Theories of group processes have been and are being applied usefully to natural situations. We review a selection of these theories and examine different types of applications and interventions to which they have led. We then offer a typology of application, five “stages” with examples. As theoretical application proceeds, issues of complexity, rules of correspondence, and competing social interests increase the difficulty of that work, yet the benefits are considerable for theoretical development.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlexanderKarlEntwisleDoris R.OlsonLinda Steele1994. “The Gender Gap in Math: Its Possible Origins in Neighborhood Effects.”, American Sociological Review59:822–38.
2.
AndersonJames C.HåkanssonHåkanJohansonJan1994. “Dyadic Business Relationships within a Business Network Context.”, Journal of Marketing58:1–15.
3.
BacharachSamuel B.LawlerEdward J.1981. Bargaining: Power, Tactics, and Outcomes. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
4.
BalkwellJames W.BergerJoseph1996. “Gender, Status, and Behavior in Task Situations.”, Social Psychology Quarterly59: 273–83.
5.
BergerJoseph1958. “Relations between Performance, Rewards, and Action-Opportunities in Small Groups.” Ph.D. thesis, Harvard University.
6.
BergerJosephFisekM. H.1974. “A Generalization of the Status Characteristics and Expectation States Theory.” Pp. 163–205 in Expectation States Theory: A Theoretical Research Program, edited by BergerJosephConnerThomas L.FisekM. H.. Cambridge, MA: Winthrop Publishers.
7.
BergerJosephFisekM. H.NormanR. Z.ZelditchM.Jr1977. Status Characteristics and Social Interaction: An Expectation States Approach. New York: Elsevier.
8.
BergerJosephSnellJ. L.1961. “A Stochastic Theory for Self-Other Expectations.” Technical Report No. 1, Laboratory for Social Research, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
9.
BielbyWilliamBielbyDenise1995. “Cumulative vs. Continuous Disadvantage in an Unstructured Labor Market: Gender differences in the Careers of Television Writers.” Pp. 209–30 in Gender Inequality at Work, edited by JacobsJ.. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
10.
BroadheadRobert S.HeckathornDouglas D.WeakliemDavid L.AnthonyDenise L.MadrayHeatherMillsRobert J.HughesJames1998. Public Health Reports113, Supplement 1:42–57.
11.
de MesquitaBueno Bruce1981. The War Trap. New Haven: Yale University Press.
12.
BurkePeter J.1989a. “Academic Identity and Race Differences in Educational Aspirations.”, Social Science Research18:136–50.
13.
BurkePeter J.1989b. “Gender Identity, Sex, and School Performance.”, Social Psychology Quarterly52:159–69.
14.
BurkePeter J.1991. “Identity Processes and Social Stress.”, American Sociological Review56:836–49.
15.
BurkePeter J.1996. “Agency and Interaction.” Paper presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association, New York.
16.
BurkePeter J.HoelterJon1988. “Identity and Sex-Race Differences in Educational and Occupational Aspirations Formation.”, Social Science Research17:29–47.
17.
BurtRonald S.1992. Structural Holes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
18.
BurtRonald S.1997. “The Contingent Value of Social Capital.”, Administrative Science Quarterly42:339–65.
19.
ChafetzJanet Saltzman, ed. 1999. Handbook of the Sociology of Gender. New York: Kluver Academic/Plenum.
20.
CohenBernard P.LeeHans E.1975. Conflict, Conformity, and Social Status. New York: Elsevier.
21.
CohenElizabeth G.1972. “Interracial Interaction Disability.”, Human Relations25:9–24.
22.
CohenElizabeth G.1982. “Expectation States and Interracial Interaction in School Settings.”, Annual Review of Sociology8:209–35.
23.
CohenElizabeth G.1988a. “Producing Equal Status Behavior in Cooperative Learning.” Paper presented at the Conference of the International Association for the Study of Cooperation in Education, Kibbutz Shefayim, Israel, July.
24.
CohenElizabeth G.1988b. “Can Expectations for Competence Be Altered in the Classroom?” Pp. 27–54 in Status Generalization: New Theory and Research, edited by WebsterM.FoschiM.. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
25.
CohenElizabeth G.1993. “From Theory to Practice: The Development of an Applied Research Program.” Pp. 385–415 in Theoretical Research Programs: Studies in the Growth of Theory, edited by BergerJosephZelditchMorrisJr. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
26.
