Friendship choice, achievement and participation in classroom groups

Abstract

This research programme was designed to extend and apply current knowledge of small group processes to a study of the normative influence of peer groups within the school environment. The studies reported analyse relationships between a child's experiences as a group member and his attitudes and behaviour in the classroom . Studies in the area of the social psychology of small groups confirm the proposition that the peer group influences the attitudes, beliefs and opinions of its members. Contemporary theorists suggest that principles derived from the study of these antecedents and consequences of group membership are best encompassed in a broad lea rni ng theory framework . Greater recognition is given to the social learning aspects of group membership as factors in the development of those attitudes which define and regulate a person's behaviour towards others . Within the thesis a theme is developed, that the group, by rewarding regularities and uniformities in t he attitude of its members, influences the member's behaviour both within the group and outside it. Three experiments were designed to test hypotheses suggested by this theme . The first experiment reports a survey of classroom social structures. Results indicated that a pupil's attitude to the school task environment is related to his friendship choice. Indicative of this finding is the conclusion that clusters of friendship groups of pupils holding similar attitudes to school are characteristic of the classroom. A positive relationship between group membership and a pupil's satisfaction with continued membership of a class unit is also reported. Validation of a group task was carried out in the second experiment. The task was designed to allow for measurement of both individual and group achievement within the same task structure. The validation study demonstrates suitability of the task for the present research programme, and suggests its possible applicability to other group task situations . In the final phase of the research programme the influence of the peer group upon the task behaviour of pupils was examined A classroom group task situation was simulated, in which the task behaviours of two types of individuals were compared. These were pupils who belonged to cohesive friendship groups, whose norms governed attitudes towards school task activities, and pupils who were either members of low cohesive groups or isolates. Subjects were selected from the natural groups isolated in the first experiment and observed under experimentally controlled group task activities. I The results of this experiment were consistent with the hypothesis that the member of a high cohesive group differs from other pupils in the way he behaves in newly formed task forces. Predicted behaviours were the tendency to perform in a manner consistent with the friendship group~ norm and to make successful attempts to influence the task behaviour of other members of the task force. The results also suggested that the member of a high cohesive friendship group shows a preference for a task force partner whose work level is consistent with his own. In discussing and evaluating the results of the reported research programme two aspects are considered. Firstly interpretations are made to aid further understanding of current problems in socio-cognitive theories, namely attempts to explain the development of individual differences in the tendency to seek balance. Secondly, analyses of the relative effectiveness of attempts to use small group forces to alter the normative climate of the classroom are undertaken. Show more