ABSTRACT

These books grew out of the perception that a number of important conceptual and theoretical advances in research on small group behavior had developed in recent years, but were scattered in rather fragmentary fashion across a diverse literature. Thus, it seemed useful to encourage the formulation of summary accounts. A conference was held in Hamburg with the aim of not only encouraging such developments, but also encouraging the integration of theoretical approaches where possible. These two volumes are the result.

Current research on small groups falls roughly into two moderately broad categories, and this classification is reflected in the two books. Volume I addresses theoretical problems associated with the consensual action of task-oriented small groups, whereas Volume II focuses on interpersonal relations and social processes within such groups. The two volumes differ somewhat in that the conceptual work of Volume I tends to address rather strictly defined problems of consensual action, some approaches tending to the axiomatic, whereas the conceptual work described in Volume II is generally less formal and rather general in focus. However, both volumes represent current conceptual work in small group research and can claim to have achieved the original purpose of up-to-date conceptual summaries of progress on new theoretical work.

part I|12 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|10 pages

Small-Group Research and the Steiner Questions

The Once and Future Thing

part II|149 pages

Social Aggregation and Combination Models

chapter 3|25 pages

Group Decision Making and Quantitative Judgments

A Consensus model

chapter 6|32 pages

“When Are N Heads Better (or Worse) Than One?”

Biased Judgment in Individuals Versus Groups

chapter 7|25 pages

Procedural Influence in Consensus Formation

Evaluating Group Decision Making From a Social Choice Perspective

part III|150 pages

Social Information-Processing Models

chapter 9|27 pages

Strength from Weakness

The Fate of Opinion Minorities in Spatially Distributed Groups

chapter 10|31 pages

The Impact of Information on Group Judgment

A Model and Computer Simulation

chapter 11|39 pages

The Extended Group Situation Theory (EGST)

Explaining the Amount of Change

chapter 12|20 pages

When Humans Interact Like Atoms

chapter |2 pages

Concluding Remarks