Stefan Schulz‐Hardt
Biographic Data
| ID | 5448476 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Stefan Schulz‐Hardt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Stefan |
| FAMILY NAME | Schulz‐Hardt |
| SIGNATURE | HARDT S S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Göttingen |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1254-9266 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 214 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 27 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 9 |
Learning Processes in the Judge–Advisor System: A Neglected Advantage of Advice Taking
Previous research in the judge–advisor paradigm has focused on how judges utilize the wisdom of others by taking their advice and on the beneficial effect of receiving advice on judges' postadvice final judgments about the exact same problem. However, a completely different possibility of how judges might benefit from advice has been overlooked so far: Learning processes could improve the accuracy of judges' subsequent initial judgments from one …
Measuring Implicit Motives with the Picture Story Exercise (PSE): Databases of Expert-Coded German Stories, Pictures, and Updated Picture Norms
We present two openly accessible databases related to the assessment of implicit motives using Picture Story Exercises (PSEs): (a) A database of 183,415 German sentences, nested in 26,389 stories provided by 4,570 participants, which have been coded by experts using Winter's coding system for the implicit affiliation/intimacy, achievement, and power motives, and (b) a database of 54 classic and new pictures which have been used as PSE stimuli. Up…
The Journal of Economic Psychology: Challenges and opportunities for the next five years
Preference-consistent information repetitions during discussion: Do they affect subsequent judgments and decisions
The impact of biased information and corresponding meta-information on escalating commitment
Experimental evidence for the effects of task repetitiveness on mental strain and objective work performance
People frequently have to work in high repetitive jobs. Previous research has focused exclusively on the effects of task repetitiveness on well‐being, while neglecting effects on work performance. In the present study, we aimed to fill this void by conducting two workplace simulations with experimental manipulations of task repetitiveness. Participants worked for about 5 hours at either a computer workstation, compiling computer hardware packages…
The consistency principle in interpersonal communication: Consequences of preference confirmation and disconfirmation in collective decision making
Interpersonal cognitive consistency is a driving force in group behavior. In this article, we propose a new model of interpersonal cognitive consistency in collective decision making. Building on ideas from the mutual enhancement model (Wittenbaum, Hubbell, & Zuckerman, 1999), we argue that group members evaluate one another more positively when they mention information confirming each other's preferences instead of information disconfirming thes…
How to achieve synergy in group decision making: Lessons to be learned from the hidden profile paradigm
Based on over 25 years of research on hidden profiles and information sharing in groups, and particularly our own work in this area, we outline a general model of how groups can achieve better decisions in a hidden profile situation than their individual members would have been capable of (i.e., synergy). At its core the model defines intensity and bias as the two key parameters that have to be optimised with regard to both the discussion of info…
Ten years on: A review of recent research on the Job Demand–Control (-Support) model and psychological well-being
In 1999, van der Doef and Maes published a systematic review focusing on the Job-Demand–Control (JDC) model (Karasek, 1979) and the Job Demand–Control (-Support) (JDCS) model (Johnson & Hall, 1988) in relation to psychological well-being. Their review covered the period from 1979 to 1997. The present paper updates and extends this review. Covering research from 83 studies published between 1998 and 2007, our review revealed three major results: F…
Beyond group-level explanations for the failure of groups to solve hidden profiles: The individual preference effect revisited
The individual preference effect supplements the predominant group-level explanations for the failure of groups to solve hidden profiles. Even in the absence of dysfunctional group-level processes, group members tend to stick to their suboptimal initial decision preferences due to preference-consistent evaluation of information. However, previous experiments demonstrating this effect retained two group-level processes, namely (a) social validatio…
Biased evaluation of information during discussion: Disentangling the effects of preference consistency, social validation, and ownership of information
Group members tend to be biased in their evaluation of the information discussed. The present study aimed to disentangle the effects of preference consistency, social validation, and ownership on information evaluation in a single experimental design. Participants first received information about a personnel selection task. After having made a decision, they read a transcript of a fictitious discussion. In the transcript, preference consistency, …
Knowing others' preferences degrades the quality of group decisions
Results from 4 experiments demonstrate that learning the other group members' preferences at the beginning of a discussion impedes the solution of hidden profiles. In Experiments 1-3, participants who were not informed about their fellow group members' preferences were more likely to solve a hidden profile than those who received bogus information about the others' preferences. The negative effect of learning the others' preferences on decision q…
