. However, many group identities rely on convictions and beliefs that are not directly observable from individual physical traits, and therefore, might be uncertain (e.g. religion, ideology). The second paper presented in this thesis explores the effects of group identity uncertainty on discrimination patterns when individuals decide whom to interact with and its repercussions on collective coordination efficiency. Managing group identity diversity and uncertainty is a major factor in determining organizations and firms' profit and success, especially when a diverse workforce might find it difficult to coordinate and cooperate. The results found in the second paper shed light on the role group identity uncertainty plays in individual interaction preferences and offer several managerial insights for deterring discrimination among employees to interact and increase their coordination efficiency when working in teams. Finally, the last paper presented in this thesis, contributes to the literature of policies and interventions aimed at mitigating discrimination and prejudices between members of social groups in conflict. While this literature has focused on studying how the contact between members of different social groups reduces discrimination and prejudices, there is a lack of evidence on interventions with same purposes not requiring contact between individuals. The last paper presented in this thesis exploits a natural occurring context in which individuals of two social groups currently in conflict see themselves forced to cooperate in order to achieve a superordinate common goal without being able to get in contact. This context offers the opportunity to put the emphasis not in the contact between individuals but in the superordinate common goals as a mitigating factor of discrimination. Results show that individuals got more selfish as the superordinate common goal was gradually achieved. Furthermore, individuals from one social group also increased their discrimination as the common goal was gradually achieved. These results highlight superordinate common goals mitigate discrimination and selfishness.

The essays presented in this dissertation strive to narrow the gap between Operations models and practice. They describe three models with seemingly paradoxical or counter-intuitive predictions and then test them in the controlled environment of the laboratory.Essay 1 studies the departure time decisions of commuters traversing a Y-shaped network with two bottlenecks, who wish to arrive at their common destination at a desired time. Imposed on the network are costs associated with arriving either too early or too late with respect to an exogenously determined arrival time as well as to the delay experienced due to the bottlenecks. The equilibrium solution implies that, for certain parameter values, expanding the capacity of the upstream bottlenecks while keeping the capacity of the other fixed may induce a shift in the endogenously-determined departure times so as to increase total travel costs. We report the results of a large-group experiment designed to test this counterintuitive hypothesis. Our experimental results are strongly supportive of this prediction.Essay 2 examines the Braess Paradox which is a counterintuitive discovery that removing a link from a network that is subject to congestion may decrease the equilibrium travel cost for each of its users. We demonstrate this phenomenon in a complex network and test it experimentally with large groups of players. Our main purpose is to compare two information conditions. In the PUBLIC condition every user is informed of the route choices and payoffs of all the users. In the PRIVATE condition, each user is only informed of her own payoff. We show that under both information conditions, aggregate route choices converge to equilibrium.Essay 3 examines the impact of information on the routing decisions that drivers make in a congestible two route traffic network. We present a model and theoretical predictions of driver choices in such a network and compare outcomes under conditions of full and no-information regarding the capacities of each route. Under certain circumstances, the model predicts a paradox: aggregate travel delays increase with the provision of a priori information regarding stochastic travel conditions. We report evidence supporting this paradox in a laboratory experiment.

How does the status of a group influence the behavior of individuals within the group? This dissertation aims to answer this question by investigating the psychological and behavioral implications of membership in high- versus low-status groups, with a primary focus on the impact of membership in a high-status group. I propose that membership in high-status groups leads to self-oriented intragroup behavior, behavior that best suits members’ own interests regardless of the impact on group outcomes. In five studies, I test this idea and examine the psychological mechanism underlying this effect. The first three studies find that membership in a high-status group (a) decreases the resources allocated for the group as members attempt to ensure personal gain; (b) lowers the preference for a competent newcomer who may enhance group outcome but who may jeopardize personal gains; and (c) reduces the amount of voluntary information sharing during group negotiations, hindering group outcomes. The findings also reveal that reducing the conflict between group and personal interests via cooperative incentives encourages group-oriented behavior in high-status groups. The next two studies conceptually replicate these findings focusing on members’ information withholding – self-oriented behavior designed to prevent other in-group members from outperforming them. Specifically, results reveal that high-status group-membership increases intentional withholding of information, which in turn impairs group outcomes. However, this damaging pattern of intragroup behavior triggered by membership in a high-status group is alleviated when group members are led to believe that their group status is at stake. Taken together, this dissertation provides converging evidence that membership in high-status groups increases emphasis on personal interests within the group and that these concerns manifest in intragroup behavior that is distinct from that triggered by membership in low-status groups. The findings illuminate how the status of a group might shape the ways that members interact with other in-group members, as well as document the potential micro- and meso-level mechanisms through which status differences among social groups persist and change.

