Effects of interpersonal attraction on cooperative learning outcomes for secondary level students

Researchers have posed group cohesiveness (e.g., members' liking and commitment to the group) to be a critical moderator of small group learning outcomes. Despite this, very little research has been conducted that directly tests this prediction. In the present study, 46 seventh-grade students were randomly assigned to work in either high or low cohesive groups over a four-week period. Results indicated no significant differences between the two conditions on the achievement measures, although the mean performance on Quiz 1 was slightly higher in the low cohesive than in the high cohesive condition. There was also a significant sex by condition interaction effect on a subject-related attitudes scale, indicating that while females showed a preference for working in the low cohesive condition, there was a minimal difference between the two conditions for males. Implications for further research using different operationalizations of group cohesiveness are discussed.