| Abstract: | The literature on influence patterns in small groups presents 2 contrasting themes. According to some data, a group member's influence is determined more by the quantity than by the quality of his/her contributions. There is also data, however, that suggest that groups outperform their average members and growing evidence that such superiority requires the rational use of member expertise. The present author conducted a validity check of the small group model of P. W. Yetton and P. C. Bottger (see record 1984-03984-001). 64 middle-level managers (mean age 39 yrs) and 93 graduate-management students (mean age 29 yrs) worked on the moon problem of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Ss worked in 33 problem-solving groups and were audiorecorded; member air time and influence patterns were analyzed. Results show that perceived influence was more strongly predicted by air time than expertise. By contrast, actual influence was determined more by expertise than participation. Findings suggest that the group problem-solving process is more rational than might be inferred from studies on attributed influence. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
