Abstract
The effect of small interpersonal discussion groups on student interpersonal relations was examined. A Group Psychology class with small interpersonal groups was compared to two other similar-level psychology classes with more traditional formats. One of these controls (a placebo group) had small, academically oriented discussion groups, and the other (a standard control group) was a medium-sized lecture class. TotalN was 258. The quality of within-class interpersonal relations for the experimental group exceeded that of the controls on all dependent variables. These effects, however, did not extend to behavior outside the class. This finding was supported by the results of a two-year follow-up (N=74).
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Johnson, D.A., Critelli, J.W. & Baskin, S.M. Improving interpersonal relations in the college classroom: An empirical investigation. Res High Educ 10, 331–343 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00975524
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00975524