In the same group but moving in different directions: Coordination effects in tasks with simultaneous intellective...

Cooperative work can seldom be meaningfully reduced to a single performance criterion. However, there is little theory regarding how groups address tasks with multiple success criteria. Generalizing from the theory of task demonstrability we offer a foundation for understanding group performance on multifaceted tasks that includes a focus on subtask performance, overall performance, and the subjective experience of group members. We predict and find that the composition of groups with respect to member priorities (i.e., having a single member that is oriented toward an intellective criterion or multiple members oriented toward a judgmental criterion) outperform groups that do not meet these composition thresholds. Groups simultaneously meeting both thresholds outperform all comparisons, however their members report a poor shared understanding of the task, less cooperation, and less desire to work in that same group in the future. This research extends the traditional group performance literature into the more complex and ecologically valid area of multicriteria performance and addresses both theoretical and practical implications. (PsycINFO Database Record