Does the Stepladder Technique improve group decision making? A series of failed replications.

Past research has demonstrated the effectiveness of a structured group decision-making technique, termed the Stepladder Technique, in improving group decisions. The purpose of the present series of studies was to replicate and extend this research. Five studies (three using different tasks than previous studies and two using the same task) compared the decision quality of groups using the self-paced Stepladder Technique to unstructured groups. In all studies, stepladder groups failed to perform better than unstructured groups. This failure to replicate and extend past research suggests that there are definite boundaries, such as the sample or the experimenter, which may limit the overall effectiveness of the Stepladder Technique. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extending the stepladder technique: An examination of self-paced stepladder groups.

The stepladder technique was developed to facilitate group effectiveness by sequentially entering members into a group. Unlike past research where the experimenter regulated the entry of members into a group (Rogelberg, Barnes-Farrell, & Lowe, 1992), this study examined 26 4-person stepladder groups that proceeded through the stepladder process at a self-determined pace (i.e., group members decide how much time to take at each step). Self-pacing stepladder groups produced significantly higher quality group decisions than did the 26 4-person conventional groups studied. Furthermore, members with the best individual decisions in self-pacing stepladder groups, on average, exerted the greatest amount of influence in their respective groups and had more influence on group decision quality than best members in conventional groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stepping up to the challenge: A critical examination of face-to-face and computer-mediated team decision making.

The stepladder technique was designed to improve team decision making by staggering members' entry into a discussion (S. G. Rogelberg, J. L. Bames-Farrell, & C. A. Lowe, 1992). After examining the real and perceived influence exerted by members joining the discussion at different stepladder stages, the authors compared the technique's effects on face-to-face versus computer-mediated teamwork. They also tested the impact of electronic communication on members' perceptions of their collaborative processes. Results did not support the hypothesis that stepladder members joining the discussion early in the procedure enjoy disproportionate amounts of perceived influence, yet a prediction concerning the stepladder technique's incongruent effects across different communication media was partially upheld. As expected, face-to-face participants felt more influential and satisfied than their computer-mediated counterparts, regardless of decision technique. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group performance in a cognitive task.

On a cross-word puzzle task performed by 60 pairs of male Ss, correlations between group performance and performance of the individuals (independently determined) were calculated. 82% of the true group performance variance on the task could be predicted from the individual performance scores. "It is suggested that the nature of the task is important in studies of group performance, and that the existence of 'group' phenomena should be empirically demonstrated rather than assumed." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A survey of studies contrasting the quality of group performance and individual performance, 1920-1957.

Research contrasting the quality of group performance with individual performance in each of the following general topic areas has been examined in this paper: judgment, learning, social facilitation, problem solving, memory, size of group, problem solving in more realistic situations, and productivity. Recent theoretical and methodological considerations as well as discussions of group types are included. Research weakness and theoretical problems are discussed. 74 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using trained "developmental" discussion leaders to improve further the quality of group decisions.

To test the value of a group discussion technique, 22 students, each leading in discussions 2 groups of 3 persons each, were classified as untrained developmental leaders, trained leaders without prior experience with the case, and trained leaders who had the case previously. Recommendations about the case were given first from the point of view of the company and then from the point of view of the individual under discussion after decisions had been reached. These were compared with the E's preferred answer to the problem. "The results of the study provide strong evidence for the power of the developmental discussion technique for producing decisions of high quality." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leader's contribution to task performance in cohesive and uncohesive groups.

Army tank crews, B-29 bomber crews, antiaircraft artillery crews, and creative discussion groups provided data which were analyzed to determine the relationship between the leader's intelligence and group performance. Each sample was divided into cohesive and uncohesive groups, and the correlation between the leader's intelligence and group performance was computed. The results indicated consistently that the leader's intelligence predicts group performance in cohesive groups, but not in uncohesive groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some effects of varying combinations of group members on group performance measures and leadership behaviors.

