  A recent analysis of experimental energy systematics suggests that all
collective nuclei fall into one of three classes -- seniority, anharmonic
vibrational, or rotational -- with sharp phase transitions between them. We
investigate the transition from the seniority to the anharmonic vibrator regime
within a shell model framework involving a single large j-orbit. The
calculations qualitatively reproduce the observed transitional behavior, both
for U(5) like and O(6) like nuclei. They also confirm the preeminent role
played by the neutron-proton interaction in producing the phase transition.
