Aurelius Augustine on Imagination

The evaluation of a person seeking or volunteering information in cooperatively or competitively oriented problem solving groups was investigated in 63 white and black, male and female, high school and college students. It was hypothesized that under cooperative conditions the seeking of information would be evaluated more positively than would the volunteering of information, while under competitive conditions the volunteering of information would be evaluated more positively than would the seeking of information. A highly trained confederate (C) engaged in either the seeking of information or the volunteering of information in four-person problem solving groups in which Ss were either cooperatively or competitively oriented. Ss rated Cs on eight bipolar scales. The results confirmed the hypothesis.     

Framing and Group Decision-Making: Do Cognitive Changes Parallel Preference Changes?

Subjects had their initial frames of reference concerning a decision problem (Asian Disease problem; Tversky & Kahneman, 1981, Science,211, 453–458) manipulated in order to compose four-person groups containing members with different frames of reference. Three different group compositions (number of members with "gain-oriented" vs "loss-oriented" frames) were used: three gain-oriented and one loss oriented (3–1), two gain-oriented and two loss-oriented (2–2), and one gain-oriented and three loss-oriented (1–3). Results indicated a postgroup discussion choice shift toward the risk alternative in the 2–2 and the 1–3 composition conditions. However, changes in members′ frames of reference were unrelated to preference changes. Group composition also affected group decision processes. Implications for future theory and research in small group decision-making are discussed.     

Mediation of Social Density by Coalition Formation1

Past research has indicated that three-person groups are more likely to produce isolates than two-person groups, with isolates experiencing the greatest difficulties, least confidence, and most intense crowding stress. The present study extended these findings by examining the role of coalition formation as a mediator of social density in three- and four-person groups using a survey technique. As expected, coalition formation between two roommates, resulting in one or more isolates, was more likely to occur in three-person than four-person groups. Consistent with previous research, isolates in both three- and four-person groups reported more crowding, more somatic complaints, dissatisfaction with room and roommates, difficulty in maintaining control, and less confidence in their ability to regulate social interaction than nonisolates. Tripled isolates, however, consistently reported more significant feelings of not being understood by roommates and loneliness, as well as greater exclusion from group decisions, more extreme difficulties in maintaining control and regulating social interaction, and more intense crowding stress. Counterintuitively, with an increase in group size from three to four, reported crowding stress did not increase. Implications for group dynamic processes in ameliorating some of the problems associated with crowding stress are discussed.     

How to achieve synergy in group decision making: Lessons to be learned from the hidden profile paradigm

Based on over 25 years of research on hidden profiles and information sharing in groups, and particularly our own work in this area, we outline a general model of how groups can achieve better decisions in a hidden profile situation than their individual members would have been capable of (i.e., synergy). At its core the model defines intensity and bias as the two key parameters that have to be optimised with regard to both the discussion of information and the processing of information in order to ensure synergy in group decision making. We review the empirical literature on information sharing and group decision making in the hidden profile paradigm (with a particular focus on our own studies) to illustrate how group decision quality can be enhanced by increasing intensity and decreasing bias in the discussion and processing of information. Finally we also outline why we think that the lessons learned from research using the hidden profile paradigm can be generalised to group decision-making research in general, and how these lessons can stimulate studies in other fields of group decision-making and group performance research.     

A Study of Stereotyped Thinking: Affective Reactions to Persons as the Basis for Judging their Nationality

Summary

Thirty female Ss and one female confederate enrolled in introductory psychology courses participated in the experiment. Each discussion group consisted of two naive Ss and the confederate. The effect of quality of argument on eye contact and the relationship between leadership votes and eye contact were studied. It was found that (a) when the confederate gave high quality arguments she received more eye contact and more leadership votes from naive group members (t = 3.69, p < .01, t = 5.36, p < .01, respectively); (b) when ranked on a leadership questionnaire, the confederate was ranked significantly higher in the high quality condition than in the low quality condition (X ² = 41.00, p < .001); (c) the correlation between eye contact and leadership votes across quality conditions was r = .69, p < .01.     

