This article consolidates suggestions about ways to increase individual student involvement in small-group activities for psychology classes. First, the literature on group productivity and social loafing is reviewed. Findings are organized through the discussion of 3 critical domains for increasing effectiveness of small groups. Second, articles published in Teaching of Psychology that describe small-group activities are reviewed, giving attention to techniques that authors have recommended to ensure student participation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndersonW. (1981). Teaching a course in structured groups. Teaching of Psychology, 8, 46–47.
2.
BabadE. Y.OppenheimerB. T.KatzI. (1978). Teaching group dynamics in academic settings: Basic dilemmas and some tentative solutions. Teaching of Psychology, 5, 122–126.
3.
BairdB. N. (1991). In-class poster sessions. Teaching of Psychology, 18, 27–29.
4.
BaldwinB. A. (1978). A brief structured activity model to facilitate group learning in the classroom. Teaching of Psychology, 5, 41–42.
5.
BalesR.SlaterP. (1955). Role differentiation in small decision-making groups. In ParsonsT.BalesR. (Eds.), Family socialization and interaction process (pp. 259–306). New York: Free.
6.
BallewegB. J. (1990). The interviewing team; An exercise for teaching assessment and conceptualization skills. Teaching of Psychology, 17, 241–243.
7.
BassinA. (1974). The therapeutic community teaching concept in behavioral science education. Teaching of Psychology, 1, 64–68.
8.
BeersS. E. (1986). Questioning and peer collaboration as techniques for thinking and writing about personality. Teaching of Psychology, 13, 75–77.
9.
BenjaminL. T.Jr. (1983). A class exercise in personality and psychological assessment. Teaching of Psychology, 10, 94–95.
10.
BernsteinD. A. (1995). A negotiation model for teaching critical thinking. Teaching of Psychology, 22, 22–24.
11.
BerrenbergJ. L. (1987). A classroom exercise in impression formation. Teaching of Psychology, 14, 169–170.
12.
BögelsS. M. (1994). A structured-training approach to teaching diagnostic interviewing. Teaching of Psychology, 21, 144–150.
13.
BossleyM. (1978). The synthesis group. Teaching of Psychology, 5, 43–44.
14.
BoutonC.GarthR. Y. (1983). Students in learning groups: Active learning through conversation. In BoutonC.GarthR. Y. (Eds.), Learning in groups (pp. 73–82). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
15.
BowmanD. H.WareM. E. (1954). Strategies to assess performance in experiential activities in a personal development course. Teaching of Psychology, 11, 107–108.
16.
BricknerM. A.HarkinsS. G.OstromT. M. (1986). Effects of personal involvement: Thought-provoking implications for social loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 763–770.
17.
BrooksC. I. (1985). A role-playing exercise for the history of psychology course. Teaching of Psychology, 12, 84–85.
18.
BrothenT. (1995). A computer-assisted difference threshold exercise for introductory psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 22, 136–138.
19.
BruffeeK. A. (1993). Collaborative learning: Higher education, interdependence, and the authority of knowledge. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
20.
CarrollD. W. (1986). Use of the jigsaw technique in laboratory and discussion classes. Teaching of Psychology, 13, 208–210.
21.
CartwrightD. (1968). The nature of group cohesiveness. In CartwrightD.ZanderA. (Eds.), Group dynamics (3rd ed., pp. 91–109). New York: Harper & Row.
22.
ChamberlainK. (1986). Teaching the practical research course. Teaching of Psychology, 13, 204–208.
23.
ChapmanJ. G.ArensonS.CarriganM. H.GryckiewiczJ. (1993). Motivational loss in small task groups: Free riding on a cognitive task. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 119, 57–73.
24.
CharlesworthJ. R.Jr.SlateJ. R. (1986). Teaching about puberty: Learning to talk about sensitive topics. Teaching of Psychology, 13, 215–217.
25.
ChrislerJ. C. (1988). Conditioning the instructor's behavior: A class project in the psychology of learning. Teaching of Psychology, 15, 135–137.
