Organizational Goals and the Behavior of Informal Leaders

Abstract

In an experimental prison camp the goal of treatment and particularly its effects on processes of social control in the organization are related to the highly co-operative adaptation of the unofficial leaders. Interviews and questionnaires indicate that inmate leaders were likely to receive higher adjustment ratings and to manifest more favorable attitudes toward the camp officials, the camp itself, and its program of treatment than were non-leaders. Moreover, leaders were less likely to request transfer, to be transferred for disciplinary reasons, or to escape from the institution.