Listing and Structuring of Discussion Content: As a Means of Improving Individual Decision Quality in Hidden Profiles
Groups often fail to solve so-called “hidden profiles.” Common explanations for this failure focus on group processes. However, recent findings show that group members stick to their individual faulty preferences even in the absence of such group processes. The present study examines whether listing and structuring of discussion content improves individual decision quality in hidden profile tasks. We found that the probability of detecting the be…
When forewarning backfires: Paradoxical effects of elaborating social feedback on entrapment in a losing course of action
Entrapment occurs if people persist with losing courses of action. In two experiments, we show how elaborating social feedback (i.e., premature praise or forewarning regarding the chosen course of action) can have paradoxical effects on entrapment. The participants acted as head of a translation department and had to choose one out of four possible translation strategies for their employees. After choosing, they read four arguments (presumably wr…
The effects of authentic and contrived dissent on escalation of commitment in group decision making
Escalation of commitment refers to the tendency to persist with or even intensify losing courses of action. In this study, we examined whether authentic and contrived dissent reduces escalation in group decision making. Participants first individually indicated their preference on how to allocate money between two alternatives. Based on these individual preferences, homogeneous and heterogeneous three‐person groups were formed. In addition, group…
Biased assimilation: The role of source position
Biased assimilation is the tendency to evaluate belief‐consistent information more positively than belief‐inconsistent information. Previous research has demonstrated that biased assimilation is due to an inconsistency between an argument and the recipient's position toward this argument. The present research revealed that an inconsistency between a source's position (independently of the argument) and the recipient's position is also responsible…
Social validation in group decision-making: Differential effects on the decisional impact of preference-consistent and preference-inconsistent information
Shared information has a stronger impact on group decisions than unshared information. A prominent explanation for this phenomenon is that shared information can be socially validated during group discussion and, hence, is perceived as more accurate and relevant than unshared information. In the present study we argue that this explanation only holds for preference-inconsistent information (i.e., information contradicting the group members’ initi…
Selective exposure and information quantity: How different information quantities moderate decision makers' preference for consistent and inconsistent information
Empirical evidence on selective exposure to information after decisions is contradictory: Whereas many studies have found a preference for information that is consistent with one's prior decision, some have found a preference for inconsistent information. The authors propose that different available information quantities moderate these contradictory findings. Four studies confirmed this expectation. When confronted with 10 pieces of information,…
Group decision making in hidden profile situations: Dissent as a facilitator for decision quality
The effect of diversity in individual prediscussion preferences on group decision quality was examined in an experiment in which 135 three-person groups worked on a personnel selection case with 4 alternatives. The information distribution among group members constituted a hidden profile (i.e., the correct solution was not identifiable on the basis of the members' individual information and could be detected only by pooling and integrating the me…
The influence of price trend expectations on price trend perceptions: Why the Euro seems to make life more expensive
Selective exposure to information: The impact of information limits
In research on selective exposure to information, people have been found to predominantly seek information supporting rather than conflicting with their opinion. In most of these studies, participants were allowed to search for as many pieces of information as they liked. However, in many situations, the amount of information that people can search for is restricted. We report four experiments addressing this issue. Experiment 1 suggests that obj…
Expectancy confirmation in spite of disconfirming evidence: The case of price increases due to the introduction of the Euro
People in Germany overwhelmingly believe that the Euro introduction caused an overall price increase, however, no such increase actually took place. To investigate whether this disparity could be based on biased perceptions of the average price trend, four studies were conducted. Participants received two menus from a restaurant (one ‘old’ menu with German Mark (DM) prices and one ‘new’ menu with Euro prices) and were asked to estimate the price …
Preference-consistent evaluation of information in the hidden profile paradigm: Beyond group-level explanations for the dominance of shared information in group decisions