26.
Connor-GreeneP. A. (1993). From the laboratory to the headlines: Teaching critical evaluation of press reports of research. Teaching of Psychology, 20, 167–169.
27.
CummingG. (1983). The introductory statistics course: Mixed student groups preferred to streamed. Teaching of Psychology, 10, 34–37.
28.
DesforgesD. M. (1994). Applying theories of development: An exercise for teaching adolescent psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 21, 245–246.
29.
DeVogeS.VarbleD. L. (1976). The joint use of experiential and cognitive learning in the classroom: Teaching with personal relevance. Teaching of Psychology, 3, 168–171.
30.
DillbeckM. C. (1983). Teaching statistics in terms of the knower. Teaching of Psychology, 10, 18–20.
31.
DollingerS. J.BrownD. F. (1979). Simulated parent-child interaction in an undergraduate child psychology course. Teaching of Psychology, 6, 180–181.
32.
EichlerM. (1987). Using structured group workshops to teach group process. Teaching of Psychology, 14, 42–44.
33.
EliasM. J. (1993). Educating undergraduate psychology students in prevention. Teaching of Psychology, 20, 137–140.
34.
ElliotL. B. (1993). Using debates to teach the psychology of women. Teaching of Psychology, 20, 35–38.
35.
EnnsC. Z. (1994). On teaching about the cultural relativism of psychological constructs. Teaching of Psychology, 21, 205–211.
36.
FerraroF. R. (1990). Field experiments in personal space invasion for introductory psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 17, 124–125.
37.
FriedS. B. (1988). Learning activities for understanding aging. Teaching of Psychology, 15, 160–162.
38.
GardnerL. E. (1991). An interactive problem-solving approach to the teaching of a marriage and family course. Teaching of Psychology, 18, 30–32.
39.
GnageyW. J. (1979). Peer leadership of small research teams in two introductory psychology classes. Teaching of Psychology, 6, 80–82.
40.
GoethalsG. R.DemorestA. P. (1979). The risky shift is a sure bet. Teaching of Psychology, 6, 177–179.
41.
GoldsteinG. S. (1993). Using a group workshop to encourage collaborative learning in an undergraduate counseling course. Teaching of Psychology, 20, 108–110.
42.
GormanM. E.LawA.LindegrenT. (1981). Making students take a stand; Active learning in introductory psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 8, 164–166.
43.
GriggA. E. (1974). Research projects for a history of psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 1, 84–85.
44.
GronlundS. D.LewandowskyS. (1992). Making TV commercials as a teaching aid for cognitive psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 19, 158–160.
45.
HalginR. P. (1982). Using an experiential group to teach a group therapy course. Teaching of Psychology, 9, 188–189.
46.
HarkinsS. G.JacksonJ. M. (1985). The role of evaluation in eliminating social loafing. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 11, 457–465.
47.
HarkinsS. G.PettyR. E. (1982). Effects of task difficulty and task uniqueness on social loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 1214–1229.
48.
HarkinsS. G.SzymanskiK. (1988). Social loafing and self-evaluation with an objective standard. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 24, 354–365.
49.
HarkinsS. G.SzymanskiK. (1989). Social loafing and group evaluation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 934–941.
50.
HarperG. F. (1980). A simulation technique to teach a graduate course in early childhood development. Teaching of Psychology, 7, 218–221.
51.
HarrisR. J.BechtoldJ. I. (1987). “The Psychology of Mass Communication” course. Teaching of Psychology, 14, 177–179.
52.
Hertz-LazarowitzR.KirkusV. B.MillerN. (1992). Implications of current research on cooperative interaction for classroom application. In Hertz-LazarowitzR.MillerN. (Eds.), Interaction in cooperative groups: The theoretical anatomy of group learning (pp. 253–280). New York: Cambridge University Press.
53.
HerzogH. A. (1990), Discussing animal rights and animal research in the classroom. Teaching of Psychology, 17, 90–94.
