Group and Interpersonal Effects in International Computer-Mediated Collaboration

Drawing on two recent theories, this article proposes interaction hypotheses involving the joint effects of salient group versus individual identity and long-term versus short-term group membership on the social, interpersonal, and intellectual responses of group members collaborating via computer-mediated communication. Participants from institutions in two countries used computer-mediated communication under various conditions. Results indicate that some conditions of computer-mediated communication use by geographically dispersed partners render effects systematically superior to those obtained in other mediated conditions and greater or lesser than effects obtained through face-to-face interaction.     

Client-Oriented Interactional Behaviors for Professional-Client Settings

The outcomes of professional-client relationships are often less satisfactory than one would expect them to be. This study suggested that professionals using client-oriented interaction behaviors grounded in the interactional view (Reusch & Bateson, 1968; Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson, 1967) would be rated as more effective than those who did not. A field study of computer professionals revealed that highly rated professionals used client-oriented communication behaviors more frequently than their counterparts who were rated lower. Moreover, the client-oriented interactional behaviors provided substantial discrimination between high- and low-performing professionals.     

Alternative Solutions to the Workplace Drug Problem: Results of a Survey of Personnel Managers

The authors conducted a survey of personnel managers to learn more about the prevalence of employee drug use and employer substance abuse programs.     

TALK AND SILENCE SEQUENCES IN INFORMAL CONVERSATIONS III: INTERSPEAKER INFLUENCE

Literature on the structure of two-person conversations has consistently found that partners become more similar in mean duration of pauses and switching pauses over the course of interaction. Evidence on influence in vocalization duration is primarily negative. No direct evidence of interspeaker influence on a moment-to-moment basis is available. In this study 12 dyadic conversations are analyzed for interspeaker influence, with the use of time series regression procedures. Two versions of the data are presented: a probability summary including the probability of breaking mutual silences, continuing simultaneous talk, and continuing talking alone and a turn summary including vocalization, pause, and switching pause duration. Results show that (1) moment-to-moment influences are present in both versions of the data, (2) these influences differ from dyad to dyad, (3) the influences are both positive (matching) and negative (compensating), and (4) the magnitude of interspeaker influence on a temporal basis is small but detectable. In addition, there are overall tendencies to match in switching pause, probability of continued simultaneous speech, and probability of breaking mutual silences. Dyads show both compensation and matching on vocalization duration and pause-related variables. Implications of these data for past and future explanation of social interaction are explored.     

TIME MATTERS IN TEAM PERFORMANCE: EFFECTS OF MEMBER FAMILIARITY, ENTRAINMENT, AND TASK DISCONTINUITY ON SPEED AND QUALITY

We compared the speed and quality of performance for familiar , initially unfamiliar but continuing , and one-shot (single session) teams. We also proposed and observed entrainment effects for task time limits. Over the course of weekly sessions with changing tasks, continuing teams reached speed levels of the initially familiar teams, but the one-shot teams were consistently slower. Continuing teams also tended to have higher-quality output than the one-shot teams. There were no differences in how quickly each type of group entrained to time limits on the tasks. Entrainment was not robust to task discontinuity (Task A, then B). However, entrainment on repeated trials of a task persisted even when a different type of task "interrupted" those repeated trials (Task A, then B, then A again). Results compel a richer incorporation of time as a medium for complex task sequences, and time-based constructs as a feature of team membership in the study of group effectiveness.     

ATYPICAL DISCOURSES

This essay outlines novel ways of communicating with patients by altering semantics, syntax, word use, or sounds. Language is viewed as a tool for coping with problems rather than a medium with which to mirror external reality or internal human nature. This view of language emerges from a pragmatic critique of truth. The broader goal of this essay is to weave together the philosophy of pragmatism, especially as it has been articulated by Richard Rorty, with the theory and practice of psychoanalysis. Clinical case examples are discussed.