CohenElizabeth G.DeAvilaE.1983. “Learning to Think in Math and Science: Improving Local Education for Minority Children.” Final report to the Johnson Foundation, School of Education, Stanford University.
27.
CohenElizabeth G.KatzM.LohmanMark R.1976. “Center for Interracial Cooperation: A Field Experiment.”, Sociology of Education48:47–58.
28.
CohenElizabeth G.LotanRachel, eds. 1997. Working for Equity in Heterogeneous Classrooms. New York: Teachers College Press of Columbia University.
29.
CohenElizabeth G.LotanRachelLeechorC.1989. “Can Classrooms Learn?”, Sociology of Education62:75–94.
30.
CohenElizabeth G.SharanS.1980. “Modifying Status Relations in Israeli Youth.”, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology11:364–84.
31.
CollinsRandallSaltzmanChafetz JanetLesserBlumberg RaeColtraneScottTurnerJonathan H.1993. “Toward an Integrated Theory of Gender Stratification.”, Sociological Perspectives36:185–216.
32.
CookKaren S.1977. “Exchange and Power in Networks of Interorganizational Relations.”, Sociological Quarterly18:62–82.
33.
CookKaren S.EmersonRichard M.1978. “Power, Equity, and Commitment in Exchange Networks.”, American Sociological Review43:712–39.
34.
CookKaren S.EmersonRichard M.GillmoreMary R.YamagishiToshio1983. “The Distribution of Power in Exchange Networks: Theory and Experimental Results.”, American Journal of Sociology89:275–305.
35.
CookKaren S.MolmLinda D.YamagishiToshio1993. “Exchange Relations and Exchange Networks: Recent Developments in Social Exchange Theory.” Pp. 296–322 in Theoretical Research Programs: Studies in the Growth of Theory, edited by BergerJosephZelditchMorrisJr. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
36.
CookKaren S.YamagishiToshioDonnellyShawn1997. “Power and Dependence in Exchange Networks: A Comment on Structural Measures of Power.” Pp. 293–302 in Status, Network and Structure: Theory Development in Group Processes, edited by SzmatkaJacekSkvoretzJohnBergerJoseph. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
37.
CookThomas1974. “Producing Equal Status Interaction between Indian and White Boys in British Columbia: An Application of Expectation Training.” Ph.D. Dissertation, School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
38.
DovidioJohn F.BrownClifford E.HeltmanKarenEllysonSteven L.KeatingCaroline F.1988. “Power Displays between Women and Men in Discussions of Gender-Linked Tasks: A Multichannel Study.”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology55:580–87.
39.
EaglyAlice H.AshmoreR. D.MakhijaniM. G.LongoL. C.1991. “What Is Beautiful Is Good, but…: A Meta-Analytic Review of Research on the Physical Attractiveness Stereotype.”, Psychological Bulletin110:109–28.
40.
EmersonRichard M.1962. “Power-Dependence Relations.”, American Sociological Review27:31–41.
41.
EmersonRichard M.1972. “‘Exchange Theory, Part I: A Psychological Basis for Social Exchange’ and “Exchange Theory, Part II: Exchange Relations and Network Structures.” Pp. 38–87 in Sociological Theories in Progress, vol. 2, edited by BergerJ.ZelditchM.Jr.AndersonB.. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
42.
EntwisleDoris R.HaydukLeslie1978. Too Great Expectations. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
43.
EntwisleDoris R.WebsterMurrayJr1972. “Raising Children's Performance Expectations.”, Social Science Research1:147–58.
44.
EntwisleDoris R.WebsterMurrayJr1976. “Expectation Effects on Performance Evaluations.”, Social Forces55:493–502.
45.
EntwisleDoris R.WebsterMurrayJr1974. “Raising Children's Expectations for Their Own Performance: A Classroom Application.” Pp. 211–43 in Expectation States Theory: A Theoretical Research Program, edited by BergerJ.ConnerT. L.FisekHamit M.. Cambridge, MA: Winthrop Publishers.
46.
EntwisleDoris R.WebsterMurrayJr1978. “Raising Expectations Indirectly.”, Social Forces57:257–64.
47.
FeingoldA.1992. “Good-Looking People Are Not What We Think.”, Psychological Bulletin111:304–41.
48.
FisekM. HBergerJosephNormanRobert Z.1991. “Participation in Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Groups: A Theoretical Integration.”, American Journal of Sociology97:114–42.
49.
FisekM. HBergerJosephNormanRobert Z.1995. “Evaluations and the Formation of Expectations.”, American Journal of Sociology101:721–46.
