Group decision and social interaction: A theory of social decision schemes.

Abstract

This paper proposes a general theory (social decision scheme theory) for many kinds of group decision making and illustrates some special case models with a variety of data from several experimental situations. While focusing upon the traditional issue of individual-gr oup differences, the theory is aimed at accounting for the distribution of group decisions by using formal hypotheses about the effects of social interaction when the inputs to discussion are individual member preferences. The basic assumptions underlying the model are similar in several respects to proposals by Restle and Davis (1962) and Steiner (1966) in group problem-solving research, and the model itself represents the general case of earlier theoretical notions by Smoke and Zajonc (1962), Davis, Hoppe and Hornseth (1968), and Zajonc, Wolosin and Wolosin (1972) in group decision making. In addition, several nonintuitive consequences of group decision making, assuming some form of the model, are discussed. Small groups are widely used as decision- may have minimal acquaintance with each making instruments, or as information- other prior to group activity. processing devices to provide more sophis- In practice, of course, decision-making ticated input to an individual decision groups may have many purposes other than maker. Some groups are institutionalized rendering an optimal decision — collecting (juries, corporate boards, departmental information, obtaining commitment of executive committees, congressional com- members in order to better implement the mittees, etc.) in that formal provision is decision, representing decision preferences made for their existence and perhaps con- of segments of a population not present, and tinuation. Other groups are ad hoc (study so on. One important theme that runs panels, academic conferences, etc.) in that through the use of groups for decisions is their existence is temporary and members that such a process recognizes diversity among the persons involved with regard