Effects of dominance on group decision making

Toward a stress-reduction explanation of groupthink

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6206436
AutoresMichael R Callaway (Lamar University, autor de correspondencia), Richard G Marriott, James K Esser
Año1985
Volumen49
Número4
Páginas949-952
Fecha de publicación1985-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315
EditorialAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037//0022-3514.49.4.949
PMID4057051
OpenAlexW2062027251
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas24

Janis (1972) proposed that groupthink is essentially a stress-reduction process. Cohesive groups reduce the stress of decision making by suppressing critical inquiry. Theoretically, groupthink could be prevented in cohesive groups if the stress could be diffused by other factors. We investigated the effects of task structure (decision-making procedures) and an individual factor (dominance) on the quality of group decision making, anxiety, and symptoms of groupthink. Students (n = 112) participated in twenty-eight 4-person, mixed-sex groups. Groups composed of highly dominant members made higher quality decisions, exhibited lower state anxiety, and took more time to reach a decision. They also tended to make more statements of disagreement and agreement, and to report more group influence on the members. Decision-making procedures had little effect on the decision process.

Anxiety · Cognitive psychology · Decision quality · Dominance (genetics · Group (periodic table) · Group Decision Making · Group dynamic · Management · Psychiatry · Stress (linguistics) · Stress reduction · Chemistry · Clinical Psychology · Psychology · Social Psychology · Team Dynamics and Performance