Interaction in small groups

Janice R. Kelly

Megan K. McCarty

Nicole E. Iannone

pp. 413-438

in: Amanda Ward (ed), Handbook of social psychology, Berlin, Springer, 2013

Abstract

This chapter reviews both current and classic research on small group interaction. The chapter begins with a brief review of the primary methods used to study small groups. This is followed by a discussion of research on power, status, and leadership, reviewing research on role differentiation, the development of status structures, and theories of leadership. A discussion of inclusion and exclusion processes in groups follows, including research on cohesiveness and social identity versus ostracism, social rejection, and schisms in groups, as well as a discussion of majority and minority influence. The final content section reviews motivation and coordination processes in groups, including social facilitation and social loafing, transactive memory systems, and information exchange. In concluding statements, we note that research on small groups has moved beyond the previous disciplinary boundaries of social psychology to fields such as organizational behavior, education, and industrial engineering, and this move has added topics of interest to the more traditional social psychological and sociological explorations of status and power.