From Small-Group Members to Leaders: Conflicting Changes in Behavioral Ratings Given and Received
Keywords:
Behavioral RatingsAbstract
After about 45 interaction hr in initial small groups, 37 individuals rated each same-group participant's within-group behavior for self-acceptance and acceptance of others. After 1O intervening weeks of leadership training, both measures were repeated in new groups that were co-led by these former members. As novice leaders, they received higher ratings from others and themselves than in their initial groups, although their ratings showed substantial cross-role and intergroup consistency on each measure. However, new leaders also rated their new groups' participants lower on both scales than they had rated those in their initial groups, confirming the mixed pattern noted in their subsequent groups (Hurley, Feintuch, & Mandell, 1991). Whether this blend of rising ratings received and
falling ratings given to others reflects the new leaders' increased comprehension of interpersonal operations, their increased risk of shifting toward a less constructive interpersonal stance, or other considerations requires further study.
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