Effects of member and leader expectations on group outcome.

Studied the effects of members' and leaders' expectations on group members' self-actualization and self-esteem gain. Changes in self-actualization and self-esteem between experimental groups and a no-treatment comparison group also were assessed. 42 undergraduates participated twice weekly as members of a growth group for 25 sessions, and 31 undergraduates served as a no-treatment group. Leaders were 6 graduate students in counseling psychology. A 3?×?2 factorial design with a single control group was utilized. Members and leaders were assigned randomly to groups on the basis of an expectation scale, with 3 types of member groups (high, moderate, low) being facilitated by high- and low-expectation leaders. Varying the level of group expectations did not significantly affect self-actualization gain but did affect self-esteem change. Significant differences were found also between the experimental and control groups on the dependent variables. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of member and leader expectations on group outcome.

Effects of members' and leaders' expectations on group members' self-actualization and self-esteem gain were studied. The changes in self-actualization and self-esteem between experimental groups and a no-treatment comparison group also were assessed. Ss for experimental groups were 42 university students enrolled in an introductory group counseling course. All students participated twice weekly as members of a growth group (3 hrs/wk) for 25 sessions. 31 students from a different class served as a no-treatment group. Leaders for the experimental groups were 6 advanced graduate students in counseling psychology. Members and leaders were assigned randomly to groups on the basis of an expectation scale, with three types of member groups (high, moderate, low) being facilitated by high- and low-expectation leaders. Varying the level of group expectations did not significantly affect self-actualization gain but did affect self-esteem change. Significant differences were found also between the experimental and control groups on the dependent variables. Results are discussed, and future research on group leaders' expectations are recommended. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)