GRA 6820

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GRA 6820The Social Psychology of Decision
Making(Harrison, Ch.8)
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Overview of chapter 8

• Individual versus group decision making
• Conflict in decision making
• Participation in decision making
• Gender differences and similarities in decision
  making
• Summary

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Social Psychology

• A working definition
• study of the influence that people have upon
  the beliefs or behavior of others.
• (Aronson, E. (1972). The Social Animal. San
  Francisco W.H. Freeman.)
• Issues
• Conformity
• Mass communication, propaganda, persuasion
• Self-justification
• Predjudice
• Attraction

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Limits to team learning
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(No Transcript)
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Classification of collective decision theories
Theoretical Perspective Individual Preferences Information
Group Decision Theory Different Not considered
Team Theory Same Considered
n-Person Game Theory Different Considered
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Nested hierarchy of team design problems
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Why do groups fail...?(or, when 2 2 3)

• Ineffective leadership skills
• Lack of rigorous methods
• Wrong group structure
• Group member homogeneity

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Factors affecting group judgment

• Input variables
• Conformity
• Polarization

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Input variables affecting group processes

• Task norms.
• Process norms.
• Group size.
• Group communication patterns.
• Perceived member status.
• Individual personality characteristics.
• Group experience.

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Conformity

• Tendency for individual responses to conform more
  closely to those of the group after exposure to
  the groups opinion.
• Factors affecting strength of the effect.
• Response uncertainty.
• Concern for self image.
• To avoid possible censure.
• Classic example - Groupthink.

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Conformity and consensus

• When consensus is the goal, there is additional
  stimulus to assent to the groups position even
  though one may personally disagree with it.
• Groups decision rule.
• Factors affecting weight given to individuals
  opinions...
• Quality of resulting consensus...

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Conformity (likhet, ensrettethet)

• Definition
• A change in a persons behavior or opinions as a
  result of real or imagined pressure from a person
  or a group of people.
• Dilemma of being a social animal
• Resultant tension between
• Values associated with Individuality.
• Values associated with Conformity.

The Establishment tends to like Conformists
better than Non-conformists.
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Conformity

• Variables that affect conformity behavior
• Whether the majority opinion unanimous or not.
• Kind of person the individual is (low in
  self-esteem, for example).
• Who is in the reference group.
• Group influence increases if
• It is composed of experts.
• The members are important to the individual.
• The members are comparable to the individual

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Group cohesivenessCauses and consequences
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Conformity in extremis Groupthink
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Groupthink in actionThe National Security
Council and the Bay of Pigs - 1961

• NSC assumption
• No one will know that the US is involved. CIA
  cover story will be believed.
• Cuban AF is ineffective and can be destroyed by
  early attack using two B-26 bombers.
• 1400-man force has high morale and will be a
  superb force.
• Castros army is very weak. The brigade will be
  able to establish a beachhead.
• Brigade landing will spark sabotage throughout
  Cuba and lead to Castros overthrow.
• If the landing fails, the brigade can escape to
  the mountains and reinforce the guerillas.

• Available counter-evidence
• Stories appear in newspapers about CIA training
  people in Central America. TV also reports this.
• B-26s were obsolete, required frequent
  maintenance, could not complete bombing runs.
  British intelligence reports that Cuban AF is
  very effective.
• High initial morale due to CIA lies of US
  support. NSC members knew of a mutiny attempt in
  Guatemala morale was very low.
• State Dept. knew the army was very efficient and
  could get to the beachhead rapidly (within 24
  hours the brigade was surrounded by 22,000 men).
• CIA had no firm intelligence about any
  underground of any size in Cuba. A British paper
  had surveyed Cuba and found all-time high support
  for Castro only 4 months earlier.
• No one was aware of guerilla forces in the
  mountains. Brigade was trained in brigade tactics
  not guerilla warfare. 120km of swamp and dense
  forest between the Bay and the mountains.

