Week 6 Flashcards
what is collective rationality?
Collective rationality is rational cooperation guided by collective reasoning (Townley 2008)
- there’s two types (Barry & Hardin 1982)
- A group process that aggregates individual decisions – collective action.
- A group decision made as a collective reaching unanimous agreement – collective reason
what is the Prisoners Dilemma? (Hardin, 1968)
- it illustrates a problem of collective action through a distinction between individual and collective or interdependent rationality.
- this illustrates collective rationality as the best outcome for the group, ie both of the prisoners so as a whole, is achieved when both prisoners and remain silent
what would individual rationality do in the prisoners dilemma?
it would lead each prisoner to defeat and testify against each other, therefore individual rationality chooses to minimise one’s own sentence conflicts with collective rationality which is choosing the option which is best for the group as a whole
what is collective action?
refers to the action taken together by a group of people whose goal is to enhance their status and achieve a common objective eg social movements strikes
what is collective reason?
refers to a situation where groups of individuals make decisions that are rational for groups as a whole even if those decisions might not be rational for each individual member of the group
what is the difference between collective action and reason?
collective action sees the power of the individual and collective reason is where we get unanimous agreement in the way we all manage to agree
- collective action is more open to manipulation as actions may only benefit some members of a group not all whereas collective reason is more idealistic
what is Kurt Lewin’s (1951) field theory?
based on the principle of interactionism, which assumes that the behaviour of people in groups is determined by the
interaction of the person and the environment.
- The formula B = ƒ(P,E) summarizes this assumption.
- In a group context, this formula implies that the behaviour (B) of group members is a function (ƒ) of the interaction of their personal characteristics (P)
with environmental factors (E), which include features of the group, the group members, and the situation.
what is a group?
involves interpersonal relationships, (people communicate verbally and non-verbally)
- Shared norms (regulate the relationships)
- Common objectives (often under leadership of some kind)
- High levels of interdependence between members
why can groups make better decisions than individuals?
Groups can make better decisions than individuals.
- This is because groups can bring a wide range of perspectives and mind sets to decision-making.
(increased rationality…?)
- Groups may be more committed to a decision made
collectively than one that is simply imposed without
consultation or discussion.
- as there’s more sources of rationality, group decision making is superior
what happens when groups follow Forsyth’s (2010) model of group decision making?
groups that follow this model are more likely to make better decisions
when are groups less helpful?
when you require speed eg quick turnaround, careful concentration and sustained attention.
how does shared information bias act as a risk of group decision making?
the tendency of groups to focus on info that is already known and shared by all or most team members, while rejecting information that is known by only one or a few members of the group
= this leads to suboptimal decision making as the group may fail to take into account important info that could’ve influenced the decision
when is shared information bias stronger?
The bias is strongest when groups work on judgmental tasks that do not have a demonstrably correct solution, as the goal of the group is to reach agreement rather than to find the right answer (Stewart &
Stasser, 1998).
- Members are striving to reach the best decision possible, but they have other motivations as well: they are trying to establish reputations for themselves, secure tighter bonds of attraction with others, and possibly compete with and succeed against other group members (Wittenbaum et al., 2004),
what do people consider shared information to be?
believe that people who discuss shared information are more knowledgeable, competent, and credible than are group
members who contribute unshared information to the discussion (Wittenbaum, Hubbell, & Zuckerman, 1999)
- Members, to make a good impression with the group, dwell on what everyone knows rather than on the points that only they understand.
how do you avoid shared information bias?
- Longer meetings - Groups can also avoid the shared
information bias if they spend more time actively discussing
their decisions (Larson, Foster-
Fishman, & Keys, 1994; Winquist & Larson, 1998). - Increasing the diversity of opinions within the group (Smith,
2008) - Using an advocacy approach rather than general discussion
(Greitemeyer et al., 2006) - Emphasizing the importance of dissent (Klocke, 2007)
- introducing the discussion as a new topic (new business) rather than a return to a previously discussed item (Reimer, Reimer, & Hinsz, 2008)
what is status differentials?
- Status refers to social standing within the group.
- Status differentials are usually present in groups as members occupy low- and high-status positions.
what are the two status sources?
- Ascribed status refers to the
prestige associated with a member’s role in the organizational hierarchy - Achieved status refers to the
social standing an individual
holds regardless of their position on the formal hierarchy.
what do high status individuals do?
- high status individuals may have more impact on decision- making because of who they are rather than the quality of their contributions, and ‘who’ they are can be ascribed or achieved.
- High status members
1. Conform most closely to group norms.
2. Initiate and receive most communications.
3. Have more power.
4. Tend to dominate the group
what do low status members do?
may be tempted to agree with higher status members in order to ingratiate themselves, or they may feel afraid to speak up
what are group norms?
- refers to informal rules of behaviour, that are written and develop over time
- norms reflect issues that are important to the group and can’t be imposed to be those outside of the group
- norms that don’t work tend to go away, they are learned behaviour
what are the personality factors why people conform to group norms?
- More intelligent members typically less conforming.
- Members with high affiliation needs typically more conforming especially if group meets those needs
what are the stimuli factors that explain why people conform to group norms?
Conformity to norms usually higher when the group faces threats or high uncertainty.
what are the situational factors for why people conform to group norms?
- Conformity higher in large groups.
- Mechanistic management styles tend to produce conformity.
- Long established groups more prone to conformity than temporary groups
what are the consequences of conformity?
- Group members consciously suppress their own views in favour
of the dominant viewpoint. - Meetings become routine
and predictable. - Important questions may
not be asked. (e.g., suppression)
