Showing papers in "The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science in 1974"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine some parameters of power and conflict in the classroom and find that the imbalance of power between students and teachers and the prevalent use of coercion by teachers at the high school and undergraduate levels is negatively related to student satisfaction, learning, and the extent to which teacher influence transcends the classroom.
Abstract: Adopting a power-conflict perspective on change, this study examines some parameters of power and conflict in the classroom. Questionnaire data were collected from high school, undergraduate, and graduate students on their teachers' bases of power and their own methods of handling conflict with teachers. Results highlight the imbalance of power between students and teachers and the prevalent use of coercion by teachers at the high school and undergraduate levels. This uise of coercive power is shown to be negatively related to student satisfaction, learning, and the extent to which teacher influence transcends the classroom. Despite considerable dissatisfaction, students at all levels report relative passivity in attempting to change what occurs in the classroom.
120Â citations
TL;DR: The concept of a "collaborative organization" as discussed by the authors was proposed to supplement a manager's existing formal organization by creating a parallel, continuously coexisting organization which a manager can use to identify and solve apparently intractable problems, and are carefully linked to the "regular" organization.
Abstract: The claim that managerial flexibility is essential makes more sense to managers and is more relevant to organizational development than the claim that traditional forms of organization should (or will) be displaced by more humanistic, participative forms. Managers can readily understand that finding solutions to different problems calls for different modes of organization. This article outlines a new change strategy-a collateral organization; i.e., a parallel, continuously coexisting organization which a manager can use to supplement his or her existing formal organization. Collateral organizations have norms differing from those usually in force, are used to identify and solve apparently intractable problems, and are carefully linked to the "regular" organization. No new people are required.Two cases illustrate application of the concept, which is also discussed in relation to matrix organizations, task forces, and temporary systems.
107Â citations
TL;DR: In this article, an examination of the rapidly increasing body of OD literature reveals that much of its research is redundant and without refinement or validation, that the term "Organizational Development" itself re...
Abstract: Examination of the rapidly increasing body of OD literature reveals that much of its research is redundant and without refinement or validation, that the term "Organizational Development" itself re...
104Â citations
67Â citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the reaction of authority in social systems to the reform initiatives of a subordinate is viewed as a series of intimidation rituals, divided into two major phases, each involving two distinct steps.
Abstract: The reaction of authority in social systems to the reform initiatives of a subordinate is viewed as a series of intimidation rituals. These rituals divide into two major phases, each involving two distinct steps. The first phase, Indirect Intimidation, includes the rituals of nullification and isolation; the second, Direct Intimidation, the rituals of defamation and expulsion. Why these rituals for protestsuppression in organizations are powerful tools in the hands of the middle manager is discussed. Attention is also given to various images projected by the organizational reformer and reasons for resistance to reform from within an organization.
63Â citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the implementation of a flexible work-hours program and analyzes some of its major effects, using both attitudinal and "hard" data, and report an unusual kind of OD i...
Abstract: This study describes the implementation of a flexible work-hours program and analyzes some of its major effects, using both attitudinal and "hard" data. It thus both reports an unusual kind of OD i...
57Â citations
TL;DR: For instance, this article found that people are inspired to participate in political or social movements because of certain dislocating or frustrating personal experiences, such as dislocations and frustration.
Abstract: Laymen and social scientists alike often believe that people are inspired to participate in political or social movements because of certain dislocating or frustrating personal experiences. The pol...
37Â citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that if a community wishes to reduce the power of the helping professions, it will have to break up their monopolistic control, which will inevitably result in the democratization of knowledge and a new social contract between the professions and society.
Abstract: The basis of professional power is not knowledge itself but the control of knowledge. Historically, the helping professions have been mandated and licensed by society-have been given the reins of expert authority-to define who is deviant, ill, or needy and who is entitled to what help in the promotion of human welfare.While on one hand the helping professions today have a vested interest in maintaining a commodity concept of their services, on the other hand, they have, by the very nature of their service policies, deprived their clients of their rights as consumers, argues the author. If a community wishes to reduce the power of the helping professions it will have to break up their monopolistic control. If the institutions of professionalism-its educational systems and organizations-were compelled to share their power with society, it would inevitably result in the democratization of knowledge and a new social contract between the professions and society. The potential for such a counter-force already e...
35Â citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the power relationship between females and males is explored using four differing perspectives found in the contemporary women's movement: analysis of socially defined sex roles, conflicting cultures, power analysis, and the socialist perspective.
Abstract: The power relationship between females and males is explored using four differing perspectives found in the contemporary women's movement: analysis of socially defined sex roles, conflicting cultures, power analysis, and the socialist perspective. The sources of male power suggested by these perspectives are identified, and the varying activities of the women's movement are discussed in terms of their potential impact on these forms of power.
