Most task-group structures are hierarchical, but what kind would people
create if they had a choice? Our hypothesis was that structures built by
group members in dealing with conflict and decision making would be
contingent on their life styles. Three different sets of groups of persons
with homogeneous life styles created three different (and predicted)
structures in a problem-solving task. Groups in which members placed a
heavy reliance on higher authority (formalistic life style) created a bu
reaucratic structure (and scored most effective); groups with a "do your
own thing" (personalistic) life style created an anarchistic structure (and
scored least effective); groups whose members placed a high value on
close, intimate relations (sociocentric life styles) created a collaborative
structure (and scored in the mid-range).
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