Deck 8: Group Decision Making

Question 1

Because group decision making and performance depends in part upon the characteristics of the individuals in the group and in part on group process, it can be said to be

A) sociological.
B) interactionist.
C) relational.
D) psychological.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Climbing a mountain is a(n) ______ task whereas painting a house is a(n) _____ task.

A) unitary; divisible
B) maximizing; intellective
C) criterion; judgment
D) additive; compensatory

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Lifting a piano is a(n) ______ task whereas making a decision is a(n) _____ task.

A) unitary; divisible
B) maximizing; intellective
C) criterion; judgmental
D) compensatory; additive

Answer 3

B

Question 4

A task in which the group outcome depends upon the performance of the best group members is a(n) _____ task, whereas a task in which the group outcome depends upon the performance of the worst member is a(n) ____ task.

A) unitary; divisible
B) maximizing; intellective
C) disjunctive; conjunctive
D) additive; compensatory

Question 5

A factory in which an assembly line makes a product represents a(n) _____ task whereas a jury working together to make a decision represents a(n) _____ task.

A) maximizing; intellective
B) criterion; judgmental
C) additive; compensatory
D) intellective; maximizing

Question 6

Searching for the correct answer to a word in a crossword puzzle is a _____ task whereas making a decision about how much money to invest in the stock market is a _____ task.

A) maximizing; intellective
B) criterion; judgmental
C) additive; compensatory
D intellective; maximizing

Question 7

John and Sarah are going to play some basketball with their friends. They begin by choosing their teams. If both John and Sarah are trying to choose the best players they can get, then their selection is designed to maximize

A) member characteristics.
B) group process.
C) criterion efficiency.
D) maximizing efficiency.

Question 8

If Midge can address 100 letters in an hour, Frankie can address 110 letters in an hour, and Tom can address 140 letters in an hour, then which of the following could represent the potential group productivity of the three working together as a group?

A) 350 letters per hour.
B) 315 letters per hour.
C) 140 letters per hour.
D) 100 letters per hour.

Question 9

Charlene can stitch 40 shirts in a day, Toni can stitch 25 shirts in a day, and Harriet can stitch 60 shirts in a day. They are working together in a group, but there is a process loss in the group. How many shirts might they stitch in a day?

A) 125.
B) 135.
C) 100.
D) 225.

Question 10

Which of the following represents a formula that can be used to predict group productivity?

A) Actual productivity = potential productivity - process loss + process gain.
B) Potential productivity = actual productivity - process loss + process gain.
C) Group productivity = process gain - process loss.
D) Process loss = individual productivity - group process

Question 11

A scientist is interested in studying whether groups or individuals make better decisions. She compares a group of 10 students working together on a task to a group of 10 students, each working alone on a task, but she combines the work of these 10 students together. The 10 students whose individual work has been combined are known as a

A) process group.
B) member characteristics group.
C) nominal group.
D) scientific control group.

Question 12

Stewart can lift 100 pounds. Janice can lift 110 pounds. Gerard can lift 120 pounds. When they are lifting together they can lift 340 pounds. This represents which of the following?

A) A process gain.
B) A process loss.
C) Neither a process gain nor a process loss.
D) Social loafing.

Question 13

A group is solving a word-finding task. Although the task is difficult, the correct word is obvious to everyone as soon as one of the group members finds it. The decision scheme in this case is

A) Unanimity.
B) First shift.
C) Random selection among alternatives.
D) Truth wins.

Question 14

A group is solving a complex math problem. Juliette finds what she believes is the correct answer, but the group does not at first accept her decision. After a few more minutes, Blanche also finds the same solution. At this point the group accepts the solution as correct. Which of the following decision schemes has been used?

A) Unanimity.
B) Truth wins.
C) Random selection among alternatives.
D) Truth supported wins.

Question 15

Which of the following decision schemes might be used when group members vote among proposed alternatives?

A) Truth wins.
B) Majority wins.
C) Random selection among alternatives.
D) Truth supported wins.

Question 16

A jury is considering whether a defendant is guilty or innocent. Eight of the jury members believe that the defendant is innocent before the deliberations begin, whereas four believe he is guilty. The most likely jury decision is

A) innocent.
B) guilty.
C) hung.
D) cannot be determined.

Question 17

A jury is considering whether a defendant is guilty or innocent. Eight of the jury members believe that the defendant is innocent before the deliberations begin. Once the jury begins its discussion a jury member who initially voted for guilt changes to vote for innocence. At this point the jury decides that the defendant is innocent. The decision rule in this case was likely to have been which of the following?

A) First shift.
B) Majority wins.
C) Random selection among alternatives.
D) Truth supported wins.

Question 18

One limitation of the decision scheme approach to understanding group decision making is that it

A) cannot predict cases in which majority rules.
B) cannot predict cases in which decisions are unanimous.
C) does not take into consideration differences among the group members in persuasive ability.
D) does not take into consideration differences in group size.

Question 19

Which of the following is likely to cause groupthink?

A) High social identity and group cohesion.
B) Difficult decisions and lack of leadership.
C) Having more than one leader.
D) Discussion that goes beyond the time allotted.

Question 20

Which of the following is likely to cause groupthink?

A) Difficult decisions and lack of leadership.
B) Large group size and two-way communication.
C) Discussion that goes beyond the time allotted.
D) Time pressure and stress.