Organizations utilize groups frequently and extensively for problem solving and decision making. Research results indicate that training in group decision making improves the performance of groups on a variety of decision -making tasks (Erffmeyer & Lane, 1984; Hall & Williams, 1970; Nemiroff, Passmore, & Ford, 1976). Despite the heavy reliance of organizations on teams and the benefits of training in group decision making, there is a scarcity of research investigating the proper instructional mode (i.e., individual versus team) for group decision-making training (Denson, 1981; Goldstein, 1986). The results of studies investigating this problem have been inconclusive (Goldstein, 1986). Support has been found for both individual and team training (Denson, 1981). Wagner, Hibbits, Rosenblatt, & Schulz (1977) suggested the notion that the proper of instructional mode for group training depends upon the type of situation in which the group is required to perform. For "established" situations which are well defined and highly structured, individual training is suggested. In "emergent" situations, which are unstable and require large amounts of cooperation and communication between team members, team training is recommended. The present study compared individual, team, and no training on a group decision-making task. Team performance in an emergent situation was compared in terms of the quality of the decision made, time spent on task, acceptance of the decision, and satisfaction with group process and training. The results indicated that team-trained groups produced the highest quality decisions, followed by individually -trained groups, then no -trained groups. Team training was perceived as the most satisfying, followed by individual training, with no training being perceived as the least satisfying. Groups did not significantly differ on acceptance, time spent on task, or satisfaction with group process. The results of the present study help clarify previous research investigating group training. The present findings suggest that team training is the most appropriate instructional mode for groups working in emergent situations. Additionally, the findings suggest that workers will be more satisfied with team training than with individual training. Further research investigating the appropriateness of individual and team training in a variety of situations needs to be conducted to lend support to the present findings.

This thesis investigates the effect of problem structure on performance and behavioural variety in group problem solving. In addition, it examines the effects of problem solving strategy in group problem solving.

Previous researchers have focused their efforts on individual problem solving with minimal reference to groups. This is due to difficulties such as the presence of distributed information, the coordination of people and the large scale of work that typified group problems. Specifically, the effect of problem structure in group problems has been rarely studied due to the absence of an encompassing theory.

In this thesis, the effect of problem structure on group performance is studied using the fundamental characteristics of structure such as detour, redundancy, abstraction and degree of homogeneity. These characteristics were used in conjunction with existing problem solving theories (such as Information processing system, Gestalt approach and Lewin's lifespace approach) and Heider's balance theory to understand the effects of task structure on group performance and behavioural output.

Balance theory is introduced as a conceptual framework in which the problem solving process is viewed as a dynamic progression from cognitive imbalance towards a state of structural balance corresponding with the solution. This theoretical approach captures both incremental search processes and insight associated with cognitive restructuring, typical of existing problem solving approaches in the literature. It also allowed the development of unique measures for studying the effect of structure in group problem solving.

A Laboratory experiment was conducted using 153 undergraduate and 3 graduate students in groups of 4 subjects. The experiment examined the effect of task structure on groups' performance and behavioural variety. The stimulus used for the experiment was a categorization problem consisting of sixteen cards with two objects each shared equally among four participants. The objective was to form four groups of items with no cards left unused. The groups' performance data was collected and analyzed to verify the postulated hypotheses.

The results indicate that both increased problem structure complexity and the introduction of a restructuring dimension in the problem structure were associated with reduced performance and increased behavioural variety. With respect to problem solving strategy, early discussion in problem solving was associated with better performance and less behavioural variety. Finally, the results support the premise that group problem solving processes tend to be in the direction of attaining higher states of balance.

