Expertise in Group Problem Solving: Recognition, Social Combination, and Performance.

This laboratory study assessed how recognition of expertise affects group decision making and performance. Three-person groups and independent individuals solved 4 intellective problem-solving tasks in 3 experimental conditions: 4 individual tasks, 1 individual task followed by 2 group tasks followed by 1 individual task, or 1 individual task followed by 2 group tasks (with intragroup rankings) followed by 1 individual task. Findings indicate that (a) both groups with ranking information and groups without are fairly well calibrated with respect to expertise, (b) group decisions were best approximated by "expert-weighted" decision schemes in which the highest performing member of the group has twice the influence of other group members, and (c) groups performed at the level of the best of an equivalent number of individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)