Scientists Welcome: Practitioners Forewarned

• Published in: PsycCritiques Vol. 56; no. 52; p. No Pagination Specified
• Main Author: Kramer, Thomas J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Psychological Association 28.12.2011
• Subjects: Experimentation; Group Dynamics; Group Problem Solving; Human
• ISSN: 1554-0138; 1554-0138
• DOI: 10.1037/a0024132

Reviews the book, Group problem solving by Patrick R. Laughlin (see record 2011-03827-000). Group problem solving provides a very thorough treatment of the research in seven different areas in group problem solving. In each chapter the research is laid out chronologically, which illustrates how systematic research is conducted—one study building on another to unpack the principles that seem to explain group behavior within that phenomenon. According to the reviewer, the major limitation of the book is its very narrow focus. First, it considers only a narrow slice of group problem-solving literature and only experimental studies that meet the highest standards of scientific rigor. This is both a strength (as noted above) and a limitation. Another limitation is illustrated by a reference in a chapter to homogeneous and heterogeneous groups. The reviewer also notes that very few of the references for the research is dated after 2006. Those who would be interested in Group problem solving would include social scientists interested in the results of research on problem-solving groups. Maybe the most appropriate audience would be graduate students studying small-group behavior. This might be a useful recommended text for such a course. It should certainly be included in any graduate seminar on small-group problem solving. The revewier concludes that professionals who want to know how to work with problem-solving work groups to improve their performance might profit from reading Laughlin’s book, but I think most would lose interest before they get to the meat of the issue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)