Divisible Tasks and Pooling Performance in Groups

Abstract

Groups and individual Ss worked on two problems which were a composite of simpler, self-contained sub-problems (phases) taken from the SCAT. If appropriately organized, groups could work on two or more sub-problems or phases simultaneously. The primary purpose of the study was to test the Lorge-Solomon Model B. Although a significantly higher proportion of groups than individuals solved Problem 2, the test problem, the Lorge-Solomon Model B over-predicted group performance. Model B was rejected as a description of group performance in this case, but when employed as a baseline, it suggested the presence of social restraint which was consistent with earlier research. A second objective was the evaluation of a modification of the Lorge-Solomon Models A and B to include individual differences. The modified models gave no better account of the data than the original models.