A Study of Interaction and Consensus in Different Sized Groups

T HE small group has recently become the subject of an increasing amount of research among sociologists and psychologists, reflecting a rising interest in this area which, as Merton has noted,1 cannot accurately be called new; it is rather a renaissance. Cooley and Simmel are only the best remembered of the earlier sociologists who dealt with the small group. Part of the current interest is centered on the factor of group size as evidenced by two recent articles in the American Sociological Review by Bales2 and James.3 In addition to being an important theoretical question, group size is of concern to such on-going groups as the National Education Association, the League of Women Voters, and the Tavistock Clinic, which organizations have been forced to reach some conclusions about the optimum size for discussion groups in order to carry out their activities. The most extensive discussion of the importance of the size of the group in sociological literature is given by Simmel who provides numerous historical accounts of the importance of group size in social life. Although many of Simmel's remarks have to