Two laboratory experiments investigated whether group interaction hinders searching a problem space. The results from both studies show that individuals engage in a broader search of a problem space when it is either unconstrained or constrained but ill-structured. Conversely, when the problem is well-structured and has a constrained solution state, individuals and groups search that space equally well.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ArgoteL.McGrathJ. E. (1993). Group processes in organizations: Continuity and change. In CooperC. L.RobertsonI. T.International review of industrial organizational psychology (pp. 333–389). New York: Wiley.
2.
BasdenB. H.BasdenD. R.BrynerS.ThomasR. L. (1997). A comparison of group and individual remembering: Does collaboration disrupt retrieval strategies? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 23, 1176–1191.
3.
BowersK. S.RegehrG.BalthazardC.ParkerK. (1990). Intuition in the context of discovery. Cognitive Psychology, 22, 72–110
4.
CampbellD. J. (1988). Task complexity: A review and analysis, Academy of Management Review, 13, 40–52.
5.
Cannon-BowersJ.SalasE. (1998). Making decisions under stress: Implications for individual and team training. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
6.
DunnetteM. D.CampbellJ.JaastadK. (1963). The effect of group participation on brain-storming effectiveness for two industrial samples. Journal of Applied Psychology, 47, 30–37.
7.
EkmanG. (1955). The four effects of cooperation. The Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 149–162.
8.
FiedlerF. E.ChemersM. M.MaharL. (1976). Improving leadership effectiveness: The leader match concept. New York: Wiley.
9.
FinkeR. A. (1995). Creative insight and preinventive forms. In SternbergR. J.DavidsonJ. E.The nature of insight (pp. 255–280). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
10.
FioreS. M.FerketishB. J.SchoolerJ. W.McConnellK. (1998). Why process mapping works: A cognitive componential analysis of the systems approach to problem identification in teams. Paper presented at the 24th International Congress of Applied Psychology, San Francisco, California.
11.
FioreS. M.SchoolerJ. W. (1998). Right hemisphere contributions to creative problem solving: Converging evidence for divergent thinking. In BeemanM.ChiarelloC.Right hemisphere language comprehension: Perspectives from Cognitive Neuroscience (pp. 349–371). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
12.
GersickC. J. G.HackmanJ. R. (1990). Habitual routines in task-performing groups. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 47, 65–97.
13.
GigoneD.HastieR. (1997). Proper analysis in the accuracy of group judgments. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 149–167.
14.
HackmanJ. R.MorrisC. G. (1975). Group tasks, group interaction process and group performance effectiveness: A review and proposed integration. In BerkowitzL., Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 8, (pp. 45–99).
15.
HastieR. (1986). Review essay: Experimental evidence on group accuracy. In OwenG.GrofmanB.Information pooling and group decision making (pp. 129–157). Westport: JAI Press.
16.
HillG. W. (1982). Group versus individual performance: Are N+l heads better than one? Psychological Bulletin, 91, 517–539.
17.
HinszV. B.TindaleR. S.VollrathD. A. (1997). The emerging conceptualization of groups as information processors. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 43–64.
18.
HutchinsE. (1990). The technology of team navigation. In GalegherJ.KrautR. E.Intellectual teamwork: Social and technological foundations of cooperative work (pp. 191–220). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
19.
LammH.TrommsdorffG. (1973). Group versus individual performance on tasks requiring ideational proficiency (Brainstorming). European Journal of Social Psychology, 3, 361–387.
20.
LarsonJ. R.ChristensenC. (1993). Groups as problem-solving units: Toward a new meaning of social cognition. British Journal of Social Psychology, 32, 5–30.
21.
LevineJ. L.ResnickL. B.HigginsE. T. (1993). Social foundations of cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 44, 585–612.
22.
LorgeI.SolomonH. (1955). Two models of group behavior in the solution of eureka-type problems. Psychometrika, 20, 139–148.
23.
MaierN. R. F. (1967). Assets and liabilities in group problem solving: The need for an integrative function. Psychological Review, 74, 239–249.
24.
MarquartD. I. (1955). Group problem solving. Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 103–113.
25.
McGrathJ. E. (1984). Groups: Interaction and performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
26.
MednickS. (1962). The associative basis of the creative process. Psychological Review, 69, 220–232.
27.
NewellA.SimonH. A. (1972). Human problem solving. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
28.
OxleyN. L.DzindoletM. T.PaulusP. B. (1996). The effects of facilitators on the performance of brainstorming groups. Journal of Social Behavior & Personality, 11, 633–646.
29.
PaulusP. B.DzindoletM. T.PoletesG.CamachoL. M. (1993). Perception of performance in group brainstorming: The illusion of group productivity. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 19, 78–89.
30.
ReitmanW. (1965). Cognition and thought: An information processing approach. New York: John Wiley.
31.
RummlerG. A.BracheA. P. (1995). Improving performance: How to manage the white space on the organization chart (2nd Edition). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
32.
SchoolerJ. W.OhlssonS.BrooksK. (1993). Thoughts beyond words: When language overshadows insight. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2, 166–183.
33.
SimonH. A. (1973). The structure of ill-structured problems. Artificial Intelligence, 4, 181–201.
34.
SteinerI. D. (1972). Group processes and productivity. New York: Academic Press.
35.
StroebeW.DiehlM. (1994). Why groups are less effective than their members: On productivity losses in idea-generating groups. In StroebeW.HewstoneM.European Review of Social Psychology, 5, 271–303.
36.
StroebeW.DiehlM.AbakoumkinG. (1992). The illusion of group effectivity. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 643–650.
37.
UnderwoodG.DeihimC.BartV. (1994). Expert performance in solving word puzzles: From retrieval cues to crossword clues. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 8, 531–548.
38.
VossJ. F.PostT. A. (1988). On the solving of ill-structured problems. In ChiM.GlaserR.FairM.The nature of expertise (pp. 261–285). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
39.
WallachM. A.KoganN. (1965). Modes of thinking in young children: A study of the creativity-intelligence distinction. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press.