Theories of Small Groups

"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."

M. Scott Poole (Ph.D., University of WisconsinMadison [communication arts]; M.A., Michigan State University [communication]; B.A., University of WisconsinMadison [communication arts]) is one of the nations 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 SAGEs Handbook of Group Communication. He has been chair of the Organizational Communication Division of NCA and was the chair and founding member of NCAs 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 SAGEs 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.

Preface - Marshall Scott Poole 1. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Small Groups - Marshall Scott Poole, Andrea B. Hollingshead, Joseph McGrath, 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. McLeod, 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. McGrath