ABSTRACT
The experimental study of small groups has had a relatively brief, but extraordinarily active, history. The research area dates primarily from the work of Sherif and of Lewin and his collaborators in the ’thirties. Currently, studies of gaming have moved to the center of the stage. Some investigators have concerned themselves primarily with the exploration of specific variables, such as variations in payoff, instructions, and personality variables (see Vinacke, 1969, for a review of this area). Others have been oriented more toward theory. Finally, unlike in many of the subfields of social psychology, experts in gaming have displayed a pervasive interest in the possible relations between laboratory findings and real life problems, including economic and political decision making and international conflict. Therefore, simulation techniques have been quite prominent.
