Effects of Incentives and Primary and Secondary Group Interaction on Learning a Complex Maze

Abstract

It was hypothesized that primary or friendship groups under selected incentive conditions would stimulate their members to greater efforts in learning a human locomotor maze than would secondary groups and that groups whose members were paid for mean group performance would evidence greater maze learning than would groups whose members were paid for individual time. 6 5-man primary groups and 6 5-man secondary groups were given the purpose of improving performance on 6 trials while moving blindfolded through a maze. On the basis of final trial performance, Ss received differential payment. Data indicated strong support for the first hypothesis and did not support the second.