The mental health costs of divorce are staggering: no variable has been more consistently associated with the distribution of psychopathology in the population. Although the literature contains many descriptive guides for the treatment of the divorced, few empirical investigations of specific intervention strategies exist. This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of one such treatment program, Divorce Recovery of Tucson. Three hypotheses were tested in the study. The first predicted that participants in Divorce Recovery would make greater progress in completing the social and psychological tasks of divorce adjustment than would a contrast group of divorced individuals. The second hypothesis posed a similar advantage for Divorce Recovery participants in the area of general psychological health, as measured by a symptom checklist, the SCL-90-R. The last predicted a moderately strong negative correlation between levels of symptomatology and adjustment to divorce, in the hope of aiding in the validation of a new instrument, the Fisher Divorce Adjustment Scale (FDAS). The study's treatment group consisted of 46 participants in Divorce Recovery, while the contrast group of 45 was drawn from separated or divorced volunteers residing primarily in Ventura County, California. Both groups completed the FDAS and SCL-90-R at ten week intervals, treatment group subjects doing so before and after attending a support group. The results provided partial support for the study's first hypothesis. In general, participation in Divorce Recovery facilitated the intrapersonal, rather than the social, tasks posed by divorce. More specifically, results obtained using the analysis of variance indicated a statistically significant advantage for the treatment group in the area of disentanglement from the love relationship, and clinically significant trends favoring the treatment group in the areas of self-esteem and resolution of anger. The second hypothesis found very mild support, with some weak trends present which favored the treatment group. The study's third hypothesis was confirmed, as moderately strong negative correlations were obtained between the FDAS and the SCL-90-R. Implications of the results for both theory and treatment are discussed, issues of internal validity and generalizability are explored, and suggestions for future studies are made.

Counselor education programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) require their students to participate in a group experience as a member for 10 clock hours over the course of an academic term (CACREP, 2009). In addition, the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) recommends that students participate in a group experience as a member or a leader for at least 10 hours and states that 20 hours of participation is preferable (ASGW, 2000). Counselor education programs satisfy the requirement in a variety of ways (Anderson & Price, 2001; Armstrong, 2002; Merta et al., 1993); however, the two most common types of groups are unstructured (e.g., personal growth) (48%), and structured (e.g., psychoeducational) (38%), both requiring some level of self-disclosure by students (Armstrong, 2002). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two group approaches on counseling students' empathy development, group leader self-efficacy development, and their experience of the therapeutic factors. More specifically, this study compared personal growth groups and psychoeducational groups on the constructs of: (a) cognitive and affective empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index ; Davis, 1980), (b) group leader self-efficacy (Group Leader Self-Efficacy Instrument ; Page, Pietrzak, & Lewis, 2001), and cohesion, catharsis, and insight (Curative Climate Instrument ; Fuhriman, Drescher, Hanson, & Henrie, 1986). In addition, the study explored pre to post intervention change for each group on the constructs of cognitive and affective empathy and group leader self-efficacy. The statistical analyses in this study included (a) MANCOVA, (b) disrciminant analysis, and (c) repeated-measures ANOVAs. The participants in personal growth groups valued catharsis and insight at greater levels than participants in the psychoeducational groups. Additionally, there was not a difference between the groups at posttest on cognitive empathy, affective empathy, or group leader self-efficacy. Further, neither group experienced a change in cognitive or affective empathy from pre to post. However, both groups did experience an increase in group leader self-efficacy from pre to post.
Ph.D.
Department of Child, Family and Community Sciences
Education
Education PhD

