Análisis de la interacción grupal a partir de una adaptación de la técnica SYMLOG en función del canal de comunicación y del tipo de tarea

Laburpena

The study of group psychology has generated a wide volume of research on group structure and process. Recent technological developments and the associated changes in interacting group contexts are having a clear impact on its study. However, so far group pyschosocial processes have been dealt with using self-report measures. Very few studies (see Zornoza et al., 1993, for an exception) use observational methodology. This paper presents an approach to the study of group interaction through three different channels of communication: face to face, videoconference, and electronic mail. Three different tasks are used: creativity, intellective and cognitive conflict (Mc Grath, 1984). The observational technique employed is an adaptation of Bales and Cohen's (1979) SYMLOG. Results from a laboratory experiment with 180 participants distributed in 45 groups show that interaction processes flow more smoothly through electronic mail with creativity tasks but it is facilitated in a face to face context when the task is of cognitive conflict.