This paper reviews 31 empirical studies of small groups in which the major independent variable, group size, was related to several classes of dependent variables: group performance, distribution of participation, the nature of interaction, group organization, member performance, conformity and consensus, and member satisfaction. Many of these variables were found to be significantly affected by group size, but methodological shortcomings characterizing this group of studies preclude the assertion of broad generalizations. Several dependable and nondependable intervening variables are suggested which may help to account for many of the observed effects. Conclusions are: group size is an important variable which should be taken into account in any theory of group behavior, and future research on group size should proceed more systematically than in the past.

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VIEWS of the research on group problem solving (Kelley & Thibaut, 1954; Lorge, Fox, Davitz, & Brenner, 1958) indicate that sweeping conclusions about the superiority of groups over individuals are not warranted. However, studies in this area show that it may be fruitful to examine the conditions under which groups should be superior to individuals. This paper examines conceptually the requirements of the problem solving task and selected group variables that affect the quality of a group's solution, and suggests three models for group problem solving. Following the presentation of an experiment that tests some of the assumptions of the models and sheds further light on processes affecting the quality of group solutions, the paper terminates with a discussion of other models of group problem solving and of extensions of the models to preference phenomena.Each model specifies theoretical probabilities for the outcome of group problem solving, and the antecedent conditions that should produce the expected outcomes. A significant restriction on the application of the models is that the group's product must be expressed as the distribution of individual answers. Distributions of individual responses as group products are found in legislative votes, committee votes, and in court decisions, although these are not always answers to problems. A less imposing restriction is that the individual answers must be expressed as one of three or more discrete possibilities, such as a correct answer versus two or more incorrect answers; this restriction will be relaxed at a later point in the paper.The independence model states the theoreti-1 This article reports portions of a research project financed by a grant from the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies of the University of Michigan.2 The authors wish to express their gratitude for the help provided by Rosemary Conzemius in the early phases of this study.