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Managers evaluate their subordinates' performance on a regular basis. This is most obvious--and most formal--in personnel assessment procedures, serving the purposes of both evaluation and feedback--although the two purposes need not necessarily be pursued simultaneously. Less obviously, and far less formally, superiors evaluate their subordinates' performance on a day-to-day basis in order to plan personnel guidance measures. Both the cognitive processes involved in performance evaluation, as well as the consequences of causal attributions, are central to attribution theory. This in part accounts for the frequent use of this theory in organizational psychology and, in particular, in theories of organizational leadership. The purpose of the study was to provide a more unequivocal test of self-serving patterns in leaders' causal evaluations of their subordinates' performance other than the classical attributional asymmetry approach.
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Aus theoretischer, empirischer und praktischer Sicht werden Prozesse des Informationsaustauschs in Gruppen analysiert und diskutiert. Zunächst wird erörtert, unter welchen Bedingungen in Gruppen ein individueller Zuwachs an Wissen möglich ist und in welchen Situationen Gruppen als Entscheidungsträger prinzipiell gegenüber Einzelentscheidern im Vorteil sind (``Information-Pooling''-Paradigma). Anschließend wird dargelegt, welche Erklärungsansätze es dafür gibt, dass es in vielen Entscheidungsprozessen dennoch nicht gelingt, den prinzipiell verfügbaren Wissensvorteil auch in individuellen Wissenszuwachs und bessere Gruppenentscheidungen umzusetzen. Das zentrale Interesse gilt dann den konkreten Interventionen, die Gruppen dazu zu befähigen, ihr Potential besser zu nutzen, wobei auf jene Interventionen im besonderen Maße eingegangen wird, die in Laborexperimenten erfolgreich und in der Praxis auch gut einsetzbar waren. Unterschieden wird dabei (1) zwischen Interventionen, die den Informationsaustausch in Gruppen verbessern und damit einen individuellen Wissenszuwachs ermöglichen, sowie (2) Interventionen, die darüber hinaus auch noch zu besseren Entscheidungen führen. Im Anhang ist ein Trainingsbaustein ``Gruppenentscheidungen'' (Hidden-Profile-Übung mit Anleitung) beigegeben.
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[examine] the goal-oriented activities and decisions made by groups in business and politics [which] very frequently involve the search for and evaluation of information cognitive dissonance as a determinant of information seeking / selective information seeking in groups [should one expect groups to avoid a confirmation bias when seeking information, confirmation bias in group experiments, other dependent variables: evaluation of decision alternatives and evaluation of information] / theoretical mechanisms underlying selective information seeking in groups [conformity pressure in groups, striving for harmony, social comparison processes, diffusion of responsibility] / the relevance of these findings for business and politics / how can selective information seeking and its negative consequences be prevented (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
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Reviews the relationship between biased information sampling and biased decision-making processes in group decisions. A first part discusses two basic sampling biases in group information sampling: the tendency to focus on shared information and the tendency to discuss preference-consistent information. The relationship between these sampling biases and decision-making processes are discussed in a second part, in which the consequences of sampling biases for group decisions as well as the failure to make good group decisions despite unbiased information sampling are addressed. Suggestions for further research on group decision-making are given.
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Group discussions tend to focus on information that was previously known by all members (shared information) rather than information known by only 1 member (unshared information). If the shared information implies a suboptimal alternative, this sampling bias is associated with inaccurate group decisions. The present study examines the impact of 2 factors on information exchange and decision quality: (a) an advocacy group decision procedure versus unstructured discussion and (b) task experience. Results show that advocacy groups discussed both more shared and unshared information than freediscussion groups. Further, with increasing experience, more unshared information was mentioned in advocacy groups. In contrast, there was no such increase in unstructured discussions. Yet advocacy groups did not significantly improve their decision quality with experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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The aim of the present report is to review research demonstrating the role played by expectations for observed illusory price increases after the euro introduction in Germany. In laboratory experiments when participants are asked to estimate price changes in a restaurant following the euro introduction, the price estimates are found to be biased in the direction of the expectation of rising prices. The research also examines the extent to which a similar judgment bias is evident in other areas and how interventions counteract the bias. A further focus of the research is on the underlying process. In this respect the results show that the bias is based on a selective outcome correction process not previously described. Theoretical implications and practical implications for consumer policy issues are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Möglichkeiten der Anwendung psychologischen Wissens auf den Bereich der Ideenfindung und Innovation in Betrieben und Unternehmen werden im Überblick erörtert. Dabei stehen die folgenden Punkte im Vordergrund: (1) Verfahren und Mittel zur Ideenfindung und Innovation (traditionelles versus modernes betriebliches Vorschlagswesen, der kontinuierliche Verbesserungsprozess und das japanische Kaizen-Konzept, der kontinuierliche Verbesserungsprozess und seine Beziehung zum betrieblichen Vorschlagwesen, TQM (Total Quality Management), weitere Strategien der Ideengenerierung und der Problemidentifikation), (2) Determinanten des Erfolgs der dargestellten Instrumente der Ideenfindung und Innovation (Führungsstrukturen, die Autonomie und Selbstständigkeit fördern; Organisation und Lernen; Teamklima und Innovation), (3) organisationale Veränderungen und Akkzeptanz.