Common explanations for the failure of groups to solve so-called hidden profiles focus on group processes, namely insufficient discussion of unshared information and premature consensus on a suboptimal alternative. As 2 experiments show, even in the absence of such group processes, hidden profiles are hardly ever solved. In Experiment 1, participants first received individual information about a personnel selection task and then read a group disc…
Psychological effects of the Euro—experimental research on the perception of salaries and price estimations
In five studies we show that the introduction of the Euro influences price estimations and the perception of salaries among people in Germany. People confronted with wages given in Euros compared to the German Mark (DM) showed a reduced willingness to face long distances to get to work when accepting a job offer. When asked to price various consumer goods appropriately, they estimated higher prices if they used the ‘Euro’ currency compared to pri…
The dissemination of critical, unshared information in decision‐making groups: The effects of pre‐discussion dissent
Previous research in group decision making has found that in situations of a hidden profile (i.e. the best choice alternative is hidden from individual members as they consider their pre‐discussion information), unshared information is disproportionately neglected and sub‐optimal group choices are highly likely. In an experimental study, three‐person groups decided which of three candidates to select for a professorial appointment. We hypothesise…
Confirmation bias in sequential information search after preliminary decisions: An expansion of dissonance theoretical research on selective exposure to information
Biased information search in group decision making
Research has shown that people prefer supporting to conflicting information when making decisions. Whether this biased information search also occurs in group decision making was examined in three experiments. Experiment 1 indicated that groups as well as individuals prefer supporting information and that the strength of this bias depends on the distribution of the group members' initial decision preferences. The more group members had chosen the…
Selective exposure to information: The impact of information limits
In research on selective exposure to information, people have been found to predominantly seek information supporting rather than conflicting with their opinion. In most of these studies, participants were allowed to search for as many pieces of information as they liked. However, in many situations, the amount of information that people can search for is restricted. We report four experiments addressing this issue. Experiment 1 suggests that obj…
Group decision making in hidden profile situations: Dissent as a facilitator for decision quality
The effect of diversity in individual prediscussion preferences on group decision quality was examined in an experiment in which 135 three-person groups worked on a personnel selection case with 4 alternatives. The information distribution among group members constituted a hidden profile (i.e., the correct solution was not identifiable on the basis of the members' individual information and could be detected only by pooling and integrating the me…
Preference-consistent evaluation of information in the hidden profile paradigm: Beyond group-level explanations for the dominance of shared information in group decisions
Common explanations for the failure of groups to solve so-called hidden profiles focus on group processes, namely insufficient discussion of unshared information and premature consensus on a suboptimal alternative. As 2 experiments show, even in the absence of such group processes, hidden profiles are hardly ever solved. In Experiment 1, participants first received individual information about a personnel selection task and then read a group disc…
Selective exposure and information quantity: How different information quantities moderate decision makers' preference for consistent and inconsistent information
Empirical evidence on selective exposure to information after decisions is contradictory: Whereas many studies have found a preference for information that is consistent with one's prior decision, some have found a preference for inconsistent information. The authors propose that different available information quantities moderate these contradictory findings. Four studies confirmed this expectation. When confronted with 10 pieces of information,…
Expectancy confirmation in spite of disconfirming evidence: The case of price increases due to the introduction of the Euro
People in Germany overwhelmingly believe that the Euro introduction caused an overall price increase, however, no such increase actually took place. To investigate whether this disparity could be based on biased perceptions of the average price trend, four studies were conducted. Participants received two menus from a restaurant (one ‘old’ menu with German Mark (DM) prices and one ‘new’ menu with Euro prices) and were asked to estimate the price …
Psychological effects of the Euro—experimental research on the perception of salaries and price estimations
In five studies we show that the introduction of the Euro influences price estimations and the perception of salaries among people in Germany. People confronted with wages given in Euros compared to the German Mark (DM) showed a reduced willingness to face long distances to get to work when accepting a job offer. When asked to price various consumer goods appropriately, they estimated higher prices if they used the ‘Euro’ currency compared to pri…
The influence of price trend expectations on price trend perceptions: Why the Euro seems to make life more expensive
The dissemination of critical, unshared information in decision‐making groups: The effects of pre‐discussion dissent
