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THE INTERPERSONAL TRANSACTION GROUP AS A FACILITATIVE STRUCTURE FOR GRANT REVIEW DECISION-MAKING
Abstract
This study examined the use of the Interpersonal Transaction (IT) group, originally a group therapy technique, as a facilitative strategy for grant review decision-making. The IT group process entails having group members interact in rotating dyads and are given instructions to share non-critically and listen actively to each other. The participants in this study were 36 advanced undergraduate students in psychology. The students were chosen on the basis of superior academic achievement and/or previous research experience. Three simulated grant review groups which utilized the IT structure were compared to three unstructured control groups. Subjects completed a Role Construct Repertory Test (Rep Test) prior to the actual experiment. Each of the six simulated review groups met once to review the same two fictitious grant proposals. Groups voted to approve or disapprove funding for each proposal. Subjects completed a set of ratings on each proposal at home, then returned two days later to complete a questionnaire regarding their experience in their group. Results were that IT subjects reported feeling better about their discussion and decisions on the proposals than control subjects. IT subjects reported feeling more of a sense of accomplishment than controls. IT subjects also perceived the proposals as being more meaningful to them than did controls. No differences on any of the personality measures were found between groups. An order effect was discovered where the first proposal reviewed was rated more harshly than the second proposal, though this phenomena was more profound for the controls than the IT subjects. Finally, it was found that IT subjects tended to review and rate the proposals more harshly than controls. The benefits of the IT structure were discussed in terms of increased communication and equal participation of members. The IT structure was also compared to other facilitative group strategies. Areas of future research were delineated.
Subject Area
Psychology
Recommended Citation
WILCOX, TIMOTHY JACK, "THE INTERPERSONAL TRANSACTION GROUP AS A FACILITATIVE STRUCTURE FOR GRANT REVIEW DECISION-MAKING" (1983). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8328205.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8328205