30Â citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest that the field is reaching a level of empirical sophistication which permits the development of clinical models from empirical data, and suggest that pretherapy -training, cohesion, and modeling are significant parameters of effective group treatment.
Abstract: Group therapy has traditionally been viewed as more an art than a science. This paper suggests that the field is reaching a level of empirical sophistication which permits the development of clinical models from empirical data. Pretherapy -training, cohesion, and modeling are suggested as significant parameters of effective group treatment. The evidence defining the properties and effects of those variables is reviewed and their theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
30Â citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a typology of social change efforts based on an analysis of their divergent root assumptions about values and the nature of reality is proposed. But, their focus is on individual change agents' images of society and of the individual, their diagnoses of contemporary society and their priorities for action.
Abstract: This paper offers a typology of social change efforts based on an analysis of their divergent root assumptions about values and the nature of reality rather than a categorization of their various activities. Analysis of change agents' images of society and of the individual, their diagnoses of contemporary society, and their priorities for action yields three perspectives of planned social change: the professional-technical, the political, and the countercultural, which the authors discuss in terms of such issues as their varying kinds of constituencies, resources, roles, and institutional bases.
TL;DR: One possible mediating variable, power or dominance, was investigated in this study of 102 members of six self-analytic groups as discussed by the authors, and power seemed to be a fairly robust antecedent or predictor of the direction of self-concept changes.
Abstract: The failure to find unequivocal relationships between small-group participation and self-concept changes may be due, in part, to undetected mediating variables. That is, it may be that groups do not have either uniformly positive or uniformly negative effects on self-concept-but that both occur systematically in groups as a func-tion of specifiable and measurable aspects of each group member's experience.One possible mediating variable, power or dominance, was investigated in this study of 102 members of six self-analytic groups. Power seemed to be a fairly robust antecedent or predictor of the direction of self-concept changes: those high in power changed toward a more positive self-concept and those low in power changed toward a more negative self-concept.
TL;DR: This article argued that educational reform can never be used as an independent force for changing social, economic, and political relationships and that attempts at reform have always failed when they violated the tenets of the policy.
Abstract: Most contemporary societies view the educational system as a powerful tool of social change. This paper argues, however, that the schools will always be used to reproduce society rather than to modify it. It contends that educational reform can never be used as an independent force for changing social, economic, and political relationships and that attempts at reform have always failed when they violated the tenets of the policy.
TL;DR: In this article, an interorganizational intervention for evidencement of behavioral science intervention at the interfaces of organizations is examined. But, the intervention is not presented in detail, and it is not discussed in detail.
Abstract: Behavioral science intervention at the interfaces of organizations is likely to become increasingly important in the near future. This paper examines an interorganizational intervention for evidenc...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe an effort to apply behavioral science technologies to facilitate the social and economic development of the Caribbean island of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, where a period of rising tensions, culminating in a labor dispute which erupted into a night of rioting, burning and looting, preceded the intervention.
Abstract: This article describes an effort to apply behavioral science technologies to facilitate the social and economic development of the Caribbean Island of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. A period of rising tensions, culminating in a labor dispute which erupted into a night of rioting, burning, and looting, preceded the intervention.The project had two major elements: (1) motivation training, designed to encourage residents to view themselves as "origins" rather than "pawns" and enable them to set life and career goals and plan effectively to achieve them; and (2) an "outlet program," which involved the Island's leaders in creating new educational and job opportunities for individuals whose aspiration levels were raised by the motivation training. The intervention is evaluated, and several problems and issues relevant beyond the Curacao case are discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, social factors, inside and outside the encounter group setting, that may influence behavior change, maintenance, and generalization are reviewed, and it is argued that cognitive social learning has distinct applied, heuristic and sociopolitical value when used in conceptualizing encounter group processes and outcomes.
Abstract: How can encounter group behavior, and behavior change following such groups, be understood most fruitfully? This article reviews social factors, inside and outside the encounter group setting, that may influence behavior change, maintenance, and generalization. The rudiments of social learning theory (SLT) are outlined, and it is argued that a cognitive social learning?nodel has distinct applied, heuristic, and sociopolitical value when used in conceptualizing encounter group processes and outcomes. It is proposed that a number of grotup-facilitated motor, affective, cognitive, and verbal behavior changes noted in the literature are a function of specific social learning processes.
TL;DR: In this article, the reciprocal responsibilities of shadow consultants and the possible pitfalls encountered by each role occupant in relation to the client are covered in an essay by a practicing professional often called upon in the "shadow" mode.