50.
FoschiMartha1997. “On Scope Conditions.”, Small Group Research28:535–55.
51.
FreemanHoward E.RossiPeter H.1984. “Furthering the Applied Side of Sociology.”, American Sociological Review49:571–80.
52.
GeisF. L.BrownV.JenningsJ.Corrado-TaylorD.1984. “Gender and Double Standards in the Assessment of Job Applicants.”, Social Psychology Quarterly57:326–39.
53.
GerberGwendolyn1992. “Instrumental and Expressive Personality Traits in Social Cognition: Parallels with Social Interaction.”, Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs119:99–123.
54.
GerberGwendolyn1996. “Status in Same-Gender and Mixed-Gender Police Dyads: Effects on Personality Attributions.”, Social Psychology Quarterly59:350–63.
55.
HeckathornDouglas D.1990. “Collective Sanctions and Compliance Norms: A Formal Theory of Group-Mediated Social Control.”, American Sociological Review55:366–84.
56.
HeckathornDouglas D.1993. “Collective Action and Group Heterogeneity: Voluntary Provision versus Selective Incentives.”, American Sociological Review58:329–50.
57.
HeckathornDouglas D.1996. “The Dynamics and Dilemmas of Collective Action.”, American Sociological Review61:250–77.
58.
HeckathornDouglas D.BroadheadRobert S.1996a. “Rational Choice, Public Policy, and AIDS.”, Rationality and Society8:235–60.
59.
HeckathornDouglas D.BroadheadRobert S.1996b. “Rational Choice, Public Policy, and AIDS: Reply to Philipson and Posner, Gagnon, and Mansbridge.”, Rationality and Society8:511–18.
60.
HeiseDavid R.1969. “Affective Dynamics in Simple Sentences.”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology11:204–13.
61.
HeiseDavid R.1977. “Social Action as the Control of Affect.”, Behavioral Science22:163–77.
62.
HeiseDavid R.1979. Understanding Events. New York: Cambridge University Press.
63.
HoffmanD.CohenE. G.1972. “An Exploratory Study to Determine the Effects of Generalized Performance Expectations upon Activity and Influence of Students Engaged in a Group Simulation Game.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association, Chicago.
64.
HomansGeorge C.1961. Social Behavior: Its Elementary Forms. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World.
65.
HumphreysPaulBergerJoseph1981. “Theoretical Consequences of the Status Characteristics Formulation.”, American Journal of Sociology86:953–83.
66.
JacksonLinda A.HunterJohn E.HodgeCarole N.1995. “Physical Attractiveness and Intellectual Competence: A Meta-Analytic Review.”, Social Psychology Quarterly58:108–22.
67.
JassoGuillerminaOppKarl-Dieter1997. “Probing the Character of Norms: A Factorial Survey Analysis of the Norms of Political Action.”, American Sociological Review62:947–64.
68.
KanazawaSatoshi1999. “Testing Macro Organizational Theories in Laboratory Experiments.”, Social Science Research28:66–87.
69.
KiserEdgarHechterMichael1991. “The Role of General Theory in Comparative-Historical Sociology.”, American Journal of Sociology97:1–30.
70.
KroskaAmy1997. “The Division of Labor in the Home: A Review and Reconceptualization.”, Social Psychology Quarterly60:304–22.
71.
KumarNirmalyaScheerLisa K.SteenkampJan-Benedict E. M.1998. “Interdependence, Punitive Capability, and the Reciprocation of Punitive Actions in Channel Relationships.”, Journal of Marketing Research35:225–35.
72.
LaudanLarry1977. Progress and Its Problems: Toward a Theory of Scientific Growth. Berkeley: University of California Press.
73.
LawlerEdward J.1986. “Bilateral Deterrence and Conflict Spiral: A Theoretical Analysis.” Pp. 107–30 in Advances in Group Processes, vol. 3, edited by LawlerE. J.. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
74.
LawlerEdward J.ThyeShane R.YoonJeongkoo2000. “Emotion and Group Cohesion in Productive Exchange.”, American Journal of Sociology106:616–57.
75.
LawlerEdward J.YoonJeongkoo1996. “Commitment in Exchange Relations.”, American Sociological Review61:89–108.
76.
LeeJames Daniel1998. “A Behavioral Foundation for a Structural Theory of Power in Exchange Networks.”, Social Psychology Quarterly61:199–219.
77.
