ABSTRACT
These are exciting times for social scientists who study small groups and their members. For example, many conferences on topics related to groups have been held recently, both in the United States and abroad. Several of those conferences have led to intriguing books of readings (e.g., Paulus & Nijstad, 2003; Thompson, Levine, & Messick, 1999; Yzerbyt, Judd, & Corneille, 2004). Recent years have also witnessed the establishment of several journals devoted entirely to research on groups, such as Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice and Group Processes and Intergroup Relations. These (and other) journals have published some exciting findings. Such findings can be found in several recent handbooks (Frey, 1999; Hogg & Tindale, 2001; Poole & Hollingshead, 2005) that offer summaries of what is now known about groups. Finally, those who study groups have recently formed a new professional organization that brings together scientists from several branches of psychology (e.g., social, clinical, organizational, developmental) and from outside psychology (e.g., sociology, communications, political science, anthropology) to share their knowledge about groups and to work together to learn even more.