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Die Annahme, dass Entscheidungsfindung in Gruppen der einzelner Personen grundsätzlich durch ein vermehrtes Wissen überlegen ist, wird infrage gestellt. Hierzu werden die Konzepte des ``hidden profile'' und des ``manifest profile'' eingeführt. Es wird verdeutlicht, dass Gruppen nur dann einen Entscheidungsvorteil haben, wenn eine Informationsverteilung im Sinne des ``hidden profile'' vorliegt. Drei Gründe dafür werden beschrieben, dass trotz dieser Überlegungen Gruppenentscheidungen unter der Bedingung des ``hidden profile'' häufig nicht besser sind als Einzelentscheidungen: (1) Vorschneller Konsens; (2) Asymmetrische Diskussion; (3) Asymmetrische Informationsbewertung. Konsequenzen für akute Krisensituationen werden abgeleitet, und die Frage nach möglichen Lösungen für dieses Problem wird aufgeworfen. Es wird geschlussfolgert, dass sich Gruppen dann als gute Entscheidungsfinder erweisen, wenn ein ``hidden profile'' vorliegt und die Gruppenmitglieder darüber hinaus von Beginn an über eine hohe Meinungsverschiedenheit verfügen.
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In this chapter we examine the question of how social interdependence and social interaction affect group performance. More specifically, we provide answers to the following questions: How can we identify group-level influences on performance? What are the major pitfalls and opportunities for performance when people work together in a group? What can we do to systematically optimize group performance? Why is leadership so critical for group performance, and how can it contribute to the optimization of group performance? We answer these questions by outlining the basic underlying principles, applying them to specific group tasks, with examples, and selectively illustrating them with empirical research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
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This chapter deals with the question how social interdependence and social interaction affect group performance. More specifically, we give answers to the following questions: How can we identify group-level influences on performance? What are the major pitfalls and opportunities for performance when people work together in a group? What can we do to systematically optimize group performance? Why is leadership so critical for group performance, and how can it contribute to the optimization of group performance? We will give answers to these questions by outlining the basic underlying principles, exemplarily applying them to specific group tasks and selectively illustrating them with empirical research.
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We present a theoretical model that synthesizes and expands current explanations of the failure of decision-making groups to effectively use information that is distributed among their members. We propose that groups can outperform individual decision makers and voting schemes if certain asymmetries in information distribution are present and certain asymmetries in information processing are absent. How to achieve this we deduce from a review of the relevant literature. Finally, we discuss directions for future research and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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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 members' unique information). Whereas groups with homogeneous suboptimal prediscussion preferences (no dissent) hardly ever solved the hidden profile, solution rates were significantly higher in groups with prediscussion dissent, even if none of these individual prediscussion preferences were correct. If dissent came from a proponent of the correct solution, solution rates were even higher than in dissent groups without such a proponent. The magnitude of dissent (i.e., minority dissent or full diversity of individual preferences) did not affect decision quality. The beneficial effect of dissent on group decision quality was mediated primarily by greater discussion intensity and to some extent also by less discussion bias in dissent groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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When making decisions, people have been found to predominantly seek information supporting their preferred choice and to neglect conflicting information. Here, the authors investigated to what extent different types of advisors who either recommend a choice to someone or make a decision on behalf of someone show the same confirmatory information search. In Experiment 1, the authors presented 61 participants, in the role of advisors, with a client's decision problem and found that when making a recommendation, advisors conducted a more balanced information search than participants who were making a decision for themselves. However, advisors who had to make a decision on behalf of their clients revealed an increased preference for information supporting their position. Experiment 2 with 60 participants suggested that this confirmatory information search was caused by impression motivation: The advisors bolstered their decision to justify it to the client. The results are discussed within the multiple-motive framework of the heuristic systematic model.
