Week 6

Question 1

what is collective rationality?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

what is the Prisoners Dilemma? (Hardin, 1968)

Answer 2

• 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

Question 3

what would individual rationality do in the prisoners dilemma?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

what is collective action?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

what is collective reason?

Answer 5

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

Question 6

what is the difference between collective action and reason?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

what is Kurt Lewin’s (1951) field theory?

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

what is a group?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

why can groups make better decisions than individuals?

Answer 9

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

Question 10

what happens when groups follow Forsyth’s (2010) model of group decision making?

Answer 10

groups that follow this model are more likely to make better decisions

Question 11

when are groups less helpful?

Answer 11

when you require speed eg quick turnaround, careful concentration and sustained attention.

Question 12

how does shared information bias act as a risk of group decision making?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

when is shared information bias stronger?

Answer 13

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),

Question 14

what do people consider shared information to be?

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

how do you avoid shared information bias?

Answer 15

• 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)

Question 16

what is status differentials?

Answer 16

• Status refers to social standing within the group.
• Status differentials are usually present in groups as members occupy low- and high-status positions.

Question 17

what are the two status sources?

Answer 17

• 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.

Question 18

what do high status individuals do?

Answer 18

• 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

Question 19

what do low status members do?

Answer 19

may be tempted to agree with higher status members in order to ingratiate themselves, or they may feel afraid to speak up

Question 20

what are group norms?

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

what are the personality factors why people conform to group norms?

Answer 21

• More intelligent members typically less conforming.
• Members with high affiliation needs typically more conforming especially if group meets those needs

Question 22

what are the stimuli factors that explain why people conform to group norms?

Answer 22

Conformity to norms usually higher when the group faces threats or high uncertainty.

Question 23

what are the situational factors for why people conform to group norms?

Answer 23

• Conformity higher in large groups.
• Mechanistic management styles tend to produce conformity.
• Long established groups more prone to conformity than temporary groups

Question 24

what are the consequences of conformity?

Answer 24

• 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)

Question 25

what are the consequences of violating group norms?

Answer 25

• Groups punish deviance
• Ignored
• De-valued
• Pressure to comply
• Rejection from the group

Question 26

what is groupthink according to Janis (1972)?

Answer 26

• its another source of pressure to conform, however, unlike conformity to norms where members deliberately withhold their views, groupthink occurs as
  members un-consciously suppress their views rather than upset the cosy atmosphere
  = therefore more dangerous than group norms as its done unconsciously

Question 27

what is the first of three symptoms of group think?

Answer 27

1. Overestimation of the group
   - Illusions of invulnerability (Members feel that they are performing well, even though they were not)
   - Illusions of morality (believe in the inherent morality of their group and its decisions)

Question 28

what is the second of three symptoms of groupthink?

Answer 28

2. Closed-mindedness
   - Rationalisation – closed-minded—rigidly shut off from alternatives, merely seeking
   to bolster their initial decision through rationalization
   - Stereotyping outgroup(s) during group discussions

Question 29

what is the third symptom of groupthink?

Answer 29

3. Pressures toward uniformity
   - Self-censorship - personal ban on expressing disagreements about the group’s decisions.
   - Illusion of unanimity
   - Direct pressure ~ Mindguards - who shielded the group from information that would
   shake the members’ confidence in themselves or their leader. diverts controversial information away from the group by losing it, forgetting to mention it, or deeming it irrelevant and thus unworthy of the group’s attention. Alternatively, the mindguard may take dissenting members aside and pressure them to keep silent

Question 30

what are consequences of groupthink?

Answer 30

• Superficial problem analysis
• Partial and biased information search
• Discussion confined to only a few alternatives
• Poor assessment of options
• Failure to develop proper contingency plans

Question 31

how is risky and cautious shift another source of decision error in groups?

Answer 31

• risky: Refers to the possible tendency of a group to take a more risky decision than
  individual working alone would make.
• cautious: Refers to the possible tendency of the group to take a more cautious decision than an individual working alone might
  take.
• Remember: decision error can occur as a result of not taking a risk.

Question 32

how is polarisation another source of decision error in groups?

Answer 32

The tendency for members of a deliberating group to move to a more extreme position, with the direction of the shift determined by the majority or average of
the members’ pre-deliberation preferences. (More risky/cautious)

Question 33

How does social comparison theory and persuasive arguments cause polarisation?

Answer 33

1. Social comparison theory suggests, individuals spontaneously compare
   themselves to others, and if they find a difference between their view and the group’s, they may move toward the group’s view (Sanders & Baron, 1977).
2. Persuasive Arguments - Group members also change their opinions in response to others’ arguments and ideas. If, for example, the discussion reveals several strong arguments that favor Plan A rather than Plan B, members will shift in that direction.

Question 34

how can you manage status differentials?

Answer 34

• If possible, avoid extreme status differences when selecting group members.
• Ensure high status group members refrain from giving their views until more junior members have spoken.
• Ask the most junior members to speak first.
• Interject and ask more junior members to speak.
• Offer psychological support to junior members.

Question 35

how can you reduce impact of group norms?

Answer 35

• If possible, keep the size of the group small.
• Adopt a lively and unpredictable (organic) management style to prevent discussion becoming predictable.
• Actively solicit members’ private views.
• Observe behaviour within the group

Question 36

how do you prevent groupthink?

Answer 36

• Insist upon analytical rigour.
• Establish a parallel group.
• Involve outsiders in the discussion.
• Use sub-groups to generate and evaluate options.
• Insist upon contingency plans.
• Treat all decisions as tentative and take time to reflect before making a final decision.
• If all else fails, you may have to dissolve the group or introduce a substantial proportion of new members