Previous research in group decision making has found that in situations of a hidden profile (i.e. the best choice alternative is hidden from individual members as they consider their pre‐discussion information), unshared information is disproportionately neglected and sub‐optimal group choices are highly likely. In an experimental study, three‐person groups decided which of three candidates to select for a professorial appointment. We hypothesise…
Social validation in group decision-making: Differential effects on the decisional impact of preference-consistent and preference-inconsistent information
Shared information has a stronger impact on group decisions than unshared information. A prominent explanation for this phenomenon is that shared information can be socially validated during group discussion and, hence, is perceived as more accurate and relevant than unshared information. In the present study we argue that this explanation only holds for preference-inconsistent information (i.e., information contradicting the group members’ initi…
Biased assimilation: The role of source position
Biased assimilation is the tendency to evaluate belief‐consistent information more positively than belief‐inconsistent information. Previous research has demonstrated that biased assimilation is due to an inconsistency between an argument and the recipient's position toward this argument. The present research revealed that an inconsistency between a source's position (independently of the argument) and the recipient's position is also responsible…
Beyond group-level explanations for the failure of groups to solve hidden profiles: The individual preference effect revisited
The individual preference effect supplements the predominant group-level explanations for the failure of groups to solve hidden profiles. Even in the absence of dysfunctional group-level processes, group members tend to stick to their suboptimal initial decision preferences due to preference-consistent evaluation of information. However, previous experiments demonstrating this effect retained two group-level processes, namely (a) social validatio…
Knowing others' preferences degrades the quality of group decisions
Results from 4 experiments demonstrate that learning the other group members' preferences at the beginning of a discussion impedes the solution of hidden profiles. In Experiments 1-3, participants who were not informed about their fellow group members' preferences were more likely to solve a hidden profile than those who received bogus information about the others' preferences. The negative effect of learning the others' preferences on decision q…
The consistency principle in interpersonal communication: Consequences of preference confirmation and disconfirmation in collective decision making
Interpersonal cognitive consistency is a driving force in group behavior. In this article, we propose a new model of interpersonal cognitive consistency in collective decision making. Building on ideas from the mutual enhancement model (Wittenbaum, Hubbell, & Zuckerman, 1999), we argue that group members evaluate one another more positively when they mention information confirming each other's preferences instead of information disconfirming thes…
The Journal of Economic Psychology: Challenges and opportunities for the next five years
Experimental evidence for the effects of task repetitiveness on mental strain and objective work performance
People frequently have to work in high repetitive jobs. Previous research has focused exclusively on the effects of task repetitiveness on well‐being, while neglecting effects on work performance. In the present study, we aimed to fill this void by conducting two workplace simulations with experimental manipulations of task repetitiveness. Participants worked for about 5 hours at either a computer workstation, compiling computer hardware packages…
Biased evaluation of information during discussion: Disentangling the effects of preference consistency, social validation, and ownership of information
Group members tend to be biased in their evaluation of the information discussed. The present study aimed to disentangle the effects of preference consistency, social validation, and ownership on information evaluation in a single experimental design. Participants first received information about a personnel selection task. After having made a decision, they read a transcript of a fictitious discussion. In the transcript, preference consistency, …
When forewarning backfires: Paradoxical effects of elaborating social feedback on entrapment in a losing course of action
Entrapment occurs if people persist with losing courses of action. In two experiments, we show how elaborating social feedback (i.e., premature praise or forewarning regarding the chosen course of action) can have paradoxical effects on entrapment. The participants acted as head of a translation department and had to choose one out of four possible translation strategies for their employees. After choosing, they read four arguments (presumably wr…
Biased information search in group decision making
Research has shown that people prefer supporting to conflicting information when making decisions. Whether this biased information search also occurs in group decision making was examined in three experiments. Experiment 1 indicated that groups as well as individuals prefer supporting information and that the strength of this bias depends on the distribution of the group members' initial decision preferences. The more group members had chosen the…
Confirmation bias in sequential information search after preliminary decisions: An expansion of dissonance theoretical research on selective exposure to information
