An analysis of the leaderless group discussion

Abstract

Two experimental groups engaged in a series of 6 structured, leaderless group discussions. Onlookers rated each participant on a series of 13 items designed to measure leadership status. These ratings yielded reliability correlation coefficients varying from .41 to .90, with a mean coefficient of .72. A record was made of the time each participant spent in talking at each session. The correlations between time spent talking and the 13 leadership status items ranged from .82 to .92, and the 13 items combined yielded a correlation of .93. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)