Choice-dilemma items and a marketing case-study task were administered to 48 MBA candidates at the University of Texas in a test of the risky-shift phenomenon. Using consensus decisions, groups were more risk-oriented than the individuals comprising them in the instance of the choice-dilemma items, but not when a familiar, realistic task was performed. Hence, it is necessary to use caution when attempting to generalize the risky shift to decision-making situations that use more realistic measures of risk than those represented by the standard choice-dilemma instrument.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BurnsteinE.An analysis of group decisions involving risk (“the risky shift”). Human Relations, 1969, 22, 381–395.
2.
ClarkR. D.IIIWillemsE. P.Where is the risky shift? Dependence on instructions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1969, 13, 215–221.
3.
KoganN.WallachM. A.Risk taking: a study in cognition and personality. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1964.
4.
LonergranB. G.McClintockC. G.Effects of group membership on risk-taking behavior. Psychological Reports, 1961, 8, 447–455.
5.
MadarasG. R.BemD. J.Risk and conservatism in group decision-making. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1968, 4, 350–365.
6.
StantonW.Fundamentals of marketing. (2nd ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967.
7.
StonerJ. A. F.A comparison of individual and group decisions involving risk. Unpublished master's thesis, School of Industrial Management, M. I. T., 1961.
8.
WallachM. A.KoganN.BemD. J.Diffusion of responsibility and level of risk taking in groups. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1964, 68, 263–274.
9.
ZajoncR. B.WolosinR. J.WolosinM. A.ShermanS. J.Individual and group risk-taking in a two-choice situation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1968, 4, 89–106.