This experiment tests whether individuals contribute differently to the group product depending on the other individuals with whom they are assembled. "This assembly effect on the group end-product is clearly distinguished from the contribution attributable to each individual of the group, considered separately." By using the Ball-and-Spiral Apparatus as a group task, this assembly effect was found significant, for the two experimental measures used, at the .05 and .08 levels. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research on assembly effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pride in group performance and group-task motivation.

This experiment tested the propositions that pride in one's group results from the members' perceptions of effective task performance of the group as a whole and is directly associated with high motivation toward the assigned task of the group. 25 3-man groups assigned to work on a simulated Air Defense task were distributed among 5 experimental conditions. The measure of task motivation was the amount of task-oriented discussion during a "break" period. "Evidence is cited supporting the hypothesis that the high group-task motivation results from a perception of interdependence among the group members with respect to the attainment of reward." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of work-group structure and certain task variables on group performance.

This investigation explored how team performance varies as a function of information processing demands and how the information-handling capacity of teams depends upon the requirements for internal transmission of information imposed by a communication structure. 3-man groups performed a simple "team" task under 2 different work structures, differing in the extent to which they required the transmission of information. "… the most difficult structure was that in which a larger proportion of information had to be relayed… from several different sources… . Errors for both structure conditions significantly increased when the rate of change of instrument readings increased." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of the psychophysical law to performance evaluation.

In the area of job performance, it was hypothesized that evaluations, e.g., "poor" to "excellent," were based ont the observation of "performance specimens" where a performance specimen is defined as "an incident of relevant performance which at the time of observation was classed as uncommonly effective or uncommonly ineffective." It was further hypothesized that the psychophysical law (y = kxn) would describe the relationship between the number of specimens observed (x) and resulting evaluations (y) of performance. Finally, it was hypothesized that Steven's criterion for prothetic continua would be satisfied—concave downward curve when ratio estimation scale values for sets of performance specimens are plotted against corresponding category scale values. Using simulated performance ratings as well as actual performance evaluations (performance ratings of apprentices, professors, supervisors, and executives) the above hypotheses appear to have been verified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A review of the relationships between personality and performance in small groups.

Studies included cover the period from 1900 to October 1957 and do not include those studies wherein children constitute the sample. The review is concerned with 7 personality characteristics (introversion-extraversion, dominance, interpersonal sensitivity, masculinity-feminity, conservatism, intelligence, and adjustment) and their relationship to such group behavior variables as leadership, popularity, conformity, task activity, total activity, and social-emotional activity. Most of the studies yielded low positive relationships, intelligence being the best predictor of individual behavior in the group. Considering the studies as a whole, the author is encouraged by the many clear trends which emerge. 151 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability, sex differences, and validity in the leaderless group discussion technique.

"Three leaderless Group Discussion judging techniques involving leadership rankings by observers, recorders, and participants were applied to 228 college subjects arranged in 19 all male and 19 mixed sex groups of six each. Judging-agreement within and among ranking conditions was high." Sex was not important. The results were so promising that this approach is recommended as both a predictor and a criterion. From Psyc Abstracts 36:05:5GF45K. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigating work group characteristics and performance over time: A replication and cross-cultural extension.

The authors tested a longitudinal work group model that focuses on the effects of several group characteristics on performance. One main objective was to replicate and extend D. Jung and J. J. Sosik's (1999) findings in both individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Results indicate that potency had a consistently positive relation to performance in the U.S. sample. This generalized to the Korean sample at Time 2. Performance at Time 1 had a positive relation to subsequent perceived homogeneity and outcome expectations for both samples. In the current study, preference for group work had no relation to group performance at Time 1; at Time 2, it was negatively related to performance among Koreans and positively among Americans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group performance as function of task difficulty and the group's awareness of member satisfaction.