The Quality of Group Decisions,Group Verbal Behavior,and Intervention

Individuals bring beliefs and knowledge to group meetings. Group decisions arise out of the exchange of these beliefs and knowledge. Because group interactions are mainly verbal, group verbal behavior should play a central role in determining the quality of group decisions, and process interventions should change group verbal behavior. Subjects were 168 new employees in a Japanese drug company, who constituted 42 four-person groups. Treatment groups received the Consensual Conflict Resolution (CCR) intervention that emphasizes a knowledge-based logical discussion and consensual resolution of conflicts. The group task was the NASA Moon Survival problem. It was found that (1) the quality of group decisions increases to the extent that group members exchange facts and reasons (defined as a "reasoning" orientation of group verbal behavior) and decreases to the extent that group members stick to their positions (defined as a "positional" orientation), and (2) the CCR intervention increases the reasoning orientation and decreases the positional orientation, thereby improving the quality of group decisions.     

Emotional processes in risky and multiattribute health decisions

Objective: Here, we develop an integrative account of the roles of emotion in decision-making. In Part I, we illustrate how emotional inputs into decisions may rely on physiological signals from emotions experienced while making the decision, and we review evidence suggesting that the failure to represent the emotional meaning of options can often reduce decision quality. We propose that health-related decrements in the ability to generate emotional reactions lead people to inaccurately represent emotional responses and compromise decisions, particularly about risk. Part II explores complex decisions in which choice options involve trade-offs between positive and negative attributes. We first review evidence showing that difficult trade-off decisions generate negative affect and physiological arousal. Next, we propose that medical decision-making will be linked to short- and long-term stress and health outcomes.

Conclusion: In sum, this article proposes and reviews initial evidence supporting the effective use and management of emotional inputs as important to both clinical and non-clinical populations. Our approach will contribute to the understanding of patient-centred emotional decision-making and will inform medical decision aids.     

Self-image,perception of peers' risk acceptance and risky shift

Twelve four-person female groups of subjects displaying the typical underestimation of their peers' (relative to their own) risk acceptance were compared with twelve groups of subjects who (slightly) overestimated their peers' risk acceptance. Risk level was measured by responses to a set of hypothetical decision situations known to elicit risky shift on the basis of previous research. Risky shift following group discussion was not found to be different for the two types of groups, casting doubt on the widely suggested role of peer underestimation in risky shift. Nor was risky shift affected by whether or not group members stated their individual decisions publicly at the close of discussion. Larger group risky shifts were accompanied by higher self-ratings given by group members on a number of polarity scales. In discussing the findings, we outline an explanation of group-induced shifts in risk taking, emphasizing the motivational and informational inducements provided by group discussion whereby group members come to discard their prior positions in favor of more aspired ones.     

Determinants of job mobility: A theoretical integration and extension

The goals of this paper are to conceptually integrate and extend the diverse literature on job mobility. We introduce a multi‐level theoretical framework that describes how individuals' job mobility unfolds. Three theoretical perspectives inform this framework. The structural perspective suggests that macro‐level factors (e.g. economic conditions and industry differences) determine the opportunity structure of job mobility in the labour market. The individual difference perspective suggests that dispositional attributes affect a person's preferences for and subsequent behaviours associated with job mobility. The decisional perspective, grounded in the theory of planned behaviour ( Ajzen, 1991 ), suggests that decisions to engage in job mobility are based on the evaluation of three factors: subjective norms, the desirability of the mobility option and individuals' readiness for change. The article concludes with a discussion of the multi‐level nature of determinants of job mobility and directions for future research.     

Motivated information processing and group decision-making: Effects of process accountability on information processing and decision quality

Integrating dual-process models [Chaiken, S., & Trope, Y. (Eds.). (1999). Dual-process theories in social psychology. NewYork: Guilford Press] with work on information sharing and group decision-making [Stasser, G., & Titus, W. (1985). Pooling of unshared information in group decision making: biased information sampling during discussion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 1467-1478.], we predicted that groups with high epistemic motivation engage in more information-driven and less preference-driven interaction, and achieve better decisions. An experiment manipulating process accountability showed that groups under process accountability experienced greater need for more information, repeated unshared information more often, and more often chose the correct decision alternative. Mediation analysis established that epistemic motivation produced high quality decisions because it stimulated systematic information processing. Results also revealed that preference heterogeneity stimulated information-driven interaction and led to higher decision quality.     