Abstract: To the author the term shadow consultant denotes a consultant who, at the request of a colleague and by means of a series of mutual discussions in which he uses a socio-scientific approach, helps evaluate and, if necessary, change the diagnosis, tactics, or role adopted in a certain assignment. The reciprocal responsibilities of shadow consultant and consultant and the possible pitfalls encountered by each role occupant in relation to the client are covered in this essay by a practicing professional often called upon in the "shadow" mode. Whether help to a fellow professional is more effectively given informally or on a contract basis and whether the client should be told are other issues raised in this article and the Comments that follow.
TL;DR: Max Pages, 47, grew up in Paris, where he studied philosophy and mathematics at the Sorbonne, and then turned to psychology as discussed by the authors. He obtained a one-year scholarship to work and study in the U.S.
Abstract: Max Pages, 47, grew up in Paris, where he studied philosophy and mathematics at the Sorbonne, and then turned to psychology. He obtained a one-year scholarship to work and study in the U.S. The mai...
TL;DR: A modification of the laboratory training method, called the "participant group method," was used with low-income parents of Head Start children to demonstrate under what conditions participant groups might be helpful to parents and their children.
Abstract: Sensitivity training groups have rarely been conducted with lowincome people. A modification of the laboratory training method, here called the "participant group method," was used with lowincome parents of Head Start children to demonstrate under what conditions participant groups might be helpful to parents and their children. Eight groups met twice a week for eight weeks to help parents increase their children's language skills or to help them with their child-rearing problems. Parent trainers worked in pairs, which included a mother from the community. Couples were invited to some groups; only mothers to other groups. Most groups succeeded in engaging the parents' participation in child-rearing or related discussions. Judged on the basis of attendance and group process data, the participant group method seems an effective vehicle for directly delivering community clinical-psychological and educational services to low-income parents of preschool children.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that an adequate and effective environmental movement must focus on resolving problems in the relationship between man and his natural environment in a way that will end human exploitation.
Abstract: An adequate and effective environmental movement must focus on resolving problems in the relationship between man and his natural environment in a way that will end human exploitation. Once the environmentalist has set overall humanitarian goals, he should follow the strategies of successful political activists, such as choosing a poputlar issue, building grassroots support, timing, crisis precipitation, flexibility, and openness to legal aid or negotiation. In short, the "environmental professional" man must become the "political" man (or woman) in order to promote human welfare, argues the authora committed activist.
TL;DR: Kathleen Kinkade's thoughts on power in the alternative community are based on eight years of communal living, including six years at Twin Oaks, Virginia as discussed by the authors, where she was a founding member.
Abstract: Kathleen Kinkade's thoughts on power in the alternative community are based on eight years of communal living, including six years at Twin Oaks, Virginia. Her experience is unusual in that she has founded groups which are profoundly egalitarian in philosophy and conduct, but she is 20 years older than the average member of these communities, a fact which almost inevitably places her in leadership roles. "The trouble with my theories on power," she admits, "is that I have never had the opportunity to be powerless in my communities, so I don't know how good my social theories are."Ms. Kinkade is a founding member of Twin Oaks Community in Louisa, Virginia, a communal group founded in 1967 and based on the ideas set forth in B. F. Skinner's Walden Two. Her account of the early years at Twin Oaks is contained in A Walden Two Experiment, published by William Morrow & Co.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the power force-field of public sector officials and agencies and understand the basic difficulties and contradictions in the task of social power diffusion and make value judgments about the propriety of initiating actions that influence the balance between the survival and well-being of the government employee (public servant), the organization, and the private citizen.
Abstract: Change agents will need to make value judgments about the propriety of initiating actions that influence the balance between the survival and well-being of the government employee (public servant), the organization, and the private citizen. It is only by examining the power force-field of public sector officials and agencies that we can understand the basic difficulties and contradictions in the task of social power diffusion.
TL;DR: In this article, the rebel perceives an imbalance in the allocation of resources or access to power, and is outraged to find that imbalance sanctified by a definition of himself as unworthy of or, more subtly, as unready for those resources or power.
Abstract: "Rebellion arises equally from objective and subjective conditions. The rebel perceives an imbalance in the allocation of resources or access to power, and is outraged to find that imbalance sanctified by a definition of himself as unworthy of or, more subtly, as unready for those resources or power. Relative scarcity and racist justification are thus conjoined in the rebellious upheavals of the Third World." Yet both the advantaged and disadvantaged are socialized to accept the legitimacy of the status quo. According to the author, the truly committed social or behavioral scientist must become aware of the contradictions evident in the theories he has been trained to believe in and the concrete social conditions of oppressed people. He must lead the way in rethinking the concepts of Authority and Equality for man. He must build new "conceptual mansions" that will transform Man and bring about a new Society of useful individuals and nurturing institutions.