Katherine L. Adams is Professor of Speech Communication at California State University, Fresno, where she received a Meritorious Promise and Performance award in 1989. She has served as their Graduate Coordinator since 1989. She received her Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Utah under the direction of B. Aubrey Fisher. She has authored four instructor's manuals in interpersonal and small group communication and most recently, this group communication book with Gloria Galanes. She has published articles in the areas of conversational analysis and interpersonal communication. Currently she is an associate editor for Communication Reports and The Western Journal of Communication. She participates, at all levels, in the Western States Communication Association and Speech Communication Association and teaches in the areas of interpersonal communication, communication theory, small group communication, and research methods.

Part One: Orientation to Small Group Systems
1. Small Groups as the Heart of Society Groups in Your Life Groups versus Individuals as Problem Solvers Groups, Small Groups, and Small Group Communication Classifying Groups by their Major Purpose Being a Valuable Group Member Being and Ethical Group Member The Participant-Observer Perspective
2. Groups as Structured Open Systems Overview of General Systems Theory The Small Group as a System Organizations as Systems of Groups Part Two: Foundations of Small Group Communicating.
3. Communication Principles for Group Members Communication: Whats That? Implications for Small Group Communication Listening: Receiving, Interpreting, and Responding to Messages from Other Group Members
4. Verbal and Nonverbal Message Use in Small Group Communication Creating Messages in a Small Group How Communication Structures the Small Group Using Language to Help the Group Progress Nonverbal Messages in Small Group Communication Computer-Mediated Communication and Group Messages Part Three: Individuals to Group
5. Becoming a Group The Life Cycle of a Group Phases and Social Tensions in the Development of a Group Group Socialization of Members Group Roles Rules and Norms Development of a Groups Climate
6. Working with Diversity in the Small Group What is Diversity? Celebrating Diversity/Bridging Differences Part Four: Understanding and Improving Group Throughput Processes
7. Creative and Critical Thinking in the Small Group What Is Creative Thinking? Enhancing Group Creativity What Makes Thinking "Critical"? Enhancing Critical Thinking in a Group
8. Group Problem-Solving Procedures A Systematic Procedure as the Basis for Problem Solving What Is a Problem? Effective Problem Solving and Decision Making The Procedural Model of Problem Solving (P-MOPS) Applications of P-MOPS
9. Managing Conflicts Productively What is Conflict? Myths about Conflict Managing Conflict in the Group
10. Applying Leadership Principles Leadership and Leaders Myths about Leadership Current Ideas about Leadership What Good Leaders Do Encouraging Distributed Leadership Ethical Guidelines for Group Leaders Part Five: Small Group Public Presentations
11. Planning, Organizing, and Presenting Small Group Oral Presentations The Planning Stage The Organizing Stage The Presenting Stage What Makes a Good Oral Presentation? Appendix: Techniques for Observing Problem-Solving Groups
References
Bibliography
Index