Psychological effects of the Euro—experimental research on the perception of salaries and price estimations
In five studies we show that the introduction of the Euro influences price estimations and the perception of salaries among people in Germany. People confronted with wages given in Euros compared to the German Mark (DM) showed a reduced willingness to face long distances to get to work when accepting a job offer. When asked to price various consumer goods appropriately, they estimated higher prices if they used the ‘Euro’ currency compared to pri…
The dissemination of critical, unshared information in decision‐making groups: The effects of pre‐discussion dissent
Previous research in group decision making has found that in situations of a hidden profile (i.e. the best choice alternative is hidden from individual members as they consider their pre‐discussion information), unshared information is disproportionately neglected and sub‐optimal group choices are highly likely. In an experimental study, three‐person groups decided which of three candidates to select for a professorial appointment. We hypothesise…
Preference-consistent evaluation of information in the hidden profile paradigm: Beyond group-level explanations for the dominance of shared information in group decisions
Common explanations for the failure of groups to solve so-called hidden profiles focus on group processes, namely insufficient discussion of unshared information and premature consensus on a suboptimal alternative. As 2 experiments show, even in the absence of such group processes, hidden profiles are hardly ever solved. In Experiment 1, participants first received individual information about a personnel selection task and then read a group disc…
Expectancy confirmation in spite of disconfirming evidence: The case of price increases due to the introduction of the Euro
People in Germany overwhelmingly believe that the Euro introduction caused an overall price increase, however, no such increase actually took place. To investigate whether this disparity could be based on biased perceptions of the average price trend, four studies were conducted. Participants received two menus from a restaurant (one ‘old’ menu with German Mark (DM) prices and one ‘new’ menu with Euro prices) and were asked to estimate the price …
The influence of price trend expectations on price trend perceptions: Why the Euro seems to make life more expensive
Selective exposure to information: The impact of information limits
In research on selective exposure to information, people have been found to predominantly seek information supporting rather than conflicting with their opinion. In most of these studies, participants were allowed to search for as many pieces of information as they liked. However, in many situations, the amount of information that people can search for is restricted. We report four experiments addressing this issue. Experiment 1 suggests that obj…
Group decision making in hidden profile situations: Dissent as a facilitator for decision quality
The effect of diversity in individual prediscussion preferences on group decision quality was examined in an experiment in which 135 three-person groups worked on a personnel selection case with 4 alternatives. The information distribution among group members constituted a hidden profile (i.e., the correct solution was not identifiable on the basis of the members' individual information and could be detected only by pooling and integrating the me…
Social validation in group decision-making: Differential effects on the decisional impact of preference-consistent and preference-inconsistent information
Shared information has a stronger impact on group decisions than unshared information. A prominent explanation for this phenomenon is that shared information can be socially validated during group discussion and, hence, is perceived as more accurate and relevant than unshared information. In the present study we argue that this explanation only holds for preference-inconsistent information (i.e., information contradicting the group members’ initi…
Selective exposure and information quantity: How different information quantities moderate decision makers' preference for consistent and inconsistent information
Empirical evidence on selective exposure to information after decisions is contradictory: Whereas many studies have found a preference for information that is consistent with one's prior decision, some have found a preference for inconsistent information. The authors propose that different available information quantities moderate these contradictory findings. Four studies confirmed this expectation. When confronted with 10 pieces of information,…
Listing and Structuring of Discussion Content: As a Means of Improving Individual Decision Quality in Hidden Profiles
Groups often fail to solve so-called “hidden profiles.” Common explanations for this failure focus on group processes. However, recent findings show that group members stick to their individual faulty preferences even in the absence of such group processes. The present study examines whether listing and structuring of discussion content improves individual decision quality in hidden profile tasks. We found that the probability of detecting the be…
When forewarning backfires: Paradoxical effects of elaborating social feedback on entrapment in a losing course of action
Entrapment occurs if people persist with losing courses of action. In two experiments, we show how elaborating social feedback (i.e., premature praise or forewarning regarding the chosen course of action) can have paradoxical effects on entrapment. The participants acted as head of a translation department and had to choose one out of four possible translation strategies for their employees. After choosing, they read four arguments (presumably wr…
