Further Studies of Small Group Ecology

To learn how groups arrange themselves, pairs of students were observed in a cafeteria where interaction was encouraged and in a library where interaction was discouraged. In the former situation, people chose to sit across from one another while in the library people chose a distant seating pattern. Several paper-and-pencil instruments were used to gauge seating preference in casual, cooperating, competing, and co-acting groups. In general, casual groups prefer corner seating, cooperating groups to sit side-by-side, co-acting in a distant arrangement, and competing groups opposite one another. The role of eye contact in regulating spatial arrangements of small groups is discussed.