Some conditions affecting the choice to cooperate or compete

Three experiments investigated conditions affecting the choice to cooperate or compete. Experiment I compared the effects first of an individual activity, then of a competitive task as an alternative to cooperation. For both comparisons, subjects could earn more by cooperating. Choice of competition, but not individual activity, was found to depend on the task choice contingencies. Competition predominated when both subjects could compete if either or both chose competition. Previously competitive pairs cooperated when both subjects could cooperate if either or both chose cooperation. Experiment II investigated the effects of differences in magnitude of the reinforcers for cooperating or competing. Choice between the two alternatives was manipulated in all pairs by varying reinforcer difference. Competition was chosen over cooperation only within the limits within which competition was potentially profitable. Experiment III replicated the findings of Experiment II using triads. Subjects in triads, however, were more likely to withdraw from the experiment. Thus, the data for pairs and triads suggest an orderly relation between reinforcer difference for cooperating or competing and task choice. Motivation of subjects to maximize relative gain by competing can be overridden by moderate reinforcer differences favoring cooperation.     

INCREASING VERBAL INTERACTION AMONG ELDERLY SOCIALLY ISOLATED MENTALLY RETARDED ADULTS: A GROUP LANGUAGE TRAINING PROCEDURE

The present study examined the effectiveness of a group language training procedure for directly increasing and generalizing the rate of verbal interaction among four elderly, socially isolated, moderately mentally retarded men. A withdrawal of treatment design was used to examine the effect of the procedure that used verbal prompts, behavioral rehearsal, and contingent social praise. Changes in behavior were examined in two generalization settings, one similiar to the training environment (Generalization I) and the other arranged as part of the subjects' daily routine (Generalization II). Baseline data indicated no verbal interaction among the subjects. During treatment the training procedure increased the rate of subjects' verbal interactions not only in the training situation, but also in the two generalization settings. An analysis of the data obtained during the Generalization II situation indicated that subjects' verbal interaction increased not only among themselves, but with nonsubject peers present in this setting. Follow-up data showed that increases in rates of verbal interaction were maintained four months after the cessation of training. The implications of the results for program generalization and work with the language deficient individual is discussed.     

"Perhaps it would be better not to know everything."

The advent of statistical methods for evaluating the data of individual-subject designs invites a comparison of the usual research tactics of the group-design paradigm and the individual-subject-design paradigm. That comparison can hinge on the concept of assigning probabilities of Type 1 and Type 2 errors. Individual-subject designs are usually interpreted with implicit, very low probabilities of Type 1 errors, and correspondingly high probabilities of Type 1 errors, and correspondingly high probabilities of Type 2 errors. Group designs are usually interpreted with explicit, moderately low probabilities of Type 1 errors, and therefore with not such high probabilities of Type 2 errors as in the other paradigm. This difference may seem to be a minor one, considered in terms of centiles on a probability scale. However, when it is interpreted in terms of the substantive kinds of results likely to be produced by each paradigm, it appears that the individual-subject-design paradigm is more likely to contribute to the development of a technology of behavior, and it is suggested that this orientation should not be abandoned.     

Group Psychotherapy in the Context of Cultural Diversity

The authors review the salient issues involved in therapy with culturally diverse populations. They present a framework where group therapy addresses those issues. Clinical vignettes from each of the authors serve to illustrate the power of group therapy with ethnocultural populations.     

Working with Racial Themes in Group Psychotherapy

Racial themes frequently emerge in group psychotherapy but are often unaddressed by therapists. Confusion about the relevance of race to the psychotherapeutic process, countertransferential responses, and a lack of training in how to address racial content contribute to therapists' reluctance. Approaches to addressing racial content in groups are examined. Case examples are used to demonstrate therapist characteristics and perspectives on the group process that create a climate where racial content can be explored. An exploration of the meaning of racial content provides an opportunity for deepened understanding of interpersonal relationships for patients and therapists.     

Therapist Role in Narrative Group Psychotherapy

With its assumptions about the interpersonal origins of individual learning, narrative theory suggests certain leadership functions for group therapists: providing a perspective on how multiple meanings may be constructed about experience; leading the process of deconstructing individual narratives through careful questioning to distinguish persons from problems; enlisting participants in active awareness and engagement with group dynamics and group process; and enabling the co-creation of a group narrative through the development of a new community of conversations.     

人际作用过程与团体工作效率的关系

本研究以中师生为样本,检验了合作行为与冲突处理的关系;冲突处理方式、对处理人际差异的积极预期与团体工作效率的关系;领导风格与团体工作效率的关系。本研究比照西方研究、结合中国文化,对回避冲突的作用作了分析。     

Characteristics of residential care for adolescent offenders: A comparison of assumptions and practices in two models

Staff assumptions and program practices in two models of residential care for male adolescent offenders were compared. Group care settings had from 6 to 15 youths in residence and used peer-mediated treatments. Treatment Foster Care settings had one youngster placed in each home and treatments were adult-mediated. Results showed that group care and Treatment Foster Care program models differed on staff assumptions about therapeutic mechanisms of change, and different patterns of daily program practices were found.     

Group versus individual reinforcement contingencies within the context of group study conditions

We investigated the effects of two teaching variables on students' Spanish vocabulary quiz performance: (a) group study and (b) individual versus group contingencies. In Experiment 1, we compared students' quiz scores under conditions in which students either studied independently and received no programmed reinforcement or studied in groups and received individual rewards for high scores. The results showed that, on average, the group-study individual-reward condition produced superior quiz scores. In Experiment 2, we compared individual (i.e., the superior condition in Experiment 1) and group contingencies within the context of the group study condition. On average across the class, group contingencies produced performance superior to individual contingencies. In both studies, however, benefits for the classes as a whole were mitigated by effects on individual students. These results extend the literature on the effects of group-based instructional activities and reinforcement contingencies. Educators who choose such procedures may encounter conflicting findings depending on whether they examine results at the group or individual level.     

EFFECTS OF RESPONSE CARDS DURING LESSON CLOSURE ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY STUDENTS IN AN EARTH SCIENCE COURSE

This study evaluated the effects of two review techniques on secondary students' recall of science lesson content: (a) an active review condition in which students used response cards to answer questions, and (b) a passive review condition in which students looked and listened while the teacher projected and read key lesson points. Scores on next-day and weekly tests were higher on lesson content reviewed with response cards.