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Prescriptions for overcoming Groupthink

• Set high priority to voicing objections and
  concerns in the meeting.
• Leader should not state preferences in problem
  diagnosis or solution alternatives.
• Break into subgroups, working on the same
  problem, same goal.
• Seek external council, outside the group, subject
  to confidentiality concerns.
• Periodically bring in outside experts to
  challenge current thinking.
• On a rotating basis, use a Devils Advocate to
  challenge current thinking, pick at weak points.
• Construct alternate views, scenarios, goals,
  world views.
• Institute a second chance meeting after a
  conclusion has been reached.

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Polarization

• Reported tendency for average group members
  responses to shift further in the direction of
  the groups initially dominant tendency after
  interaction and discussion.
• Associated primarily with attitudes and
  preferences.
• Processes leading to polarization...
• Information effect.
• Predominant influence of argument and facts.
• Active espousal of a position.

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Dysfunctional group behaviors

• Anchoring Effect
• Inequality of Participation

• Causes...
• Deference to seniors
• Have less to offer
• Less data
• Wrong group structure

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Self-justification (selvberettigelse)

• Definition
• Actions taken by people to justify or explain
  their behaviors to convince themselves (and
  others) that the selected action was logical and
  reasonable.
• Basic process Cognitive Dissonance
• A state of tension that occurs when an individual
  simultaneously holds two cognitions (ideas,
  attitudes, beliefs, opinions) that are
  psychologically inconsistent.
• An unpleasant experience that people try to
  reduce.

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Self justification an example Washington Post
News Service, November, 1971
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Theory of cognitive dissonance

• Man is not a rational animal.
• Man as a rationalizing animal.
• People are not motivated so much to be right
  rather, he/she is motivated to believe that he or
  she is right (wise, decent, good)

Its better to look good than to be good
Fernando Lamas
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Aspects of dissonance

• As a consequence of making a decision
• Importance of irrevocability
• Immoral behavior
• Justification of effort
• Dissonance theory predicts that if a person works
  hard to achieve a goal, that goal will be more
  attractive to him than for someone who achieves
  the same goal with little or no effort.
• Justification of cruelty
• Why do good people inflict pain on others?
• And how do they deal with it?

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Dissonance reduction and rational behavior

• Dissonance reducing behavior
• Negative consequences
• Maladaptive, keeps us from learning important
  facts or finding real solutions
• Positive consequences
• Ego defensive behavior, maintains positive self
  image.
• Results from the lab
• People do not remember in rational-functional
  manner.
• Remember plausible arguments for personal
  position
• Remember implausible arguments in agreement with
  opposing position.
• Selective Perception

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Prejudice (fordom)

• Definition
• A hostile or negative attitude toward a
  distinguishable group based on generalizations
  derived from faulty or incomplete information.
• Closely related to stereotyping.
• An over-generalization attribution of identical
  characteristics to any person in a group,
  regardless of actual variation within the group
  members.
• Done all the time, can have either positive or
  negative connotations.
• Characteristics
• Most stereotypes are not based on valid
  experiences.
• Hearsay or images from the media are influential.
• Oten the stereotypes are constructed from pure
  fantasy to justify prejudices and cruelties.

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Causes of prejudice

• Economic and political competition.
• Given limited resources, the dominant group might
  try to exploit a minority group in order to gain
  a material advantage.
• Prejudice tends to increase in difficult times.
• Displaced aggression.
• Scapegoating.
• Focusing aggression on visible and relatively
  powerless groups that are disliked to begin with.
  
• Examples?

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Causes of prejudice (continued)

• Personality needs.
• Some research has shown that there are certain
  personality types that are predisposed to being
  prejudiced, not because of external factors.
• Implications for management?
• Conformity to existing social norms.
• Pressure to conform can be very strong.
• Examples?