54.
HessA. K. (1976). The “parts party” as a method of teaching personality theory and dynamics. Teaching of Psychology, 3, 32–33.
55.
JacksonJ. M.HarkinsS. G. (1985). Equity in effort: An explanation of the social loafing effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 1199–1206.
56.
JacksonJ. M.WilliamsK. D. (1985). Social loafing on difficult tasks: Working collectively can improve performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 937–942.
57.
JohnsonD. W.St JohnsonR. T. (1985). The internal dynamics of cooperative learning groups. In SlavinR.SharanS.KaganS.Hertz-LazarowitzR.WebbC.SchmuckR. (Eds.), Learning to cooperate, cooperating to learn (pp. 103–124). New York: Plenum.
58.
JohnsonD. W.JohnsonR. T. (1992). Positive interdependence: Key to effective cooperation. In Hertz-LazarowitzR.MillerN. (Eds.), Interaction in cooperative groups: The theoretical anatomy of group learning (pp. 174–199). New York: Cambridge University Press.
59.
JohnsonD. W.JohnsonR. T.SmithC. A. (1991). Active learning: Cooperation in the college classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Book.
60.
KaganS. (1985). Dimensions of cooperative classroom structures. In SlavinR.SharanS.KaganS.Hertz-LazarowitzR.WebbC.SchmuckR. (Eds.), Learning to cooperate, cooperating to learn (pp. 67–96). New York: Plenum.
61.
KerrN. L. (1983). Motivation losses in small groups: A social dilemma analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 819–828.
62.
KerrN. L.BruunS. E. (1983). Dispensability of member effort and group motivation losses: Free-rider effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 78–94.
63.
KerrN. L.StanfelJ. A. (1993). Role schemata and member motivation in task groups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19, 432–444.
64.
KiteM. E. (1990). Defining normal sexual behavior: A classroom exercise. Teaching of Psychology, 17, 118–119.
65.
KottkeJ. L. (1984). Assessing instructor performance: A classroom project for an industrial organizational psychology class. Teaching of Psychology, 11, 231–232.
66.
LaneK. (1988). Using actors as “clients” for an interviewing simulation in an undergraduate clinical psychology course. Teaching of Psychology, 15, 162–164.
67.
LatanéB.WilliamsK.HarkinsS. (1979). Many hands make light the work: The causes and consequences of social loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 17, 822–832.
68.
LippmanL. G. (1990). The cross-sectional seminar. Teaching of Psychology.17, 190–192.
69.
LottA. J.LottB. E. (1965). Group cohesiveness as interpersonal attraction: A review of relationships with antecedent and consequent variables. Psychological Bulletin, 64, 259–302.
70.
McCallumL. W. (1979). Experiences for understanding exceptional children. Teaching of Psychology, 6, 118–119.
71.
MillardR. J. (1983a). A morale survey project as a group activity in an industrial/organizational course. Teaching of Psychology, 10, 110–112.
72.
MillardR. J. (1983b). Reaching new student markets: A women in management course. Teaching of Psychology, 10, 169–170.
73.
MoellerT. G. (1985). Using classroom debates in teaching developmental psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 12, 207–209.
74.
NijhofW.KommersP. (1985). An analysis of cooperation in relation to cognitive controversy. In SlavinR.SharanS.KaganS.Hertz-LazarowitzR.WebbC.SchmuckR (Eds.), Learning to cooperate, cooperating to learn (pp. 125–145). New York: Plenum.
75.
NigroG. N. (1994). Create-a-children's game: An exercise for developmental psychology classes. Teaching of Psychology, 21, 243–245.
76.
OlmsteadJ. A. (1974). Small-group instruction: Theory and practice. Alexandria, VA: Human Resources Research Organization.
77.
OrtmanP. E. (1993). A feminist approach to teaching learning theory with educational applications. Teaching of Psychology, 20, 38–40.
78.
