The objectives of this study were to determine: (1) the extent to which families form coalitions in decision-making, and (2) the effects which resources have on coalition formation in family decision-making. The strategy employed was to compare family groups with ad hoc groups with no role or power structure, and no bonds of attachment. First, it was hypothesized that families would be more accommodative in coalition formation than ad hoc groups. Accommodation was defined as the tendency towards conflict avoidance, group consensus, and inclusion of all members. Second, it was hypothesized that coalition formation in ad hoc groups would be more consistent with minimum resource strategy than coalition formation in family groups. Minimum resource strategy is the tendency for participants to form the coalition which mobilizes the fewest resources necessary to control a decision. / The method employed in the study was the coalition bargaining game, a board game similar to Pachisi, which was adapted from previous coalition studies. Twenty-one family groups--composed of father, mother, and adolescent son--and twenty-one ad hoc groups of college students played the game under controlled conditions and the data were compared. / Four indicators of accommodative style were isolated for analysis: triple alliances, no coalition, dictatorial coalitions, and equal division of the payoff. Of the four indicators, three indicated that families played more accommodatively under all conditions, while the fourth indicated more accommodative family play under one condition. / The study found that minimum resource strategy correctly predicted which coalition would form in both ad hoc and family groups, however, the theory consistently overestimated the payoff to high-resource players and underestimated the payoff to low-resource players. / The study discusses the implications of these findings for family power theory and offers suggestions for further research on coalition processes in family interaction. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-03, Section: A, page: 0940. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74785 |
| Contributors | JORY, BRIAN LEE., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 176 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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