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Experimental research by social and cognitive psychologists has established that cooperative groups solve a wide range of problems better than the average individual. Cooperative problem solving groups of scientific researchers, auditors, financial analysts, air crash investigators, and forensic art experts are increasingly important in our complex and interdependent society. This comprehensive textbook--the first of its kind in decades--presents important theories and experimental research about group problem solving. The book focuses on tasks that have demonstrably correct solutions within mathematical, logical, scientific, or verbal systems, including algebra problems, analogies, vocabulary, and logical reasoning problems.
The book explores basic concepts in group problem solving, social combination models, group memory, group ability and world knowledge tasks, rule induction problems, letters-to-numbers problems, evidence for positive group-to-individual transfer, and social choice theory. The conclusion proposes ten generalizations that are supported by the theory and research on group problem solving.
"Group Problem Solving" is an essential resource for decision-making research in social and cognitive psychology, but also extremely relevant to multidisciplinary and multicultural problem-solving teams in organizational behavior, business administration, management, and behavioral economics.The first comprehensive textbook on group problem solving in decades Written by a recognized authority in the field An indispensable resource for social and cognitive psychologists, and social scientists interested in decision making and experimental methods
| Acknowledgments | p. xv |
| Basic Concepts in Group Problem Solving | p. 1 |
| Group Task, Structure, Process, and Product | p. 1 |
| Interpersonal Influence Processes | p. 3 |
| Group Tasks | p. 3 |
| Additive, Compensatory, Conjunctive, Disjunctive, and Complementary | p. 3 |
| Divisible and Unitary | p. 5 |
| Maximizing and Optimizing | p. 5 |
| Intellective and Judgmental | p. 5 |
| Summary | p. 6 |
| Laboratory Experimental Research on Group Problem Solving | p. 7 |
| Overview of Chapters | p. 7 |
| Social Combination Models | p. 8 |
| Marjorie Shaw's Classic Study | p. 8 |
| Experimental Designs | p. 10 |
| The Lorge and Solomon Model A | p. 10 |
| The Lorge and Solomon Model A as an Application of the Binomial Theorem | p. 12 |
| Smoke and Zajonc: Group Decision Schemes | p. 12 |
| Thomas and Fink: Extension to More Than Two Response Alternatives | p. 15 |
| Davis: Social Decision Scheme Theory | p. 16 |
| Model Testing and Model Fitting | p. 19 |
| Summary | p. 20 |
| Memory and Group Problem Solving | p. 22 |
| Recognition Memory | p. 23 |
| Transactive Memory | p. 25 |
| No Communication during Learning or Retrieval | p. 26 |
| Communication during Retrieval | p. 27 |
| Communication during Learning and Retrieval | p. 29 |
| Nine Propositions | p. 31 |
| Cognitive Interdependence and Convergent Expectations | p. 32 |
| Shared and Unshared Information | p. 35 |
| Optimal Assignment of Items to Members | p. 35 |
| Shared and Unshared Knowledge | p. 37 |
| Information Sampling Model | p. 37 |
| Solving a Problem versus Making a Judgment | p. 38 |
| Social Validation of Information | p. 38 |
| Common Knowledge Effect | p. 40 |
| Group Judgment | p. 40 |
| Group Choice | p. 41 |
| Jury Memory | p. 42 |
| Summary | p. 43 |
| Group Ability Composition on World Knowledge Problems | p. 45 |
| English Vocabulary | p. 45 |
| General Achievement | p. 52 |
| Remote Verbal Associations | p. 53 |
| Homogeneity and Heterogeneity of Group Member Ability | p. 54 |
| Conclusions on Group Ability Composition | p. 55 |
| Collective Induction | p. 57 |
| An Inductive Rule-Learning Task | p. 58 |
| Collective versus Individual Induction: Effects of Increasing Evidence | p. 58 |
| Collective versus Individual Induction: Effects of Increasing Hypotheses | p. 65 |
| Collective Induction with Increasing Hypotheses and Increasing Evidence | p. 67 |
| Positive Hypothesis Tests and Negative Hypothesis Tests | p. 70 |
| Simultaneous Collective and Individual Induction | p. 72 |
| Social Combination Processes | p. 76 |
| A Theory of Collective Induction | p. 80 |
| Collective Induction in Competitive Auctions | p. 82 |
| Letters-to-Numbers Problems | p. 87 |
| Letters-to-Numbers Problems | p. 87 |
| Letters-to-Numbers Strategies | p. 88 |
| Two-Letter Substitution Strategy | p. 89 |
| Multiletter Substitution Strategy | p. 89 |
| Known Answer Strategy | p. 90 |
| Combined Known Answer and Multiletter Substitution Strategy | p. 91 |
| Groups Perform Better Than the Best Individuals | p. 91 |
| Trials to Solution | p. 91 |
| Letters per Equation | p. 92 |
| Letters Identified per Equation | p. 92 |
| Two-Letter Substitution Strategy | p. 93 |
| Known Answer Strategy | p. 93 |
| Summary of Results | p. 94 |
| Discussion | p. 95 |
| Groups Perform Better Than the Best Individuals: Informative Equations and Effective Strategies | p. 96 |
| Five Instruction Conditions | p. 96 |
| Trials to Solution | p. 98 |
| Equations with Minimal Letters | p. 98 |
| Groups Perform Better Than the Best Individuals: Effects of Group Size | p. 101 |
| Previous Research on Group Size on Intellective Tasks | p. 101 |
| Experimental Design | p. 103 |
| Trials to Solution | p. 103 |
| Why Do Groups Perform Better Than the Best Individuals on Letters-to-Numbers Problems? | p. 107 |
| Group-to-individual Problem-Solving Transfer | p. 109 |
| Specific Transfer | p. 109 |
| Analogies | p. 109 |
| Mathematical Problems | p. 111 |
| General Transfer | p. 113 |
| Mathematical Problems | p. 113 |
| Brainteasers | p. 114 |
| Logical Implication | p. 115 |
| Four Issues in Group-to-individual Transfer | p. 116 |
| Design | p. 119 |
| Summary | p. 122 |
| Social Choice Theory | p. 124 |
| Basic Concepts of Social Choice Theory | p. 125 |
| Motions (Alternatives) and Preference C For-Against Matrices | p. 125 |
| Sequential Pairwise Voting and the Paradox of Voting | p. 126 |
| Runoff Elections | p. 128 |
| Rank Order Voting | p. 128 |
| Approval Voting | p. 130 |
| The Median Voter Theorem | p. 131 |
| Condorcet Jury Theorem | p. 131 |
| Experimental Evidence for Social Choice Theory | p. 132 |
| The Median Voter Theorem | p. 132 |
| Agenda Influence | p. 134 |
| Condorcet Jury Theorem | p. 136 |
| Successive Majorities in a Hierarchical System | p. 137 |
| A Remarkable Concurrence | p. 139 |
| Social Choice Theory and Group Problem Solving: The Constitutional Convention of 1787 | p. 140 |
| Conclusions | p. 141 |
| Generalizations | p. 141 |
| Retrospective and Prospective | p. 142 |
| References | p. 145 |
| Index | p. 155 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9780691147918
ISBN-10: 0691147914
Audience:
Professional
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 168
Published: 4th February 2010
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Dimensions (cm): 23.5 x 15.4
x 1.7
Weight (kg): 0.283
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