This study examined the use of group counseling and group discussion as a method of demonstrating changes on selected personality variables of first-year theology students. It was hypothesized that the subjects would become less dogmatic (more open-minded), motivated from a more internal locus of control, feel less anxious, and demonstrate greater creativity and self-concept following their participation in either group counseling or group discussion. Group counseling was hypothesized to be the best method for effecting changes. The subjects were first-year theology students at a southwestern theological seminary. These participants planned to work in some phase of ministry; several planning to be ordained as priests or to enter the deaconate. This study was based upon the premise that ministers often assume a counseling role and they therefore, need training in counseling skills and an opportunity to enhance their personal development. Group counseling and group discussion were explored as possible means to achieve these ends. Each of the five personality variables was measured on a pretest-posttest design. The subjects were tested prior to meeting in one of the two formats and tested again after fifteen hours of participation in one of the groups. A control group was also tested at these same times to allow for a comparison to be made as to which method was most effective. Chapter I presents a review of related literature on the five variables and the need for training of ministers in counseling skills and for providing an opportunity for self-growth. Chapter II states the procedures and includes definitions, the method of the study and a discussion of the instrumentation. Chapter III presents the results of the study and a discussion of the implications. Although the findings indicated some changes in the variables as predicted by the hypotheses, none of the changes was statistically significant. Therefore, it was concluded that these changes may have been occurred by chance. The positive trends, however, were seen to be indicative of the possible beneficial nature of group counseling and it was recommended that the seminary provide an opportunity for such an experience.

Quantum coherence and interference (QCI) is a phenomenon that takes place in all multi-level atomic systems interacting with multiple lasers. In this work QCI is used to create several interesting effects like lasing without inversion (LWI), controlling group velocity of light to extreme values, controlling the direction of propagation through non-linear phase matching condition and for controlling the correlations in field fluctuations. Controlling group velocity of light is very interesting because of many novel applications it can offer. One of the unsolved problems in this area is to achieve a slow and fast light which can be tuned continuously as a function of frequency. We describe a method for creation of tunable slow and fast light by controlling intensity of incident laser fields using QCI effects. Lasers are not new to the modern world but an extreme ultra-violet laser or a x-ray laser is definitely one of the most desirable technologies today. Using QCI, we describe a method to realize lasing at high frequencies by creating lasing without inversion. Role of QCI in creating correlations and anti-correlations, which are generated by vacuum fluctuations, in a three level lambda system coupled to two strong fields is discussed.

This qualitative case study of a meditation group known as the Process Group examines the group's collaboration on practices that foster spiritual maturation following spiritual opening into the first phase of enlightenment. Twenty-one participant accounts provide an intimate portrait of stabilizing and integrating Unity consciousness, maintaining a co-creative relationship with the Divine, and actively expressing this in the world, especially through creative altruism. Using the hermeneutical research method known as intuitive inquiry, analysis of the data employed traditional and non-traditional approaches that were supported with member validity checks. Findings generated a clear picture of optimal group functioning in higher stages of consciousness, practices that lead to and sustain nondual awareness in day-to-day interaction, and conditions that generate creative altruism. Findings are distilled into lenses that can be operationalized into training programs for teams interested in altruistic activity. The Process Group demonstrates that peak spiritual experiences can be supported with group practices that deepen the spiritual opening process and the mutually affecting relationship with the Divine over time, increasing relational intelligence and creative expression. Findings also demonstrated that spiritual maturation can increase individuation and communion simultaneously and interactively. This is a portrait of spiritual practice that facilitates fully embodied enlightenment, active incarnation in the world, presenting the healed versions of what is possible in the clearest human interaction, and maturation that proceeds in cooperation with the Divine.

The objective of this experiment was to compare three group decision-making strategies and their effects on the group decision-making process. Two of the strategies, Dialectical Inquiry and Devilâ s Advocacy, were structured while the control condition, Unstructured Consensus Seeking, was non-directed, thus unstructured. The following dependent variables were measured: (a) decision quality, (b) cognitive conflict, (c) affective conflict, and (d) decision commitment. Seventy-two undergraduate participants were randomly assigned across 3 conditions into groups of 6 to solve an interactive group decision task. Thirty-six trained observers were randomly assigned across the same conditions to observe intra-group cognitive and affective conflict and to assess how well the undergraduate participants implemented the structured approaches. The unit of comparison was groups (n = 12). The results of this study were analyzed using analysis of variance and no statistical difference was found between the treatment groups on any of the four dependent variables measured. Cognitive conflict levels and commitment to the decision, while not statistically significant, were higher in the two structured conditions compared to the unstructured control condition. A discussion of these results along with directions for future research is provided.
Ph. D.

