Effects of dominance on group decision making: Toward a stress-reduction explanation of groupthink.

Investigated the effects of procedural guidelines for decision making and a personality trait (dominance) on state anxiety and decision quality. 112 undergraduate students who served as Ss were administered the EPPS to determine high or low dominance. Ss participated in 28 4-person, mixed-sex groups and were audiorecorded while they completed a group decision-making task. Results indicate that groups composed of highly dominant members made higher quality decisions, exhibited lower state anxiety, and took more time to reach a decision. They also tended to make more statements of disagreement and agreement and to report more group influence on the members. Results provide support for a stress-reduction explanation of I. L. Janis's (1972) "groupthink" hypothesis with respect to groups composed of either high- or low-dominance individuals. Despite the support of the groupthink hypothesis with respect to dominance, the manipulation of decision-making procedures affected only decision time. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The power motive as an influence on group decision making.

40 groups of 5 undergraduates came together to discuss a business study case; each group member had a different role and a role sheet specifying items of information available only to him/her. The case featured most of the characteristics I. L. Janis (1972) identified as the kinds of policy decisions that produce "groupthink." Need for power was assessed by the TAT. Extreme top and bottom scorers were group leaders, and an attempt was made to create group cohesiveness in 20 groups by offering a reward for best group performance. Groups whose leaders scored low on the power motive brought more factual information from their role sheets into group discussion and considered more action proposals than did leaders who scored high. Group cohesiveness did not affect the quality of the decision-making process. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lexical influence in phonetic decision making: Evidence from subcategorical mismatches.

In 5 experiments, listeners heard words and nonwords, some cross-spliced so that they contained acoustic-phonetic mismatches. Performance was worse on mismatching than on matching items. Words cross-spliced with words and words cross-spliced with nonwords produced parallel results. However, in lexical decision and 1 of 3 phonetic decision experiments, performance on nonwords cross-spliced with words was poorer than on nonwords cross-spliced with nonwords. A gating study confirmed that there were misleading coarticulatory cues in the cross-spliced items; a sixth experiment showed that the earlier results were not due to interitem differences in the strength of these cues. Three models of phonetic decision making (the Race model, the TRACE model, and a postlexical model) did not explain the data. A new bottom-up model is outlined that accounts for the findings in terms of lexical involvement at a dedicated decision-making stage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group decision making and social influence: A social interaction sequence model.

Discusses the social interaction sequence (SIS) model, which represents the group decision-making process in terms of the sequential choice behavior—changes in preference and certainty—of group members. This model states that the probabilities of preference and certainty changes are related to the current distribution of opinion in the group. An application of the SIS model to a study of jury decision making (G. Strasser, 1977) is presented, and results of earlier empirical studies are predicted by a computer simulation version of the model. Shift and opinion change versions of the model are proposed, with both extensions incorporating the concept of a characteristic certainty distribution. Characteristic certainty distributions are used to examine the expected effects of group size and assigned-decision rule on members' confidence in a group's decision. (57 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Procedural influence in two-step group decision making: Power of local majorities in consensus formation.

Procedural influence in consensus formation across multiple subgroups was examined. When a cross-sectional decision must be established by a joint conference of all members, 2 consensus procedures are conceivable. The 2-stage procedure encourages each subgroup to coordinate its members' opinions prior to the joint conference; discussion follows 2 steps, first at the subgroup and then at the entire group level. In contrast, the single-stage procedure calls for the joint conference immediately to minimize the opportunities for opinion exchange at subgroups. It was predicted and confirmed that, compared with the single-stage method, the 2-stage procedure enhanced the power of local majorities at the subgroup level and hampered the tendency for the global majorities to prevail in the final decision. Numerical simulations further explored theoretical implications of distinguishing the local and global majorities for collective decision making. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group decision making and normative versus informational influence: Effects of type of issue and assigned decision rule.

Groups and individuals often shift their preferences following discussion of an issue. Explanations for such shifts typically invoke either informational or normative influence processes. The former refers to influence based on sharing of facts or persuasive arguments about the issue, and the latter refers to conformity to implicit decision norms and others' preferences. We investigated conditions under which one or the other influence mode predominates during discussion. Groups discussed and made decisions on either an intellective issue (attempting to discover the true or correct answer) or a judgmental issue (deciding on the moral, valued, or appropriate position), given either a unanimity or a majority decision rule. The largest shift in preference was found for the judgmental issue decided by unanimity rule. The least satisfaction with both the process and the outcome of discussion was found in groups that decided a judgmental issue under majority rule. Content analysis showed that, as expected, the intellective issue elicited more informational than normative influence, and the judgmental issue provoked more normative than informational influence. This pattern was stronger under unanimity rule than under majority rule. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of attitudes in memory-based decision making.