The effects of authentic and contrived dissent on escalation of commitment in group decision making
Escalation of commitment refers to the tendency to persist with or even intensify losing courses of action. In this study, we examined whether authentic and contrived dissent reduces escalation in group decision making. Participants first individually indicated their preference on how to allocate money between two alternatives. Based on these individual preferences, homogeneous and heterogeneous three‐person groups were formed. In addition, group…
Biased assimilation: The role of source position
Biased assimilation is the tendency to evaluate belief‐consistent information more positively than belief‐inconsistent information. Previous research has demonstrated that biased assimilation is due to an inconsistency between an argument and the recipient's position toward this argument. The present research revealed that an inconsistency between a source's position (independently of the argument) and the recipient's position is also responsible…
Ten years on: A review of recent research on the Job Demand–Control (-Support) model and psychological well-being
In 1999, van der Doef and Maes published a systematic review focusing on the Job-Demand–Control (JDC) model (Karasek, 1979) and the Job Demand–Control (-Support) (JDCS) model (Johnson & Hall, 1988) in relation to psychological well-being. Their review covered the period from 1979 to 1997. The present paper updates and extends this review. Covering research from 83 studies published between 1998 and 2007, our review revealed three major results: F…
Beyond group-level explanations for the failure of groups to solve hidden profiles: The individual preference effect revisited
The individual preference effect supplements the predominant group-level explanations for the failure of groups to solve hidden profiles. Even in the absence of dysfunctional group-level processes, group members tend to stick to their suboptimal initial decision preferences due to preference-consistent evaluation of information. However, previous experiments demonstrating this effect retained two group-level processes, namely (a) social validatio…
Biased evaluation of information during discussion: Disentangling the effects of preference consistency, social validation, and ownership of information
Group members tend to be biased in their evaluation of the information discussed. The present study aimed to disentangle the effects of preference consistency, social validation, and ownership on information evaluation in a single experimental design. Participants first received information about a personnel selection task. After having made a decision, they read a transcript of a fictitious discussion. In the transcript, preference consistency, …
Knowing others' preferences degrades the quality of group decisions
Results from 4 experiments demonstrate that learning the other group members' preferences at the beginning of a discussion impedes the solution of hidden profiles. In Experiments 1-3, participants who were not informed about their fellow group members' preferences were more likely to solve a hidden profile than those who received bogus information about the others' preferences. The negative effect of learning the others' preferences on decision q…
How to achieve synergy in group decision making: Lessons to be learned from the hidden profile paradigm
Based on over 25 years of research on hidden profiles and information sharing in groups, and particularly our own work in this area, we outline a general model of how groups can achieve better decisions in a hidden profile situation than their individual members would have been capable of (i.e., synergy). At its core the model defines intensity and bias as the two key parameters that have to be optimised with regard to both the discussion of info…
Experimental evidence for the effects of task repetitiveness on mental strain and objective work performance
People frequently have to work in high repetitive jobs. Previous research has focused exclusively on the effects of task repetitiveness on well‐being, while neglecting effects on work performance. In the present study, we aimed to fill this void by conducting two workplace simulations with experimental manipulations of task repetitiveness. Participants worked for about 5 hours at either a computer workstation, compiling computer hardware packages…
The consistency principle in interpersonal communication: Consequences of preference confirmation and disconfirmation in collective decision making
Interpersonal cognitive consistency is a driving force in group behavior. In this article, we propose a new model of interpersonal cognitive consistency in collective decision making. Building on ideas from the mutual enhancement model (Wittenbaum, Hubbell, & Zuckerman, 1999), we argue that group members evaluate one another more positively when they mention information confirming each other's preferences instead of information disconfirming thes…
The impact of biased information and corresponding meta-information on escalating commitment
The Journal of Economic Psychology: Challenges and opportunities for the next five years
Preference-consistent information repetitions during discussion: Do they affect subsequent judgments and decisions
Psychology (26 works) · Social Psychology (22 works) · Computer Science (15 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (13 works) · Team Dynamics and Performance (13 works) · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics (10 works) · Preference (10 works) · Statistics (10 works) · Cognitive psychology (9 works) · Economics (9 works)