Group vs individual information processing: The effects of outcome feedback on decision making

Recent theories of individual decision making have emphasized the role of environmental feedback on decision performance and confidence. However, in relation to group decision making, feedback has received only minor attention. This study compared individual and group decision performance and confidence on a multicue personnel decision task under three different feedback conditions. Individuals and five-person groups decided whether to promote 48 different job candidates, and rated how confident they were in each of their decisions. Feedback as to the correctness of their decisions was provided after (a) every decision (Total Feedback), (b) only those decisions to promote the candidate (Partial Feedback), or (c) after none of the decisions (No Feedback). Results indicated that groups performed best under total feedback, while individuals performed best under partial feedback. In addition, greater amounts of feedback reduced individuals' confidence but had little effect on group member confidence. Implications for both current theory in decision making and group vs individual information processing are discussed.     

Recruiting Through Job Advertisements: The Effects of Cognitive Elaboration on Decision Making

We applied a model of persuasion – the elaboration likelihood model – to investigate whether individuals' decisions about responding to job advertisements are affected by how deeply they process recruitment messages (i.e., elaboration likelihood, EL). We manipulated individuals' (N=112) motivation and ability to carefully process job advertisements (ads). As hypothesized, individuals in the lower (vs. higher) EL conditions chose more ads containing cues unrelated to the job (e.g., bolded font), and fewer ads containing higher quality arguments. Participants also reported that they “skimmed” and carefully read job ads in the past, providing evidence for variability in EL among job seekers. We discuss the implications of the findings for recruiters who wish to increase the size of their applicant pool.     

Strong Vocational Interest Blank basic interest clusters and occupational satisfaction

A Q-factor analytic technique applied to the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) basic interest scales of 156 males yielded three bipolar factors described as conceptual (applied vs theoretical thinking); interpersonal (people vs things); and volitional (autonomy vs structure). From these results the investigators constructed a model for categorizing occupations into corresponding vocational areas: managerial vs academic, social vs physical sciences, and professional vs technical. Each individual's primary interest area and occupational status relative to the six corresponding areas was then determined. The degree of fit between interests and job categorization related significantly to ratings of job satisfaction (p < .001). Those findings are complementary to Holland's notion that interests are expressions of psychological needs and to Lofquist and Dawis' perception of interests and jobs as needs and need reinforcers.     

Influences of sex composition,decision rule,and decision consequences in small group policy making

Previous research has indicated sex differences in style of interaction for members in small groups. It was assumed that some of these sex differences could be attributed to demand characteristics in relation to specific topics discussed by group members in earlier investigations. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relative importance of two such demand characteristics, decision rule (consensus rule vs. majority rule), and decision consequence (high vs. low consequences), in addition to the sex composition of the group membership. Adherence to the group decision was also studied. On a topic previously rated as important, 16 four-person groups of males and the same number of female groups met and deliberated on a decision regarding an academic policy. Later these undergraduate students indicated their preference on the decision topic. The results showed male—female differences not accounted for by decision rule, decision consequence, or group decision post-test change. Explanation of the sex differences was offered in terms of varying academic aspiration levels and incongruency with attained academic achievement. The results also lend partial support for the importance of some operating demand characteristics, as yet unidentified.     

