Influence, Leadership, and Social Desirability in Psychotherapeutic Groups
Keywords:
PsychotherapeuticAbstract
This article concerns a study that examined the issue of leadership in a psychotherapeutic group and the correlation between social desirability and influence within these groups. A sociometric questionnaire was administered to nine therapeutic groups working under the same therapist. Six of the groups were made up of prisoners serving sentences in an Israeli maximum security prison. Members of the remaining groups were probation officers and students in a teacher-training seminary. Responses to the questionnaire indicated the existence of three types of intergroup leadership/member relationships: a popular, socially desirable, and influential leader found in the sex-offender therapeutic groups, an unpopular yet influential leader as found in violent groups, and a sociometric star with no relation to the degree of his or her influence found in the remaining groups.
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