Theories of Small Groups: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

by Marshall Scott Poole (Editor), Andrea B. Hollingshead (Editor)

Overview

Theories of Small Groups: Interdisciplinary Perspectives brings together the threads that unify the field of group research. The book is designed to define and describe theoretical perspectives on groups and to highlight select research findings within those perspectives. In this text, editors Marshall Scott Poole and Andrea B. Hollingshead capitalize on the theoretical advances made over the last fifty years by integrating models and theories of small groups into a set of nine general theoretical perspectives. Theories of Small Groups is the first book to assess, synthesize, integrate, and evaluate the body of theory and research on small groups across disciplinary boundaries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761930754
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	11/10/2004
Pages:	472
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

M. Scott Poole (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin—Madison [communication arts]; M.A., Michigan State University [communication]; B.A., University of Wisconsin—Madison [communication arts]) is one of the nation’s top scholars in group communication and in organizational communication. Among his publications is one of the leading college textbooks on organizational communication (Strategic Organizational Communication, 5/e, Wadsworth); he is also co-editor of SAGE’s Handbook of Group Communication. He has been chair of the Organizational Communication Division of NCA and was the chair and founding member of NCA’s Group Communication Division. He is, or has been, a member of the following editorial journal boards: Human Communication Research, Communication Monographs, Communication Research, Communication Quarterly, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Academy of Management Review, Communication Theory, Quarterly Journal of Speech, Information Systems Research, Organization Science, Journal of Electronically-Mediated Communication, Journal of Organizational Discourse, Information and Organization.

Andrea B. Hollingshead (Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) holds joint appointments in Speech Communication and in Psychology at Illinois. Her current projects include examining the development, use and maintenance of knowledge management systems located on company intranets; investigating how status differences among group members can affect how shared knowledge systems develop in personal and work relationships; and comparing how lies are constructed and perceived in face-to-face and computer-mediated interactions. Her recent work appears in SAGE’s Handbook of New Media and in The Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Table of Contents

Preface - Marshall Scott Poole
1. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Small Groups - Marshall Scott Poole, Andrea B. Hollingshead, Joseph Mc Grath, Richard Moreland, John Rohrbaugh
2. A Look at Groups from the Functional Perspective - Andrea B. Hollingshead, Gwen M. Wittenbaum, Paul B. Paulus, Randy Y. Hirokawa, Deborah G. Ancona, Randall S. Peterson, Karen A. Jehn, Kay Yoon
3. Psychodynamic Perspectives on Small Groups - Poppy L. Mc Leod, Richard Kettner-Polley
4. The Social Identity Perspective on Small Groups - Dominic Abrams, Michael A. Hogg, Steve Hinkle, Sabine Otten
5. Conflict, Power, and Status in Groups - Michael Lovaglia, Elizabeth A. Mannix, Charles D. Samuelson, Jane Sell, Rick K. Wilson
6. The Symbolic-Interpretive Perspective of Group Life - Larry Frey, Sunwolf
7. Understanding Groups From a Feminist Perspective - Renee Meyers, Jennifer L. Berdahl, Dale Brashers, Jennifer R. Considine, Janice R. Kelly, Celia Moore, Jennifer L. Peterson, Jennifer R. Spoor
8. The Network Perspective on Small Groups: Theory and Research - Nancy Katz, David Lazer, Holly Arrow, Noshir Contractor
9. Traces, Trajectories, and Timing: The Temporal Perspective on Groups - Holly Arrow, Kelly Bouas Henry, Marshall Scott Poole, Susan Wheelan, Richard Moreland
10. Small Groups From an Evolutionary Perspective - Linnda Caporael, David Sloan Wilson, Charlotte Hemelrijk, Kennon M. Sheldon
11. Touchstones: A Framework for Comparing Premises of Nine Integrative Perspectives on Groups - Janet Fulk, Joseph E. Mc Grath

Editorial Reviews

"Theories of Small Groups: Interdisciplinary Perspectives is a book that will make a significant difference in how those interested in the study of small groups think and pursue inquiry about them. In this impressive collection of original essays, the reader is introduced to nine different perspectives that have guided the development of theories and research concerning the nature of group processes. Drawing on the efforts of numerous scholars with backgrounds in biological and social sciences, editors Scott Poole and Andrea Hollingshead provide a useful vehicle for the emergence of enriched understandings of the behavior of groups, enhancing the integration of such knowledge, and the prospects for substantial increases in genuinely interdisciplinary scholarship. "

Dennis S. Gouran