How trait confidence and communication shape dyadic decision outcomes and confidence matching

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Decision Science

Background:

• Collaborative decision-making relies on shared confidence estimates (decision confidence).
• Confidence matching, the alignment of these estimates, occurs during interaction.
• Dispositional trait confidence influences collaborative dynamics and outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how trait confidence and communication type affect dyadic decision accuracy and confidence.
• To analyze the dynamics of decision confidence, including decision-specific confidence matching.
• To determine the moderating role of trait confidence in collaborative decision-making.

Main Methods:

• 210 participants formed 105 dyads, completing general knowledge tests individually and collaboratively.
• Three communication conditions were used: isolated, passive (viewing partner's response/confidence), and active (verbal discussion).
• Dyads were categorized as low-trait, mixed-trait, or high-trait confidence based on member assessments.

Main Results:

• Trait confidence moderated decision accuracy and confidence gains; mixed-trait and high-trait dyads showed greater improvements with active communication.
• Low-trait confidence dyads benefited equally from active and passive communication.
• Active verbal communication yielded the highest overall decision accuracy, but gains were not solely driven by confidence matching.

Conclusions:

• Trait confidence is a critical factor in dyadic collaborative success, moderating accuracy and confidence improvements.
• Active communication maximizes benefits for high/mixed-trait confidence dyads, while passive communication suffices for low-trait dyads.
• Decision-specific confidence matching occurs naturally during verbal communication, extending prior findings.