OwrenM. J.ScheunemanD. L. (1993). An inexpensive habituation and sensitization learning laboratory exercise using planarians. Teaching of Psychology, 20, 226–228.
79.
ParrottL. (1992). Earliest recollections and birth order: Two Adlerian exercises. Teaching of Psychology, 19, 40–42.
80.
ReardonR.DursoF. T.WilsonD. A. (1994). Neural coding and synaptic transmission: Participation exercises for introductory psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 21, 96–99.
81.
RocklinT. (1985). Independent ratings are more valid than group consensus: A classroom demonstration. Teaching of Psychology, 12, 44–45.
82.
RosnowR. L. (1990). Teaching research ethics through role-play and discussion. Teaching of Psychology, 17, 179–181.
ShatzM. A. (1985). The Greyhound strike: Using a labor dispute to teach descriptive statistics. Teaching of Psychology, 12, 85–86.
85.
ShepperdJ. A.WrightR. A. (1989). Individual contributions to a collective effort: An incentive analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 15, 141–149.
86.
SlavinR. E. (1985). An introduction to cooperative learning research. In SlavinR.SharanS.KaganS.Hertz-LazarowitzR.WebbC.SchmuckR. (Eds.), Learning to cooperate, cooperating to learn (pp. 5–16), New York: Plenum.
87.
SlavinR. E. (1987). Developmental and motivational perspectives on cooperative teaming: A reconciliation. Child Development, 58, 1161–1167.
88.
SmithB. L.MacGregorJ. T. (1992). What is collaborative learning? In GoodsellA. S.MaherM. R.TintoV.SmithB. L.MacGregorJ. (Eds.), Collaborative learning: A sourcebook for higher education (pp. 9–22). University Park, PA: National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, & Assessment.
89.
SteinerI. D. (1972). Group processes and productivity. New York: Academic.
90.
StevensonM. R. (1989). Creating a connected classroom: Two projects that work. Teaching of Psychology, 16, 212–214.
91.
SzymanskiK.HarkinsS. G. (1987). Social loafing and self-evaluation with a social standard. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 891–897.
92.
UlmanJ. D. (1980). Synthesizing the elements of behavior modification: A classroom simulation game. Teaching of Psychology, 7, 182–183.
93.
WaltonM. D. (1987), Science and values: Addressing practical issues in developmental psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 14, 50–51.
94.
WannD. L. (1993), Performing experiments in undergraduate social psychology classes. Teaching of Psychology, 20, 235–236.
95.
WannD. L. (1994). Developing fantasy organizations in industrial/organizational psychology courses. Teaching of Psychology, 21, 177–179.
96.
WardT. B. (1985). The media project: Enhancing student interest in the psychology of adolescence. Teaching of Psychology, 12, 87–89.
97.
WeldonE.GarganoG. M. (1988). Cognitive loafing: The effects of accountability and shared responsibility on cognitive effort. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 14, 159–171.
98.
WeldonE.MustariE. L. (1988). Felt dispensability in groups of coactors: The effects of shared responsibility and explicit anonymity on cognitive effort. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 41, 330–351.
99.
WespR. (1992). Conducting introductory psychology activity modules as a requirement in advanced undergraduate courses. Teaching of Psychology, 19, 219–220.
100.
WhittenL. A. (1993). Infusing Black psychology into the introductory psychology course. Teaching of Psychology, 20, 13–21.
101.
WilliamsK. G.KolupkeJ. (1986). Psychology and literature: An interdisciplinary approach to the liberal curriculum. Teaching of Psychology, 13, 59–61.
102.
YoderJ. (1979). Teaching students to do interviewing. Teaching of Psychology, 6, 170.
103.
ZaccaroS. J. (1984). Social loafing: The role of task attractiveness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 10, 99–106.
104.
ZerenA. S.MakoskyV. P. (1986). Teaching observational methods: Time sampling, event sampling, and trait rating techniques. Teaching of Psychology, 13, 80–82.