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Responses to social influence

• Compliance (imøtekommelighet)
• Mode of behavior of a person who is motivated to
  gain rewards or avoid punishment.
• Lasts as long as reward/punishment exists.
• Identification
• Response brought about by individuals desire to
  be like the influencer.
• Internalization
• Most permanent, deeply rooted response to social
  influence reward for the belief is intrinsic.
• The behavior becomes independent of the source
  and can be hard to change.

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Coordinating mechanisms

• Specific actions
• Expected results
• Informal focus on decision processes
• Formal, intermittent focus on decision processes
• Formal, continuous focus on decision processes

Rules, policies and procedures
Goal-setting and planning processes
Direct contact and committees
Task forces and temporary teams
Permanent teams and departments
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Types of coordination

• Cognitive coordination
• The degree to which team members share compatible
  conceptual structures with respect to the factors
  that influence the outcomes of their decisions.
• Semantic coordination
• Refers to the adequacy and efficiency of the
  language used by team members to communicate
  information.
• Epistemic coordination
• Refers to the knowledge aspects of the team
  problem. The need to know and ability to
  know.

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Group processes

• Interacting group
• Nominal group technique
• Delphi group

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Interacting group characteristics

• Most common group structure.
• Problem statement by the group leader.
• Unstructured discussion.
• Consequences for problem solving...

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Interactive group Disadvantages

• Lack of structure.
• High variability in leaders and members.
• Effort used to maintain socio-emotional
  relationships.
• Generalization leads to low quality.
• Reactive search behavior, short focus, task
  avoidance, tangential discussions.
• Dominant individuals control the agenda.
• Group norms emphasize conforming behavior.
• Tendency to conclude without a sense of closure.

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The Nominal Group technique
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Nominal group Advantages

• Consistency in decision making.
• Balanced concern for socio-emotional and task
  instrumental roles.
• Opportunity to think and write ideas increases
  tendency for focused ideas of higher quality.
• Tolerance for off the wall ideas.
• Structure forces equality of participation.
• Higher sense of closure, greater feeling of
  satisfaction, greater willingness to work towards
  implementation.

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The Delphi technique
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The Delphi method Characteristics

• Physically dispersed.
• Systematic collection and combination of
  information.
• Consensus achieved through feedback.

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The Delphi method
Disadvantages
Advantages

• Isolated generation of ideas.
• Problem complexity addressed in the process.
• Proactive search behavior.
• Anonymity and isolation.

• Lack of socio-emotional satisfaction.
• Possible communication and interpretation
  problems.
• Conflicting and incompatible ideas are resolved
  by pooling.
• No face-to-face problem solving to resolve
  conflicts.

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Dimensions for comparing group processes

• Overall methodology
• Role orientations
• Relative quantity of ideas
• Search behavior
• Nominal behavior

• Equality of participation
• Problem solving methods
• Closure decision process
• Resources utilized
• Time requirements

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Overall methodology
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Role orientation
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Relative quantity of ideas
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Search behavior
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Normative behavior
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Equality of participation
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Method of problem solving
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Decision process closure
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Resource utilization
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Holdout slides
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Experimentation in social psychology

• Challenges
• Control versus Impact
• Realism
• Experimental realism experiment has an impact
  on the respondent and forces a serious approach
• Mundane realism how similar the laboratory
  setup is to the outside world
• Deception
• Often needed to achieve experimental realism
• Requires disguising the true purpose of the study

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Experimentation in social psychology

• Challenges (continued)
• Ethical problems
• Unethical to tell lies to people
• Telling lies can lead to invasion of privacy
• Experimental procedures can entail unpleasant
  experiences
• Do the Ends justify the Means?
• Post-experimental session
• Used to un-do discomforts and deceptions
• Turn the experiment into an educational
  experience for the respondent

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Something to think about

• Morality of finding out unpleasant things
• What is the moral responsibility of the
  researcher for what is discovered?
• Example
• Use of Nazi medical data by researchers.
• Potentially very useful, but
• Social scientists are frequently confronted with
  value judgments like this in their work.
• Again

Do the Ends justify the Means?