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Decision rules and group rationality: cognitive gain or standstill?
Petru Lucian Curşeu1, Rob J G Jansen, Maryse M H Chappin
1Department of Organization Studies & Center for Innovation Research, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands. P.L.Curseu@uvt.nl
Plos One
|March 2, 2013
Summary
Collaborative decision rules enhance group rationality and cognitive synergy more than consultative rules. Groups using collaborative approaches made more rational choices, exceeding individual averages.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Social Psychology
- Decision Science
Background:
- Group cognition research suggests collective competencies exceed individual capabilities.
- Rationality is crucial for group decision-making, emerging from coordinated individual cognition.
- Understanding how interaction rules shape group rationality is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the impact of collaborative versus consultative decision rules on group rationality.
- To investigate the emergence of collective cognitive competencies in decision-making groups.
- To operationalize and measure group rationality as cognitive synergy.
Main Methods:
- Utilized decision tasks from the heuristics and biases literature.
- Evaluated individual and group rationality against a normative ideal.
- Compared outcomes between 176 groups using collaborative and consultative decision rules.
Main Results:
- Collaborative decision rules demonstrated superior synergic effects compared to consultative rules.
- Groups using collaborative rules made more rational choices, exceeding average individual rationality.
- Collaborative groups were closer to their best member's rationality than consultative groups.
Conclusions:
- Decision rules significantly impact the emergence of collective cognitive competencies.
- Collaborative interaction fosters greater group rationality and cognitive synergy.
- Further research into collective rationality in human decision-making is warranted.
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