Question 21

Experimental research studying groupthink has shown which of the following?

A) High social identity always produces groupthink.
B) High group cohesiveness always produces groupthink.
C) Experimental manipulations of variables that are expected to produce groupthink (such as high cohesiveness) do increase symptoms of groupthink.
D) It is not possible to study groupthink experimentally.

Question 22

Which of the following would likely be effective in preventing groupthink?

A) The leader presents his opinions both first and last.
B) New members are brought in to join the group.
C) The time for discussion is increased.
D) The leader instructs everyone to critically evaluate all information.

Question 23

Which of the following would not be effective in preventing to groupthink?

A) Having a "second-chance" meeting before a decision is made.
B) Having outside experts attend meetings.
C) Assigning one or more group members to be a "devil's advocate."
D) Having each group member present his or her opinions, which is then evaluated by the leader.

Question 24

Group polarization refers to which of the following?

A) The tendency for groups to develop high cohesiveness.
B) The tendency for groups to develop high social identity.
C) The tendency for groups to make poor decisions.
D) The tendency for group members' opinions to become more extreme as a result of group discussion.

Question 25

In research conducted by Myers and Kaplan, mock juries of U.S. college students were asked to assess the guilt or innocence of defendants. In some groups the evidence against the defendant was strong and in other cases the evidence was weak. Which of the following was found after the groups discussed the case?

A) When the evidence was weak, group members were more likely to vote for innocence, but when evidence was strong, group members were more likely to vote for guilt.
B) When the evidence was strong, group members were more likely to vote for innocence, but when evidence was weak, group members were more likely to vote for guilt.
C) Groups became more likely to vote for innocence.
D) Groups became more likely to vote for guilt.

Question 26

Imagine a group that is asked to determine how attractive people are. They are given a series of pictures of very attractive and very unattractive individuals. After group discussion, which of the following is most likely to be observed?

A) The unattractive women will be rated more positively whereas the unattractive men will be rated more negatively.
B) All of the photos are likely to be rated more positively.
C) The attractive individuals will be rated as more attractive, whereas the unattractive individuals will be rated as less attractive.
D) The ratings of the photos are unlikely to change as a result of the group discussion.

Question 27

Which of the following explanations for group polarization is only useful for explaining shifts towards risk?

A) Persuasive arguments.
B) Social categorization.
C) Social comparison.
D) Diffusion of responsibility.

Question 28

One problem with the social comparison explanation of group polarization is that

A) most groups do not develop clear norms.
B) group norms generally become less extreme with discussion.
C) if individuals conformed to the norm then groups should not polarize.
D) group polarization is not more likely to occur after group discussion.

Question 29

Which of the following is predicted by the self-categorization explanation of group polarization?

A) Polarization should be greater for in-groups than for out-groups.
B) Polarization should be greater after more group discussion.
C) Polarization should be greater for risky than for cautious decisions.
D) Polarization should be greater when there is initial disagreement among the group members.

Question 30

Diane Mackie had participants listen to groups of people discussing a topic. Some of the research participants thought that they would be joining the group in the future. Which of the following results did Mackie observe?

A) People estimated more extreme group norms but showed less attitude change toward those norms when they expected to join the group.
B) People estimated more extreme group norms and showed more attitude change toward those norms when they expected to join the group.
C) People estimated more extreme group norms and showed more attitude change toward those norms when they did not expect to join the group.
D) People estimated lower group norms and showed less attitude change toward those norms when they expected to join the group.

Question 31

A researcher finds that there is more group polarization after groups discuss the topic of interest than there is after groups only share their opinions but do not discuss the issue. Which of the following explanations could account for this finding?

A) Social categorization.
B) Social comparison.
C) Persuasive arguments.
D) Diffusion of responsibility.

Question 32

If groups with contrasting opinions meet together to discuss an issue, ____ predicts that the group opinions will move toward each other, whereas _____ predicts that the group to opinions will move away from each other.

A) social categorization; persuasive arguments
B) persuasive arguments; social categorization
C) social comparison; diffusion of responsibility
D) diffusion of responsibility; social comparison

Question 33

Brauer and Judd manipulated both the number of times that participants heard others express their beliefs as well as the number of times the participants expressed their own beliefs. Which of the following did they find to be the best predictor of group polarization?

A) The number of times the participants expressed their own beliefs.
B) The number of times the participants heard their own beliefs expressed by others.
C) The length of time allotted for discussion.
D) The perceived extremity of the group norms.

Question 34

Consider the task typologies that have been used to categorize group performance, and give examples of tasks that represent each type.

Question 35

How are member characteristics, process gains, and process losses used to predict actual group performance?

Question 36

How should the performance of groups and individuals be compared? Be sure to consider the use of nominal groups in your answer.

Question 37

What is the "decision scheme" approach to understanding group decision making? Consider the types of decision schemes that are important in group process. What are the limitations of this approach?

Question 38

What is groupthink? What are the characteristics of groupthink, and how can groupthink be prevented? How has groupthink been studied?

Question 39

What is group polarization, and when does it occur? Consider four different theoretical approaches that can explain group polarization. What research supports each of these explanations?

Question 40

Overall, do you think it is a good idea to use groups to help make decisions? Why or why not?