Latency of Verbal Response and Participation in Small Groups

Studies relating an individual's participation in a group discussion to his subsequent status in that group are examined. A review of experimental evidence suggests that the generally accepted explanation of how participation is translated into status is inadequate. A supplementary explanatory model is offered which gives a central role to the individual's latency of verbal response. The study focuses on the predictive ability of a new index of participation potential, latency of verbal response (LVR), which is based on the average time taken to begin speaking when asked to complete sentence stubs. This new predictor is tested against alternatives suggested by earlier research and proves to be more effective in predicting participation. The results are discussed in terms of the conditions under which we might expect different predictors to vary in effectiveness.