LindJoan Dyste1986. “Exchange Processes in History: Integrating the Micro and Macro Levels of Analysis.”, Sociological Quarterly28:223–46.
78.
LovagliaMichael J.1994. “Relating Power to Status.”, Advances in Group Processes11:87–111.
79.
LuttwakE.1976. The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
80.
MacKinnonNeil J.HeiseDavid R.1993. “Affect Control Theory: Delineation and Development.” Pp. 64–103 in Theoretical Research Programs: Studies in the Growth of Theory, edited by BergerJosephZelditchMorrisJr. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
81.
MarkovskyBarrySkvoretzJohnWillerDavidLovagliaMichaelErgerJeffrey1993. “The Seeds of Weak Power: An Extension of Network Exchange Theory.”, American Sociological Review58:197–209.
82.
MarkovskyBarryWillerDavidPattonTravis1988. “Power Relations in Exchange Networks.”, American Sociological Review53:220–36.
83.
MizruchiMark S.1989. “Similarity of Political Behavior among Large American Corporations.”, American Journal of Sociology95:401–24.
84.
MolmLinda D.1997. Coercive Power in Social Exchange. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
85.
PattersonGerald R.1982. Coercive Family Process. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
86.
PfefferJeffreySalancikGerald R.1978. The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective. New York: Harper and Row.
87.
PughMeredith D.WahrmanRalph1983. “Neutralizing Sexism in Mixed-Sex Groups: Do Women Have to Be Better than Men?”, American Journal of Sociology88:746–62.
88.
RidgewayCecilia L.1998. “Interaction and the Conservation of Gender Inequality: Considering Employment.”, American Sociological Review62:218–35.
89.
RidgewayCecilia L.BoyleElizabeth HegerKuipersKathyRobinsonDawn T.1998. “How Do Status Beliefs Develop? The Role of Resources and Interactional Experience.”, American Sociological Review48:31–50.
90.
RidgewayCecilia L.EricksonKristin Glasgow2000. “Creating and Spreading Status Beliefs.”, American Journal of Sociology106:579–615.
91.
RosenholtzSusan J.1985. “Modifying Status Expectations in the Traditional Classroom.” Pp. 445–70 in Status, Rewards, and Influence: How Expectations Organize Behavior, edited by BergerJ.ZelditchM.Jr. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
92.
RosenthalRobert R.JacobsonLenore1968. Pygmalion in the Classroom. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
93.
RuleJames B.1997. Theory and Progress in Social Science. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
94.
SeabrightMark A.LevinthalDaniel A.FichmanMark1992. “Role of Individual Attachments in the Dissolution of Interorganizational Relationships.”, Academy of Management Journal35:122–60.
95.
SkvoretzJohnFararoThomas J.1996. “Status and Participation in Task Groups: A Dynamic Network Model.”, American Journal of Sociology101:1366–1414.
96.
SmithAdam [1776] 1937. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. New York: Modern Library.
97.
Smith-LovinLynnDouglassWilliam T.1992. “An Affect Control Analysis of Two Religious Subcultures.” In Social Perspectives on Emotions, edited by FranksD.GecasV.. New York: JAI Press.
98.
Smith-LovinLynnHeiseDavid R., eds. 1988. Analyzing Social Interaction: Research Advances in Affect Control Theory. New York: Gordon and Breach.
99.
StetsJan1997. “Status and Identity in Marital Interaction.”, Social Psychology Quarterly60:185–217.
100.
StetsJanBurkePeter J.1994. “Inconsistent Self-Views in the Control Identity Model.”, Social Science Research23:236–62.
101.
StetsJanBurkePeter J.1996. “Gender, Control, and Interaction.”, Social Psychology Quarterly59:193–220.
102.
StetsJanBurkePeter J.2000. “Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory.”, Social Psychology Quarterly63:224–37.
103.
StokmanFrans N.WillerDavid1996. “Exchange Networks and Collective Decision Making.” Unpublished paper available from the second author at Dept. of Sociology, University of South Carolina, Columbia SC 29208.
104.
StrykerSheldon1980. Symbolic Interactionism: A Social Structural Version. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin Cummings.
105.
SzmatkaJacek1994. “Elementary Theoretic Research Program: An Extension of Social Exchange Theory.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Los Angeles.
106.
TammivaaraJ. S.1982. “The Effects of Task Structure on Beliefs about Competence and Participation in Small Groups.”, Sociology of Education55:212–22.
107.
ThompsonJames D.1967. Organizations in Action: Social Science Bases of Administrative Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
108.