Frequently, considerable knowledge of the attributes of decision alternatives is available in memory so as to permit a thoughtful and deliberate choice. However, in many instances, individuals neglect to use such knowledge and instead rely on "attitude-based" strategy to make a memory-based decision. The findings from two experiments suggest that as the motivation to make a correct decision or the opportunity to use the available attribute knowledge decreases, the likelihood that attitudes will guide a memory-based decision increases. The findings illustrate the functional role attitudes play in guiding decisions and behavior. By providing a ready means of evaluating choice alternatives, attitudes enable an individual to make a decision relatively quickly and effortlessly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Authoritarian dynamics and unethical decision making: High social dominance orientation leaders and high right-wing authoritarianism followers.

When dilemmas require trade-offs between profits and ethics, do leaders high in social dominance orientation (SDO) and followers high in right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) make decisions that are more unethical than those made by others? This issue was explored in 4 studies with female participants performing managerial role-playing tasks. First, dyads comprising a person who was either low or high in SDO and a person who was either low or high in RWA negotiated for a leadership position. People high in SDO were more likely to obtain leader positions than to obtain follower positions. No other effects were significant. Second, leaders high in SDO partnered with an agreeable (confederate) follower made decisions that were more unethical than those of leaders low in SDO. Third, followers high in RWA were more acquiescent to and supportive of an unethical (confederate) leader than were followers low in RWA. Fourth, high SDO leader-high RWA follower dyads made decisions that were more unethical than those made in role-reversed dyads because leaders had more influence. Implications of these results for conceptualizing SDO, RWA, and authoritarian dynamics are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The value of voice in participative decision making.

Relying on concepts found in prospect theory (D. Kahneman & A. Tversky, 1979), the value function of voice-based participation (i.e., the relationship between the amount of voice received and the value attached to that quantity) was examined. In keeping with tenets of prospect theory, the value function of voice exhibited a nonlinear pattern. Points were identified in which voice displayed significant improvements and diminishing marginal returns on response measures of process fairness, decision control, and outcome satisfaction. Task meaningfulness, a moderator of voice-based participation, did not change the general shape of the value function but did influence the intensity of participant reactions at low and high levels of voice. Voice influence, a second moderator of voice-based participation, had minimal impact on participant responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Linear models in decision making.

A review of the literature indicates that linear models are frequently used in situations in which decisions are made on the basis of multiple codable inputs. These models are sometimes used (a) normatively to aid the decision maker, (b) as a contrast with the decision maker in the clinical vs statistical controversy, (c) to represent the decision maker "paramorphically" and (d) to "bootstrap" the decision maker by replacing him with his representation. Examination of the contexts in which linear models have been successfully employed indicates that the contexts have the following structural characteristics in common: each input variable has a conditionally monotone relationship with the output; there is error of measurement; and deviations from optimal weighting do not make much practical difference. These characteristics ensure the success of linear models, which are so appropriate in such contexts that random linear models (i.e., models whose weights are randomly chosen except for sign) may perform quite well. 4 examples involving the prediction of such codable output variables as GPA and psychiatric diagnosis are analyzed in detail. In all 4 examples, random linear models yield predictions that are superior to those of human judges. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The ultimate sampling dilemma in experience-based decision making.

Computer simulations and 2 experiments demonstrate the ultimate sampling dilemma, which constitutes a serious obstacle to inductive inferences in a probabilistic world. Participants were asked to take the role of a manager who is to make purchasing decisions based on positive versus negative feedback about 3 providers in 2 different product domains. When information sampling (from a computerized database) was over, they had to make inferences about actual differences in the database from which the sample was drawn (e.g., about the actual superiority of different providers, or about the most likely origins of negatively valenced products). The ultimate sampling dilemma consists in a forced choice between 2 search strategies that both have their advantages and their drawbacks: natural sampling and deliberate sampling of information relevant to the inference task. Both strategies leave the sample unbiased for specific inferences but create errors or biases for other inferences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal decision making: The resolution of a dyadic conflict.

"The cooperative resolution of a dyadic conflict was studied as a special case of decision making. Two subjects were required to select a joint decision. The instructions and the task were designed to induce a reasoning set and achievement orientation. The efficiency of the joint decisions was related to the type of choice situation (conflict), the magnitude of individual differences, and the nature and amount of interpersonal influence (interaction). Latency and rationality of choice were the measures of efficiency. Maximal inefficiency was associated with the possibility of gambling, outcomes of loss rather than of gain, moderate individual differences, increasing degrees of verbal interaction, and a weak leader-follower relationship. The dyadic resolution of a decision conflict was conservative in strategy." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3GE14A. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Brain evoked potentials reflect how emotional faces influence our decision making.

Emotion is usually not discussed as a relevant variable in rational models of decision making—but may be one. The present electroencephalographic study demonstrates the influence of emotional primes (angry, happy faces) on purchase decisions. In a within-subject design, pictures of an apartment were shown to participants who then had to make Go/NoGo decisions on whether to rent it. Their decision should be based either on its price or on its brightness. In two thirds of the trials, emotional prime pictures of happy versus unhappy faces preceded the purchase target (apartment); in one third of the trials no prime was given. Response certainty was evaluated by means of reaction times (RT) and peak amplitude of the event-related potential N200. Facial primes accelerated decisions (RT) irrespective of affective expression. Positive face primes elicited larger N200 amplitudes during purchase decision compared to negative ones. Price-based decisions were made faster and elicited larger N200 than brightness-based decisions. These results support the cognitive-tuning model of decision making and validate the N200 as sensitive measure for the interplay of cognitive and affective aspects in decision making. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temporal horizons in decision making.

