Pressure to cooperate: Is positive reward interdependence really needed in cooperative learning?

Background. Despite extensive research on cooperative learning, the debate regarding whether or not its effectiveness depends on positive reward interdependence has not yet found clear evidence. Aims. We tested the hypothesis that positive reward interdependence, as compared to reward independence, enhances cooperative learning only if learners work on a ‘routine task’; if the learners work on a ‘true group task’, positive reward interdependence induces the same level of learning as reward independence. Sample. The study involved 62 psychology students during regular workshops. Method. Students worked on two psychology texts in cooperative dyads for three sessions. The type of task was manipulated through resource interdependence: students worked on either identical (routine task) or complementary (true group task) information. Students expected to be assessed with a Multiple Choice Test (MCT) on the two texts. The MCT assessment type was introduced according to two reward interdependence conditions, either individual (reward independence) or common (positive reward interdependence). A follow‐up individual test took place 4 weeks after the third session of dyadic work to examine individual learning. Results. The predicted interaction between the two types of interdependence was significant, indicating that students learned more with positive reward interdependence than with reward independence when they worked on identical information (routine task), whereas students who worked on complementary information (group task) learned the same with or without reward interdependence. Conclusions. This experiment sheds light on the conditions under which positive reward interdependence enhances cooperative learning, and suggests that creating a real group task allows to avoid the need for positive reward interdependence.     

Understanding motivation for implementing cooperative learning methods: a value-based approach

Social Psychology of Education - The implementation of cooperative learning methods remains disparate in primary schools despite their widely recognised benefits. To explain this paradox, we first...     

Competitive conflict regulation and informational dependence in peer learning

The present set of studies investigates the role of competitive conflict regulation and informational dependence in peer learning. Previous studies have shown that peer work on identical information produces not only confrontation of viewpoints but also competitive conflict regulation, the latter of which is detrimental for learning. Conversely, working on complementary information produces positive interactions but also informational dependence, and good quality information transmission is needed to foster learning. The present research shows that discussion aids (note‐taking and access to the study materials during discussion), a variable related to the quality of informational input, moderated the relationship between information interdependence and learning. This moderation was mediated by competitive conflict regulation: Students who worked on identical information with discussion aids reported more competitive conflict regulation than those without discussion aids, which in turn reduced learning, a pattern that did not appear for students working on complementary information. Moreover, when students worked on complementary information, the good quality of information transmission elicited by discussion aids led to high levels of learning for all students. Contributions to research on resource interdependence, socio‐cognitive conflict, and peer learning are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Complementarity of Information and Quality of Relationship in Cooperative Learning

The effects of resource in(ter)dependence and quality of relationship with the partner on performance were studied during three sessions of cooperative dyadic work in order to examine the conditions under which cooperative learning can be more beneficial. This study was designed to test a hypothesis favouring the superiority of independence of resources (discussing identical information) against a hypothesis favouring the superiority of interdependence of resources (sharing complementary information). In each session, 64 students worked in dyads on two texts. Two roles were defined: summarizer and listener. Results showed that, though direct performance was higher when students discussed identical information, the quality and generality of information recalled a few months later did not differ between the two conditions. In the interdependence condition, listeners displayed poorer levels for direct performance. Participants were then dichotomized on the basis of their perceived quality of their relationship with the partner. With respect to direct performance, a more positive relationship allowed listeners in the interdependence condition to perform as well as summarizers, while a less positive relationship was detrimental for listeners. Conversely, as for recall, listeners in the interdependence condition who perceived a more positive relationship performed more poorly than summarizers, while listeners who perceived a less positive relationship performed as well as summarizers. When students shared identical information, neither roles nor quality of relationship affected recall. Results are discussed in terms of degree of partners' dependence and potential effects of socio-cognitive conflict (Doise & Mugny, 1984). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.