This research compared the use of an electronic meeting system tool to a manual group process in large and small groups in a controlled laboratory experiment. Outcomes measured include the quality of decision, the time taken in various stages of the decision making process, and group member satisfaction. A research model of the variables influencing group decision making was developed. The six independent variables included in this model are group size, the rule by which the group makes a decision, the incentives driving the group, the distribution of useful information within the group, the task complexity, and the meeting support (electronic or manual). In this research group size and method of support were manipulated, while the other variables were controlled. A decision-making task was developed for this research to specify and manipulate the six independent variables. The task described a product mix problem in which information on each product was given to group members. The group shared information and jointly determined an outcome. The group used an unanimous decision rule to choose a solution. A numerical outcome was used to objectively measure decision quality. Each member of the group received a cash payoff determined by the group's solution as incentive in accomplishing the task. All groups found the optimal solution. The simplicity of the task may have minimized the differences found between groups. There was no significant difference in general member satisfaction or time to decision. Prior knowledge was found to influence general member satisfaction and the time needed for the group to share information. Members of large groups perceived more uneven distribution of participation than members of small groups. Voting differences were very large: large groups took significantly more votes than small groups, and electronic groups took significantly more votes than manual groups. "Conjunctive" and "disjunctive" task descriptions are used to discuss task/tool interaction.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigated race-group similarity effects as a form of interviewer bias in selection interview ratings. Social Identity Theory predicts that interviewers would assign higher ratings to interviewees of the same social group (the so-called in-group) primarily through the mechanism of similarity attraction. Research findings up to now have lent only partial support to this hypothesis. This study argues that interview structure may help to explain inconsistent research findings since structure could inhibit the functioning of the similarity-attraction mechanism. The present research pursued two objectives, namely (1) to determine the degree to which race-group similarity (between interviewer and interviewee) exerts a biasing effect on selection interview dimension ratings, (2) to determine whether same-group bias increases when interview structure is experimentally diminished. This experimental study manipulated the degree of structure in interviews (high- and low-structured conditions) and compared the degree to which race group similarity effects were evident under each condition. Interviews were simulated by showing video-taped interview segments to a sample of participants and asking them to rate interview dimensions on rating scales that had been compiled to reflect the degree of structure in each condition. The data were analysed using Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) and multiple regression analysis to determine whether similarity effects were present in the interview rating data. The results support the hypothesis that racial similarity effects are found under low-structured conditions, as well as the hypothesis that interview structure moderates the influence of similarity effects. However, racial similarity effects were also found with the highly structured condition. Although these effects were smaller than in the low-structured condition, they were statistically significant. Future research should attempt to replicate this study as a field study to test the generalisability of the findings.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek onderhoudvoerdersydigheid in die vorm van rasgroepsoortgelykheidseffekte in seleksie-onderhoudbeoordelings. Sosiale Identiteitsteorie voorspel dat onderhoudvoerders diegene van dieselfde rasgroep (die sogenaamde ingroep) met hoër beoordelingstellings sal aanslaan, primêr deur die werking van die soortgelykheidaangetrokkendheidsmeganisme. Navorsingsresultate tot op hede leen slegs gedeeltelike steun aan hierdie hipotese. Hierdie studie argumenteer dat die rede vir teenstrydige navorsingbevindinge moontlik die gevolg van die bemiddelende effek van onderhoudstruktuur kan wees, aangesien struktuur moontlik die funksionering van die soortgelykheid-aangetrokkendheidsmeganisme kan inperk. Die studie streef dus twee doelwitte na, nl. (1) om die mate waartoe rasgroepooreenstemming tussen die onderhoudvoerder en onderhoudnemer ’n sydige invloed op onderhouddimensietellings uitoefen te bepaal en (2) om te bepaal of soortgelykheidseffekte toeneem namate onderhoudstruktuur eksperimenteel verlaag word. ’n Eksperimentele ontwerp is gebruik waarbinne onderhoudstruktuur (hoog- en laag gestruktuurde toestande) in video-opnames van onderhoude nageboots is. ’n Groep beoordelaars het hierdie stimilusmateriaal beoordeel aan die hand van beoordelingskriteria wat opgestel is om die mate van struktuur binne elke toestand te reflekteer. Gevolglik is die mate van rasgroepsoortgelykheidseffekte binne elke struktuurtoestand vergelyk. Die navorsingsdata is met gebruik van Hiërargiese Lineêre Modellering (HLM) en veelvoudige regressie ontleed om die teenwoordigheid van soortgelykheidsydigheid te bepaal. Die resultate steun die hipotese dat rassoortgelykheidseffekte onder laaggestruktuurde toestande voorkom, asook dat onderhoudstruktuur ’n modererende rol speel. Nietemin is soortgelyke effekte ook onder die hoog gestruktuurde toestand gevind. Alhoewel hierdie effekte kleiner as onder die laaggestruktuurde toestand was, was dit steeds statisties beduidend. Toekomstige navorsing kan poog om ‘n soortgelyke ondersoek as ‘n veldstudie te onderneem om die moontlikheid van veralgemening van die resultate te bepaal.