The perception of duration is crucial when we make choices between immediate and delayed rewards. Immediate rewards are valued more than the same rewards if they are delayed. Preferences for earlier rewards become even stronger when the reward can be received within a subjectively proximate time frame. A “rational” decision to wait for a delayed reward may be overruled by an “impulsive” choice when the option for the closer reward falls within this proximate time range. Based on findings on circadian and circannual physiological rhythms, we suggest that there are 2 time units that are both biologically and culturally determined and have an impact on human experience and behavior: the day and the year. We highlight results of a neuroimaging study showing that rewards with delays up to 1 year are discounted differently than reward delays longer than 1 year. This duration-dependent discounting is associated with specific brain activation in the striatum. We present various conceptualizations of subjective time incorporated in parametric models of intertemporal decisions that may lead to a better understanding of human choice behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of member participation and commitment in group decision making on influence, satisfaction, and decision riskiness.

Divided 120 psychology students into 40 3-member groups assigned to discuss structured decision issues. Participation in only 1 of 3 decision-making phases (generation, evaluation, or choice) constituted partial participation, in contrast to complete participation. Group members were committed or not committed to carrying out the decisions reached. Results indicate that perceived intragroup influence and satisfaction were greatest with complete participation. With partial participation, influence and satisfaction were greatest in the choice phase. Although perceived influence was greater under commitment conditions, satisfaction was greater under noncommitment conditions. Decision riskiness was affected by neither treatment. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical decision making in the prediction of falls.

Objective: Examine rehabilitation professionals' capacity to identify risk factors for patient falls. Design: Survey study. Setting: Three academic medical center rehabilitation departments. Participants: Fifty-six rehabilitation specialists representing disciplines typically involved in patient care, including physiatry and occupational, physical, recreation, and speech therapy. Measures: A 2-part, self-report questionnaire with spontaneous and cued rank-order listing of factors related to fall risk. Results: Clinicians did not consider advanced age and history of falling when spontaneously delineating risks for falls. The importance of fall history, but not of advanced age, was recognized through cueing. Conclusions: Clinicians appear aware of strong predictors of fall risk but require cueing to consistently use them. Cueing increased hypothetical predictive accuracy, although clinicians still downplayed some of the most salient predictive factors. Staff education regarding validated fall risk factors and potential errors in clinical decision making can improve patient care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The emergence of coherence over the course of decision making.

Previous research has indicated that decision making is accompanied by an increase in the coherence of assessments of the factors related to the decision alternatives. In the present study, the authors investigated whether this coherence shift is obtained before people commit to a decision, and whether it is obtained in the course of a number of other processing tasks. College students were presented with a complex legal case involving multiple conflicting arguments. Participants rated agreement with the individual arguments in isolation before seeing the case and after processing it under various initial sets, including playing the role of a judge assigned to decide the case. Coherence shifts were observed when participants were instructed to delay making the decision (Experiment 1), to memorize the case (Experiment 2), and to comprehend the case (Experiment 3). The findings support the hypothesis that a coherence-generating mechanism operates in a variety of processing tasks, including decision making. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptive strategy selection in decision making.

The role of effort and accuracy in the adaptive use of decision processes is examined. A computer simulation using the concept of elementary information processes identified heuristic choice strategies that approximate the accuracy of normative procedures while saving substantial effort. However, no single heuristic did well across all task and context conditions. Of particular interest was the finding that under time constraints, several heuristics were more accurate than a truncated normative procedure. Using a process-tracing technique that monitors information acquisition behaviors, two experiments tested how closely the efficient processing patterns for a given decision problem identified by the simulation correspond to the actual processing behavior exhibited by subjects. People appear highly adaptive in responding to changes in the structure of the available alternatives and to the presence of time pressure. In general, actual behavior corresponded to the general patterns of efficient processing identified by the simulation. Finally, learning of effort and accuracy trade-offs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonrational processes in ethical decision making.

Most current ethical decision-making models provide a logical and reasoned process for making ethical judgments, but these models are empirically unproven and rely upon assumptions of rational, conscious, and quasilegal reasoning. Such models predominate despite the fact that many nonrational factors influence ethical thought and behavior, including context, perceptions, relationships, emotions, and heuristics. For example, a large body of behavioral research has demonstrated the importance of automatic intuitive and affective processes in decision making and judgment. These processes profoundly affect human behavior and lead to systematic biases and departures from normative theories of rationality. Their influence represents an important but largely unrecognized component of ethical decision making. We selectively review this work; provide various illustrations; and make recommendations for scientists, trainers, and practitioners to aid them in integrating the understanding of nonrational processes with ethical decision making. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)