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criticisms of the changes and rationale underlying them. Although thisdebate may appeal to a select group of professionals, the discussionas presented is unlikely either to inform or to interest the general au­dience, toward whom the majority of chapters are directed.

All in all, The Uses and Misuses of Tests does not provide a verysatisfactory coverage of the issues it purports to consider. It is bothoverly focused and unfocused, and varying, but without an apparentsystem in both audience and issue addressed. It is a disappointingvolume, unlikely either to stir controversy or to stimulate new thought.

GROUP DECISION MAKING. Walter C. Swap and Associates,Editors.

Reviewed by: David EngelUniversity of Pittsburgh

An important area of social research has to do with group decisionmaking. Anyone who has been party to some formal corporate deci­sion process probably will have wondered, at least in passing, whetherthe group somehow molded individual choice. In more academic terms,the question is whether social psychology directs individual choice.

The essays in this volume present a clear and concise report of abroad range of relevant research on group decision making. This TuftsUniversity project is introduced by President Jean Mayer who notesthat this country "is only beginning to merge [sie] from a single-issueperiod, following what is known as the Vietnam era." He pointsout that the rise in the single-issue groups at the state and federallevels is accompanied by academics who would "attempt to dealwith ... [issues] in isolation, as if there were no offsetting conditions,costs, interests that ought to be looked at rather carefully before ac­tions are advocated."

Group decision making is a complex phenomenon. Mayer aptly citesH. L. Mencken in this regard: "For every complex problem there isone simple obvious solution-and it is wrong." I am reminded of thebumper sticker on the car of a colleague in educational research: "WeLive in a Multivariate World."

What has been learned about the processes and dynamics that ob­tain when groups make decisions? This volume contains some usefulstudies for any who would be engaged in group decisions and their

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products. I would think these studies and findings would be particularlyhelpful to the scholar and practitioner in educational administrationand educational policy study. Because the analysis is from severalperspectives (social psychology, political science, philosophy) thephenomenon is seen in its true complexity.

Group decision making varies by virtue of group composition (c.g.,whether or not bias can be offset and individual members can directtheir efforts toward group objectives and whether group memberspossess characteristics appropriate for the task), group cohesiveness,accuracy of assessment of the decision-making task, and leadershipquality. Interesting findings about such variables have emerged. Groupcohesiveness, for example, is not necessarily a plus. In some instances,where group members have close rapport, they also refrain from mutualcriticism of decision concepts and strategies and consequently arriveat closure prematurely. Such "groupthink" is exemplified in the Bayof Pigs decision, about which Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., has commentedpoignantly in retrospect:

In the months after the Bay of Pigs I bitterly reproached myself for havingkept so silent. .. I can only explain my failure to do more than raise afew timid questions by reporting that one's impulse to blow the whistleon this nonsense was simply undone by the circumstances of the discussion.

Essentially the same group was able to avoid groupthink not long after­ward in the Cuban missile crisis. What was the basis for the differentbehavior? Between the Bay of Pigs decision and the Cuban missilecrisis President Kennedy appointed "intellectual watchdogs" and devil'sadvocates to his decision group, the National Security Council. Asa result, the group examined a broader set of alternatives and chosea course of action that was acceptable to both the United States andthe Soviet Union, and the confrontation was resolved without militaryintervention.

Two chapters arc highlighted in the balance of this review. Onedeals with ethical aspects of group decision making, and the otherwith social risk assessment. The treatment of ethics in group decisionmaking is a matter often mentioned in popular discussion, but seldomtreated in a systematic analysis. The author of this chapter begins witha fundamental distinction between the process by which group deci­sions are made and the results of that process. At one point, he comesdangerously close to separating the two phenomena so that means and

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ends would become unrelated (namely, "In some cases, a group self­consciously undertakes to reach what it regards as an ethically correctdecision. .. In such cases, the admittedly nonethical aspects of thedecision (e.g., the costs of implementing it) may be deliberatelyignored"). How the economic consequences of a decision can be un­coupled from the ethics of the decision escapes me.

The analysis then goes on to use as a case study the controversyabout divestment of holdings in corporations doing business in or withSouth Africa. The argument is divided into two contrary components.One, the "clean hands argument," holds that "quite apart from anyeffects from divestment that might mitigate or eliminate apartheid itself,those who dissociate themselves by selling off their investments avoidgetting their hands any dirtier than they already are." The other argu­ment, the "leverage argument," holds that "corporations doingbusiness in South Africa could help diminish and even end the wrong­doing that apartheid involves." The analysis of the case reads as ifit were constructed prior to the events of the last year or so. Today,major leaders such as Bishop Tutu and Winnie Mandella are arguingfor divestment as leverage against the minority white hegemony thatcontrols the nation and still desperately clings to apartheid. Divest­ment is not a means in isolation or solely a means for cleaning upone's hands. It is an element in a strategy to an end-undercuttingapartheid by threatening the economic base of the government thatsupports it. Nor is holding investments as leverage an efficientmeans for ending apartheid. The fact of the matter is that corpora­tions doing business with South Africa have not noticeably helped todiminish the policy.

Overall, the chapter stresses ethical processes for group decisionmaking (not an unimportant matter) at the expense of the politicaldynamics within which ethical issues frequently are embedded.Those using this chapter for instructional purposes will need torelate it to the often intractable issues and arguments that surroundgroup decisions.

The chapter on social risk assessment also utilizes a case study ap­proach. Here the case deals with the recombinant DNA controversy.It will be recalled that in this regard technical expertise and popularopinion often have come to swords' points, even in such enlightenedcenters as Cambridge, Massachusetts. The relation of technical exper­tise to popular response is an apt approach to another current issueconfronting many educational institutions, especially school districts-

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which is their policy regarding AIDS victims. In the face of a current­ly incurable ailment-which has been given high exposure by the media,yet is little understood by the general public-school districts aredeveloping policies and procedures that deal with potential risk. ShouldAIDS-infected students attend regular classes? Is the risk of otherscontracting the disease acceptably low? Or, in another dimension,should the identity of the AIDS victim be kept confidential? Shouldothers know the victim's identity in order to avoid contact? Shouldthe victim go unidentified in order to avoid embarrassment andostracism? Critical decisions often entail risk. In the AIDS case, thepublic presently seems unwilling to assume risk. Frightened parentscaIl for blood tests of those suspected of having the disease and quaran­tine of those who do, even though an overwhelming majority of medicalopinion suggests that such measures are impossible to carry out andare not necessary. What should a school district's policy be?

Many administrators are unprepared to deal with the difficult ques­tions surrounding the notion of acceptable risk. This chapter providesuseful information and procedural recommendations.

The chapters on choosing presidential nominees and foreign policyare relevant for students in political science, but less so for the educa­tion professional. But the entire volume would be a very good textfor studies related to educational administration and educational policystudies. Although the chapters relate most closely to decision makersin the governmental and corporate sectors, the decision maker in educa­tion at any level, as well as associated evaluators, can profit from theresearch findings presented here. The principal flaw in the work isthe existence of annoying typographical errors at important points.

A GUIDE TO CRITERION-RH'ERENCED TESTCONSTRUCTION. Ronald A. Berk, Editor.

Reviewed by: James AIginaUniversity of Florida

According to the preface, this book is a major revision and extensionof Criterion Referenced Measurement: The State of the Art (Berk,1980a). The current volume consists of an introduction by Berk and11 chapters: