Group performance and decision making

Theory and research on small group performance and decision making is reviewed. Recent trends in group performance research have found that process gains as well as losses are possible, and both are frequently explained by situational and procedural contexts that differentially affect motivation and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of psychology 2004-01, Vol.55 (1), p.623-655
Main Authors: KERR, Norbert L, TINDALE, R. Scott
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Cognition. Intelligence
Cooperative Behavior
Decision Making
Decision making. Choice
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Goals
Group Processes
Groups
Humans
Motivation
Psychological aspects
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Small groups
Social Behavior
Social interactions. Communication. Group processes
Social psychology
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Summary:Theory and research on small group performance and decision making is reviewed. Recent trends in group performance research have found that process gains as well as losses are possible, and both are frequently explained by situational and procedural contexts that differentially affect motivation and resource coordination. Research has continued on classic topics (e.g., brainstorming, group goal setting, stress, and group performance) and relatively new areas (e.g., collective induction). Group decision making research has focused on preference combination for continuous response distributions and group information processing. New approaches (e.g., group-level signal detection) and traditional topics (e.g., groupthink) are discussed. New directions, such as nonlinear dynamic systems, evolutionary adaptation, and technological advances, should keep small group research vigorous well into the future.
ISSN:0066-4308
1545-2085
DOI:10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.142009