Joining Together seeks to provide the theory and experiences necessary to develop

an understanding of group dynamics and effective group skills. It is more than

a book reviewing current social psychological knowledge in the area of small

groups, and it is more than a hook of group exercises. The theory and exercises

are integrated into an inquiry or experiential approach to learning a~oout the

dynamics of small groups. /

The authors wish to thank many people for their help in writing this

book and in preparing the manuscript. Our younger sister, Edythe Johnson

Holubec, contributed most of the questions the reader will find in the text. Special

thanks go to our brother-in-law Buddy Holubec who, at great personal risk,

made Edythe get up at 6:30 a.m. every morning so she could do the preliminary

editing of the manuscript. We owe much to the social psychologists who have

inttuenced our theorizing and to the colleagues with whom we have conducted

various types of laboratory-training experiences. We have tried to acknowledge

sources of the exercises included in this book whenever possible. Some of the

exercises presented are so commonly used that the originators are not traceable.

If we have inadvertently missed giving recognition to anyone, .we apologize.

Special thanks are extended to our wives, Linda Mulholland Johnson and Jane

Miley Johnson, who contributed their support to the development and writing

of this book. A special thanks to Judy Bartlett for clerical, prooDeading and

administrative assistance, which has been invaluable. All photographs were taken