The Rank-Order Effect in Group Decision Making

Many studies indicate that group discussion candisproportionately reflect information known by all group members,at the expense of information known to only one group member, andthis is associated with suboptimal group decisions (Stasser &Titus, 1985). The present study examined the impact of threeprocedural factors on information sharing and quality of groupdecision: (a) group decision procedure (an instruction to "rankorder the alternatives" vs "choose the best alternative"), (b)information access during group discussion (reliance on memory vscomplete access), and (c) communication technology (computer vsface to face). Three-person groups worked on an investment decisionthat was structured as a hidden-profile task where criticalinformation was distributed unevenly prior to group discussion. Thedata provided support for a rank-order effect: Groups instructedto rank order the alternatives, compared to groups instructed tochoose the best alternative, were more likely to fully consider allof the alternatives, exchange information about unpopularalternatives, and make the best decision. But these effects onlyoccurred in face-to-face groups. In computer-mediated groups, therewas general information suppression and no effect of group decisionprocedure. Access to information during group discussion increaseddiscussion of both unique and common information, in theface-to-face conditions, but had no effect on group decisionquality. Taken together, the data suggest that procedural aspectsof group discussion may help overcome the impact of prediscussionpreferences on information processes and group decision.     

Further Observations on Group Judgments of Lifted Weights

With use of a sample of five kibbutzim and subjects from three cities in Israel, the hypothesis investigated was that the adults in the kibbutz would obtain higher scores than the other subjects in their perceptions of the past and present on the Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. These responses were compared to those of two groups from the United States, Jewish and non-Jewish. The total sample consisted of 160 Ss with 40 Ss in each of the four groups. It was also hypothesized that there would be less discrepancy in the perceptions of the future as compared to the past and present between Israeli and United States Ss. The hypotheses presented were supported by the data.

The kibbutz sample in expressing hopes and aspirations had a significantly higher number of Ss that desired world peace than the other three samples. The Israeli city sample in responding to aspirations had a significantly greater number of responses than the kibbutz for the following categories: having a good job, owning a house, and possessing wealth.

The Israeli city sample compared to the kibbutz had a significantly higher number of responses to a fear of a deterioration in the standard of living. The rank order correlation of the verbal responses indicated that the responses of the American Jewish group were more similar to both Israeli groups than the United States non-Jewish group.     

A Self‐regulation Perspective on Hidden‐profile Problems: If–Then Planning to Review Information Improves Group Decisions

In hidden‐profile (HP) problems, groups squander their potential to make superior decisions because members fail to capitalize on each other's unique knowledge (unshared information). A new self‐regulation perspective suggests that hindrances in goal striving (e.g., failing to seize action opportunities) contribute to this problem. Implementation intentions (if–then plans) are known to help deal with hindrances in goal striving; therefore, supporting decision goals with if–then plans should improve the impact of unshared information on group decisions. Indeed, in line with past research, control participants in two experiments rarely identified the best alternative despite monetary incentives and setting decision goals. In contrast, simply adding if–then plans to review advantages of the non‐preferred alternatives before making the final decision significantly increased solution rates. Process manipulations (Experiment 1) and measures (Experiment 2) indicate that conceptualizing HP problems as a self‐regulation challenge provides explanatory power beyond existing accounts. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

recruiter perceptions of information that employment references should provide to assist in making selection decisions

Authors investigated perceptions of campus recruiters (N = 168) in the San Francisco Bay Area regarding the importance of 15 types of information they solicit from job applicants' references in making selection decisions. Results suggest campus recruiters should consider 10 types of information to assist them in making selection decisions. Results also indicate that selected recruiters' demographic variables affect only 4 types of information job applicants' references should provide: decision‐making skills, computer skills, work ethic, and fit with the corporate culture and prospective coworkers. The implications of these results for both employment references and recruiters are discussed.     

Performance on a Following Tracking Task (Modified Sam Two-Hand Coordination Test) as a Function of Radius of Control Cranks

The influence of two deindividuating variables, altered responsibility and coaction in groups, on one's tendency to deliver noxious or helpful stimulation impulsively and in a cyclical pattern to a target person was investigated in a laboratory experiment with use of 96 male and female junior college students. Analysis of variance revealed that, as hypothesized, Ss who coacted in groups of three and who had the responsibility for their behavior removed delivered noxious (but not helpful) stimuli more impulsively than Ss who worked alone and were made to feel responsible (p < .01). Ss responded in a more cyclical pattern when delivering aversive tones than when delivering facilitating tones (p < .005). A marginally significant finding was that Ss in groups responded in a more cyclical pattern than Ss alone only when the response was seen as aversive. It was concluded that the probability of impulsive and cyclical aggression may be increased by altered responsibility and coaction.