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to determine the therapeutic effectiveness of group counseling with visually-impaired elderly adults, and (b) to provide information concerning the effectiveness of group counseling to practitioners in the field. The study reviewed the literature regarding aging and vision, psychosocial reactions to vision loss, and group counseling with the visually-impaired and the elderly. Twenty subjects, who were above age 65 and had recently experienced a severe loss of vision, were selected to participate in the study. Ten subjects were assigned to an experimental counseling group and 10 subjects were assigned to a no-treatment control group. The experimental group participated in 1-1/2 hour group sessions once a week for 10 weeks. Both the experimental group and the control subjects were administered pre- and post-tests. The tests measured depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and life satisfaction.

Narrow riparian woodlands along non-perennial streams have made it possible for vervet monkeys to penetrate the semi-arid karoo ecosystem of South Africa, while artificial water points have more recently allowed these populations to colonize much more marginal habitat away from natural water sources. In order to determine the sequelae of life in these narrow, linear woodlands for historically 'natural' populations, I determined the size of troops in relation to their reliance on natural and artificial water sources and collected detailed data from two river-centred troops on activity, diet and ranging behaviour over an annual cycle. These data indicate that river-centred troops were distinctive primarily for their large group sizes and, consequently, their large adult cohorts, and the extent of home range overlap in what is regarded as a territorial species. While large group size carried the corollary of increased day journey length and longer estimated interbirth intervals, there was little other indication of ecological stress. Specifically, the rate of predation appears to be lower than observed at other sites. Predation encounters here, encourage the use of predator vigilance rather than influencing the use of space within the habitat. The high density of Acacia karoo, which accounted for a third of annual foraging effort in what was a relatively depauperate floristic habitat, allows for an adequate energy intake for groups of this size. I ascribed the large group size and home range overlap to the inability of groups to undergo fission.
xiii, 79 leaves : ill., maps ; 29 cm

I conduct two experiments to examine the effects of different types of stress on individuals' willingness to cooperate. The experience of stress is characterized by the primary cognitive appraisal of threat. It activates the emotion of anxiety and induces stress coping behaviors. I posit that because different types of stress differ in terms of the secondary dimension of cognitive appraisal, the responsibility of possible failure, they lead to different stress coping behaviors in collaborative contexts. Based on the attribution of threat, I classify stress into two types, ego and external stress. Under ego stress, the possible failure is attributed to one's capabilities. Ego stressors, such as lack of skill, cause individuals to worry about their capabilities, posing a threat to goal achievement. I argue that ego stress motivates an individual to seek affiliations for joint protection. I provide experimental evidence that ego stress increases cooperation. Under external stress, on the other hand, the possible failure is attributed to factors in the environment. External stressors, such as environmental uncertainty, cause individuals to worry about threat related factors in the environment, which also may hinder goal achievement. I argue that external stress motivates people to avoid risks, including the risk of being exploited by a partner. I provide evidence that external stress reduces cooperation.

