Reinforced and Non-Reinforced Four-Man Communication Nets

Sixty four-man groups of Ss under six conditions (reinforced or non-reinforced; All-Channel, Wheel, or Circle nets) were each run in a single session with 20 simple problems to determine scores on performance and morale of the three types of net under non-reinforced and reinforced conditions. Results indicated in general that Wheel nets are learned the fastest and most efficiently, followed by All-Channel and Circle nets, thus confirming conclusions derived from other studies with five-man groups. Reinforcement appears substantially to improve performance for Ss in a Circle net but has insignificant effects for Wheel and All-Channel nets.

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