ThyeShane R.2000. “A Status Value Theory of Power in Exchange Relationships.”, American Sociological Review65:407–32.
109.
TroyerLisaWesleyYounts C.1997. “Whose Expectations Matter? The Relative Power of First-Order and Second-Order Expectations in Determining Social Influence.”, American Journal of Sociology103:692–732.
110.
TsoudisOlgaSmith-LovinLynn1998. “How Bad Was It? The Effects of Victim and Perpetrator Emotion on Responses to Criminal Court Vignettes.”, Social Forces77:695–722.
111.
TsushimaT.BurkePeter J.1999. “Levels, Agency, and Control in the Parent Identity,”, Social Psychology Quarterly62:173–89.
112.
TurnerJonathan H.1998. “Must Sociological Theory and Sociological Practice Be So Far Apart? A Polemical Answer.”, Sociological Perspectives41:243–58.
113.
WagnerDavid G.BergerJoseph1985. “Do Sociological Theories Grow?”, American Journal of Sociology90:697–728.
114.
WagnerDavid G.BergerJoseph1998. “Gender and Interpersonal Task Behaviors: Status Expectation Accounts.” Pp. 229–61 in Status, Power and Legitimacy: Strategies and Theories, edited by BergerJosephZelditchMorrisJr. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Press.
115.
WalkerHenryCohenBernard P.1985. “Scope Statements: Imperatives for Evaluating Theory.”, American Sociological Review50:288–301.
116.
WeberMax [1898] 1976a. “The Social Causes of the Decline of Ancient Civilization.” In The Agrarian Sociology of Ancient Civilization, translated by FrankR. I.. London: Humanities Press.
117.
WeberMax [1909] 1976b. “The Agrarian History of the Major Centers of Ancient Civilization.” In The Agrarian Sociology of Ancient Civilization, translated by FrankR. I.. London: Humanities Press.
118.
WebsterMurrayJr1994. “Experimental Methods.” Pp. 43–69 in Group Process: Sociological Analyses, edited by FoschiM.LawlerE. J.. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
119.
WebsterMurrayJrDriskellJames E.1983. “Beauty as Status.”, American Journal of Sociology89:140–65.
120.
WebsterMurrayJrEntwisleDoris R.1976. “Expectation Effects on Performance Evaluations.”, Social Forces55:493–502.
121.
WebsterMurrayJrHysomStuart1998. “Creating Status Characteristics.”, American Sociological Review63:351–78.
122.
WebsterMurrayJrWhitmeyerJoseph M.1999. “A Theory of Second-Order Expectations and Behavior.”, Social Psychology Quarterly61:17–31.
123.
WhitmeyerJoseph M.1997. “The Power of the Middleman—A Theoretical Analysis.”, Journal of Mathematical Sociology22:59–90.
124.
WillerDavid1985. “Property and Social Exchange.” Pp 123–42 in Advances in Group Processes, vol 2, edited by LawlerEdward J.. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
125.
WillerDavid1987. Theory and the Experimental Investigation of Social Structures. New York: Gordon and Breach.
126.
WillerDavidAndersonBo, eds. 1981. Networks, Exchange, and Coercion: The Elementary Theory and Its Applications. New York: Elsevier-Greenwood.
127.
WillerDavidLovagliaMichaelMarkovskyBarry1997. “Power and Influence: A Theoretical Bridge.”, Social Forces76:571–603.
128.
WillerDavidSimpsonBrentSzmatkaJacekMazurJoanna1996. “Social Theory and Historical Explanation.”, Humboldt Journal of Social Relations22:63–84.
129.
WillerDavidSkvoretzJohn1997. “Network Connection and Exchange Ratios: Theory, Predictions, and Experimental Tests.” Pp. 199–234 in Advances in Group Processes, vol. 14, edited by MarkovskyBarryLovagliaMichael J.TroyerLisa. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
130.
WillerDavidSzmatkaJacek1997. “Structural Formulations and Elementary Theory.” Pp. 273–92 in Status, Network and Structure: Theory Development in Group Processes, edited by SzmatkaJacekSkvoretzJohnBergerJoseph. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
131.
YamagishiToshioCookKaren S.1993. “Generalized Exchange and Social Dilemmas.”, Social Psychology Quarterly56:235–48.
132.
ZelditchMorrisJr1969. “Can You Really Study an Army in the Laboratory?” In Complex Organizations, edited by EtzioniAmitai. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.