The properties of a polymer surface can be manipulated by the addition of a small quantity of surface active functionalised polymer to the bulk. On annealing above the glass transition these low surface energy functional groups attach to the air/polymer interface forming a brush like layer. To quantify this effect perdeuterated polystyrenes with fluoroalkane groups at specific locations in the polymer have been blended with unmodified polystyrene. Three key areas have been studied; effect of molecular architecture; effect of the molecular weight of the matrix polymer; and the rate of formation of the segregating layer. The complementary techniques of neutron reflectometry and nuclear reaction analysis have been used to determine the near surface depth profile of the deuterated polymer. Architectures studied were linear polystyrene with functional groups at both ends of the polymer chain, a 3-armed star with a functional core and linear polystyrene with functional groups evenly spaced along the chain. The architecture affected the shape of the composition profile but had little effect on the surface volume fraction and surface excess values obtained for the same bulk volume fraction. Self-consistent field theory simulations were carried out to determine the 'sticking energy' of the functional groups and good comparisons were obtained between the experimental volume fraction profiles and those predicted. Some segregation of functional polymer was observed during sample preparation and equilibrium segregation was obtained in less than one hour for 50000 M(_W) linear polymer up to eight hours for the 3-armed star after annealing under vacuum at 413K. For the difunctional polystyrene the functional groups did not have a significant affect on the rate of diffusion compared to non-functional polystyrene and diffusion coefficients obtained ranged from 6x10(^-16) to 9x10(^-15) cm(^2)s(^-1) The 3-armed star had the lowest diffusion coefficient value of 2xl0(^-16) cm(^-2)s(^-1) because of the inability for branched molecules to diffuse by reptation.

The efficacy of the Parent Project, a current group psychoeducational program for parents of at-risk adolescents, was explored in this investigation. In particular, determining whether a parent-focused psychoeducation approach would beneficially alter family interaction style as well as adolescent behavior was investigated. A within-subjects design was implemented to evaluate before and after treatment levels of function. The Parent Project psychoeducational program provided 34 participating parents with classroom instruction and processing time to help meet the participating parents with their 13- to 18- year-old children. The current sample of participating parents was referred to the Parent Project by the Child Guidance Center, Inc. and United Way of Jacksonville, FL. The main goal of the Parent Project training program was to teach parents the skills necessary to reduce harmful adolescent behavior. The aim of the program is to inform parents about ways to enhance their relationships with their adolescent via prevention and intervention techniques, with the secondary goal of reducing the adolescents’ difficult, defiant, and destructive behaviors. In the current investigation, parents reported enhanced family dynamics following their participation in the parenting psychoeducational program. In addition, a decline in adolescent externalizing behavior was found. These findings demonstrate that treatment programs targeting parents can effect change in families and in adolescents with behavioral problems.

Organizations today face complex problems requiring individuals to work in groups to develop insightful solutions efficiently through coordination, sharing, and integration of distributed knowledge. However, very little research has investigated group problem solving, specifically in terms of incentives and problem structure. This research uses laboratory experiments to investigate the effects of individual versus group goal conflict on collaborative behaviour and performance in group problem solving process. The experiments study 4-person problem solving groups, in which the group solution emerges through coordination and information sharing. The design of the experiment is a 3 by 3 design with two factors, incentive and task structure. Experiments manipulated the relative weights of individual and group rewards using three ratios (0:100, 50:50, 100:0). Three experimental tasks differing in structure were used to investigate the incentive conflict effect on different kind of problems; in particular, problems containing detours and requiring restructuring. One-hundred and sixty-four undergraduate students participated in this study. The group problem solving process is viewed as a process towards increased structural balance based on Heider’s balance theory. This method captures both incremental search and cognitive restructuring during the problem solving process. Results report the effects of group versus individual goal conflict on group performance and behaviour. Results show that incentive influenced group performance and behaviour by affecting strategies groups used to approach the problem. Individual incentive encouraged the group to focus on the solution state while group incentives encouraged random exploration, and this difference is most significant under the complex problem structure. Results also show that task structure influenced group performance and behaviour by varying the amount of incremental search and restructuring required to solve the problem. Individual incentive weakened difference on performances among three problem structures, while group incentive amplified differences on performance and behaviour among three problem structures.