Investigated the hypothesis that group effectiveness increases with increased member awareness of group satisfaction, and that this effect is greater for difficult than for easy tasks. 5-person groups attempted 3 tasks differing in difficulty, under 3 conditions of satisfaction feedback: no feedback, overt feedback, and covert feedback. In the overt condition, Ss publicly indicated their satisfaction with the problem-solving process, whereas in the covert condition their satisfaction was indicated anonymously. The results supported the hypothesis. It was suggested that valid communication of satisfaction leads to more complete use of members' contributions, and hence improves performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of individual cognitive ability and idea stimulation on idea-generation performance.

A computer-based group idea-generation simulator was used to measure the performance of individuals with high and low cognitive ability who received high- or low-quality stimulation; high- and low-quality stimulation was operationalized by presenting controlled idea submissions from simulated group members throughout the idea-generation session. Cognitive ability and stimuli quality interacted such that the high cognitive ability/high-quality stimuli treatment achieved the highest performance. The results suggest that the performance of individuals with high cognitive ability can be enhanced when given high-quality stimuli or be inhibited when exposed to low-quality stimuli. The performance of individuals with low cognitive ability, in contrast, is consistently meager regardless of stimuli quality. The findings suggest that group composition cannot only significantly influence the overall ideational performance of a group, but also that of individual group members. The implications of these findings for future research, as well as the implications for the design of group idea-generation procedures, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigation of doubling as a technique for involving severely withdrawn patients in group psychotherapy.

This study investigated the efficacy of a psychodrama technique, doubling, in promoting participation in a group therapy experience by extremely withdrawn patients. The double in classical psychodrama serves both as an auxiliary ego for the patient and as a model from which the withdrawn patient may learn effective group participation skills. Two experimental groups and one control group were used for the study. In one of the experimental groups, doubling was discontinued after 15 of 40 group sessions, while in the other, doubling was used for 35 sessions. Analyses demonstrated significant increases in participation for Ss in both experimental groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict's consequences: Effects of social motives on postnegotiation creative and convergent group functioning and performance.

Two studies tested the effects of social motives during negotiation on postnegotiation group performance. In both experiments, a prosocial or a proself motivation was induced, and participants negotiated in 3-person groups about a joint market. In Experiment 1, groups subsequently performed an advertisement task. Consistent with the authors' predictions, results showed that proself groups performed worse on the convergent aspects of this task but better on the divergent aspects than prosocial groups. In Experiment 2, the authors manipulated social motive and negotiation (negotiation vs. no negotiation), and groups performed a creativity task (requiring divergent performance) or a planning task (requiring convergent performance). Proself groups showed greater dedication, functioned more effectively, and performed better than prosocial groups on the creativity task, whereas prosocial groups showed greater dedication, functioned more effectively, and performed better than proself groups on the planning task, and these effects only occurred when the task was preceded by group negotiation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Talking about time: Effects of temporal planning and time awareness norms on group coordination and performance.

Planning is often central to effective coordination and task performance in work groups. Although planning pertains to efforts aimed at establishing objectives, generating subtasks, and creating role or task assignments, it also encompasses discussions about time and temporal issues. This article highlights the importance of temporal planning in groups, especially as it relates to effective coordination and task performance. Specifically, the results of a survey study of 48 self-managing project groups revealed that higher levels of initial temporal planning contributed to the formation of group norms that emphasize awareness of and attention to time. These time awareness norms were found to mediate the effect of temporal planning on coordination and task performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivations to work and organizational performance.

Measures of 3 types of motivation to work were related to 2 criteria of job performance, both of which reflect the degree to which the organization has rewarded individual behaviors. In the white-collar sample (N = 1047), composed largely of technical personnel, low performers were motivated primarily by the social environment of the job and, to a lesser extent, by the opportunity of gaining recognition through advancement; few significant relationships were found between intrinsic self-actualizing motivations and job performance. In the blue-collar sample (N = 421), no significant relationships were found between any of the motivational measures and job performance. With advancing age and tenure, work became more meaningful for high performers but less meaningful for low performers, although the importance of the social environment increased for both high and low performers. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)