The Effects of External Reinforcement on Power Structure in Task Oriented Groups

Abstract

This paper examines the network of social power relations and the resultant social structure under a variety of external reinforcement conditions. The results clearly indicate that the nature of external reinforcement affects both the amount of structural differentiation which occurs in task oriented groups and their structural stability. The paper suggests some broader implications for the study of formal organizations, particularly studies of productivity. The structures and processes which develop in groups and formal organizations reflect, in part, the environment in which such systems exist. By having some information about the nature of a group's environment, it should be possible to make predictions about the types of activities which may take place (cf. Gray and Sullivan; Greenstein; Hamblin; Sullivan). The problem becomes complicated, however, by our apparent inability to specify those dimensional aspects ofthe environment which should make such predictions possible. In the most general sense these dimensions consist, in part, of the kinds of feedback or information the environment supplies groups regarding their relative success in dealing with environmental problems. Following Skinner we posit the most important aspect of feedback a group can receive to be positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement supplies a group with the most essential information about task performance. Positive reinforcement indicates that a group has done something well, or at least adequately, and should signify that the group is on the right track in problem solution. Other reinforcing events (i.e., negative reinforcement, positive punishment or negative punishment) may be useful in developing behavior strategies, but such events are less important than positive reinforcement, which should most effectively lead groups to successful behaviors (e.g., shaping). Thus we should expect to find that the quantity and quality of positive environmental reinforcement has effects on the internal working of