碩士
國立交通大學
管理學院碩士在職專班管理科學組
98
ABSTRACT This study aimed to explore the effects of personality, individual vs. group decision-making, group representativeness, and group consensus on negotiation outcomes. Experimental data were collected from a sample of 355 subjects who had had working experiences. The data were then used in regression analyses for hypothesis testing. The results showed that the agreeable and the extroversion personalities had a positive effect on a person’s trust with his or her opponent party in business negotiation situations. The neuroticism personality had a negative effect on the trust. However, in group decision-making situations the personalities lost all their effects on the trust. Group consensus concerning the proposals to be offered had a positive effect on the trust. Serving as a representativeness for one’s own group had a negative impact on the trust endowed on the opponent party. The positive effect of group consensus on the trust was attenuated by the representativeness of ones’ own group.

博士
國立中山大學
人力資源管理研究所
97
As the trend of progressive development of technological information and globalization, organization use teams to manage the complex operational activities in dynamic environment. Organizations use cross-functional team to encourage individuals’ knowledge sharing; however, the team members are composed by talents with different professional background and the way they think, work and express emotion are different. Hence, whether or not the group members with high level of group emotional intellectual and whether or not the group can form their social capital in their group determine their group performance and organizational success. Through a series of questionnaire survey of groups in e Industry and using hierarchical regression、SEM analysis, correlation analysis to deal with 650 effective data in 244 groups, our research find as followings: 1. Group emotional intelligence increase group performance. 2. Through relation conflict group, intelligence can increase group performance. 3. Through group social capital, group emotional intelligence can increase group performance. 4.Group emotional intelligence can increase group social capital. 5.Group social capital can increase group performance. 6.Group emotional intelligence via group social capital increase group performance. 7.Group emotional intelligence integrate group conflict can affect group social capital. 8.Group diversity increase relation conflict. 9.Relation conflict decrease group performance. We suggest through group intelligence and conflict management organizations can promote group social capital and increase group performance.

碩士
聖約翰科技大學
企業管理系碩士班
103
Drawing on theory and research on ethical leadership and group processes, in present study, we propose that ethical leadership will lead to higher group task performance as well as helping behavior, the two key mediating roles of group value congruence and group trust may play in the relationship between ethical leadership and work group performance outcomes. We collected survey data from 96 groups of food and beverage chain stores’ employees and groups’ leaders in Taiwan. Result revealed that ethical leadership was positively and significantly related to group performance outcomes and that this relationship was fully mediated by the two variables of group value congruence and group trust, controlling for idealized influence leadership. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

碩士
國立中正大學
心理學所
97
Recent researchers have proposed that relationship believes play crucial role on the relationship between subordinates and supervisors. We believed that group-member relationship believes may also have importantl influences on the group interactions. Group-member relationship believes consist of two major components, including affective relationship belief and instrumental relationship belief. This study also proposed that task interdependence and outcome interdependence could have moderating effect on the relationship between group-member relationship believes and group outcomes. Using Taiwanese 57 work group smaples which consist of 57 supersiors and 233 employees, the result findings indicated that: 1.Group-member affective relationship belief was positively associated with group performance and commitment toward workgroup, and was negatively associated with group relationship conflict and process conflict; 2.Group instrumental relationship belief was negatively associated with group performance and was positively associated with group relationship conflict and process conflict; 3.Task interdependence moderated the relationship between group-member affective relationship belief and group performance; 4.Task interdependence moderated the relationship between group-member instrumental relationship belief and commitment toward workgroup; 5. Task interdependence moderated the relationship between group-member affective relationship belief and group task conflict; 6. Outcome interdependence moderated the relationship between group-member affective relationship belief and group performace. Finally, contributions and limitations were discussed, and suggestions were provided for future research and managerial practices in Taiwanese organizations.