Research in the area of small groups is important to the complete understanding of social behavior. Currently, the study of groups is limited by the lack of adequate statistical tools to describe fully the ongoing processes that occur in small groups. One of the most interesting and important aspects of group research is that people interact with one another in groups and, through this interaction, influence one another. Methods which are available today either ignore or treat as a statistical nuisance the fact that people in groups interact with one another and are, therefore, linked to one another. Understanding the links between people in groups will help clarify the nature of social interaction in small groups. This research will investigate three different research designs. The first design, influence networks, involves models of the extent to which people influence each other in groups. These types of models allow study of the effect of different types of influence hierarchies on group productivity and group member satisfaction. The second design is the rotation design, in which people move from group to group. In the rotation design, each person participates in several groups, so that the consistency of individual behavior when a person becomes a member of a new group can be examined. The third design is the generations design. In this design, there is a turnover in group membership. Some group members enter the group and other members leave. This design essentially models the birth and death cycles in families. This design allows examination of the stability of group norms with changing members. For each area, the research will explore design considerations and develop data analysis techniques and computer software. These methods should be of use to researchers of leadership, social influence, group socialization, productivity, and personality.
