Three staples of management and organizational behavior classes are units on creativity, problem solving, and group decision making. This article presents an experiential exercise in creative problem solving in which the participants attempt to create a cartoon caption both individually and in small groups. The cartoons all come from "The New…

This study focuses on teachers' group decision making during Dutch allocation meetings. A previous interview study showed that teachers question the objectivity of decisions due to negative interaction experiences and a lack of structure during these meetings. To characterize the structure and interaction of these meetings, 33 student allocations…

One benefit of working in groups is that group members can learn from each other how to perform the task, a phenomenon called group-to-individual transfer (G-I transfer). In the context of quantitative judgments, G-I transfer means that group members improve their individual accuracy as a consequence of exchanging task-relevant information. This…

Collaborative problem solving (CPS) is a 21st-century skill essential for learning gains, workplace success, and tackling increasingly complicated global problems. Group diversity plays a vital role during collaborative activities, especially in a digital space. Although CPS involves dynamic communication behaviors, few studies have considered the…

This article provides a primer for researchers exploring ethical issues in the research of group work. The article begins with an exploration of relevant ethical issues through the research process and current standards guiding its practice. Next, the authors identify resources that group work researchers can consult prior to constructing their…

Engineering ethics education typically focuses on decisions by individual engineers and case studies of disasters. This does not reflect the everyday decisions that practicing engineers must make, and neglects the fact that most engineers work on teams rather than alone. The focus on safety and disaster prevention leaves little time for discussing…

This article is based on the author's doctoral thesis on the dynamics of interpersonal relations in the onsite classroom. Drawing on positioning theory (Davies & Harre´, 1999; Harre´, 2015), Sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978; Lantolf & Thorne, 2007) and informed by the focus on interaction in Douglas Fir Group's seminal paper (Douglas…

The focus of this article is on digital literacy and students' use of digital sources. We are examining how students choose digital video sources when doing group work with tablets in a social studies project. The analysis centers on how students collaboratively negotiate and reason around their choice of video sources during an assignment about…

The conservation of biodiversity is an important socio-scientific issue that is often regarded as a precondition to sustainable development. The foundation for citizens' understanding of conservation issues can be laid down in formal school education. This research focuses on decision-making discussions about biological conservation issues among…

Group decision making should be particularly beneficial when group members share unique information, because then a group can make a better decision than each group member alone. This study examined how elementary-school children share unique information during group decision making. Seventy-nine groups of 3 same-sex and same-age 7- and 9-year-old…

THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED WHETHER THE PHENOMENON OF SHIFTS TOWARD GREATER RISK TAKING FOLLOWING DISCUSSION OF RISK-RELATED MATERIALS CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO GREATER GENERAL PERSUASIVENESS EXERTED BY RISK TAKERS THAN BY CONSERVATIVES. ITS PROCEDURE WAS TO DISCOVER WHETHER RISK TAKERS WOULD BE JUDGED MORE PERSUASIVE THAN CONSERVATIVES FOLLOWING…

The term "risky shift" is used to describe the tendency of groups to make a collective decision that is less conservative than the members might make as individuals. Previous research on this subject has been based on three analytical categories: demographic makeup of groups, group familiarity with the task and information, or individual…

A study examined the different degrees of satisfaction with the nominal group technique (NGT) felt by policymakers and change agents with differing professional backgrounds and responsibilities who participated in nominal groups. A total of 206 participants at four conferences at Texas A&M University (international food and water policy, Texas…

Research has addressed what instructional conditions may inhibit or promote scientific argumentation. Little research, however, has paid attention to interpersonal factors that influence collaborative argumentation. The present study examines the ways interpersonal factors affected group dynamics, which influence the features of collaborative…

It was hypothesized that increases in the amount and specificity of information furnished to a discussion group would facilitate group decision making and improve other aspects of group and individual performance. Procedures in testing these assumptions included varying the amounts of statistics, examples, testimony, and augmented information…