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Als Erklärungsansatz für die in Unternehmen häufig feststellbare mangelnde Sensitivität gegenüber dem, was in Zukunft geschehen kann, wird die Theorie der gelernten Sorglosigkeit vorgestellt. Die Theorie geht davon aus, dass Menschen durch bestimmte individuelle und soziale Lernerfahrungen die Hypothese erwerben, alles sei gut und werde auch so bleiben. Dadurch werden Sorglosigkeitssymptome (etwa mangelnde Motivation und Fähigkeit zur Aufdeckung von Risiken) ausgelöst, die ihrerseits Konsequenzen wie verzögertes Lernen und unangemessen waghalsige Handlungen nach sich ziehen. Auf der Grundlage der Theorie der gelernten Sorglosigkeit werden Managementversäumnisse wie die Fortsetzung fehlgehender Handlungen, mangelnde Mitarbeiterorientierung, Defizite im Arbeits- und Umweltschutz sowie fehlende strukturelle Neuorientierungen erörtert. Zur Veranschaulichung werden Beispiele (der Fall Nick Leeson und die Barings-Bank, die Katastrophen von Bhopal und Tschernobyl) angeführt. Vorschläge zur Prävention vor bzw. Intervention gegen Sorglosigkeit werden unterbreitet.
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Es wird der Frage nachgegangen, welche Mechanismen Fehlentscheidungen in Organisationen auslösen können, obwohl die Entscheidungsträger es besser könnten und auch besser wollten. Dabei stehen die folgenden Aspekte im Mittelpunkt: (1) die Theorie der gelernten Sorglosigkeit von D. Frey und S. Schulz-Hardt, (2) Informationsverluste und Defizite in der Informationsnutzung, (3) Selbstbestätigungsmechanismen bei Entscheidungen (Entscheidungsautomatismus, ``Groupthink''), (4) Verlusteskalationen bzw. verspätete oder ausbleibende Korrektur von Fehlentscheidungen. Zu den erläuterten möglichen Ursachen von Fehlentscheidungen werden jeweils auch Möglichkeiten genannt, wie man ihnen entgegenwirken kann. Es wird jedoch betont, dass Fehlentscheidungen menschlich sind und sich nie gänzlich verhindern lassen.
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Vorgestellt wird ein Modell zur Erklärung und Vorhersage dazu, warum und unter welchen Bedingungen Individuen, Gruppen und größere soziale Systeme eine Ausweitung ihres Macht- und Kontrollbereichs versuchen. Eine zentrale Rolle wird dem evolutionär bedingten Extensionsmotiv zugeschrieben. Als Randbedingungen der Aktualsierung dieses Motivs werden erläutert: wahrgenommener Nutzen bzw. Attraktivität des Ausdehnungsobjekts, die Erwartung eines Ausbleibens von Vergeltungsmaßnahmen, die antizipierte Bedrohung durch Kontrolleinengung bzw. -verlust, wahrgenommene Anonymität sowie Rechtfertigung des Handlungsziels. Randbedingungen für die Umsetzung des Extensionsmotivs in Extensionshandlungen sind eine wahrgenommene Rechtfertigung bezüglich der Vorgehensweise sowie die wahrgenommene Durchführbarkeit.
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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 according to customer requests (Experiment 1, N = 160), or at an assembly line, piecing together equipment sets for furniture (Experiment 2, N = 213). Both experiments provide consistent evidence that high repetitiveness has a detrimental effect on well-being, whereas work performance increases under conditions of high repetitiveness. On a practical level, our study hence shows that high task repetitiveness is a double-edged sword for both employees and organizations. On a conceptual level, our findings emphasize the necessity to account for both mental strain and work performance when examining the effects of task repetitiveness. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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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 trend (in per cent). In all of these studies, price trend judgements were biased towards rising prices. If the prices had in fact been raised, the magnitude of this price increase was overestimated. If the prices had remained stable, significant price increases were perceived. And if the prices had fallen, they were perceived as having remained stable. The bias was systematically related to participants' expectations concerning price increases. A ‘selective outcome correction’ hypothesis proved to best fit the data: incorrect calculation outcomes that are in line with one's expectations are overlooked, whereas incorrect inconsistent outcomes are detected and corrected. The results imply that expectations can influence judgements even when clear disconfirming evidence is available that can be compared with an objective standard, thus leaving no room for interpretation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
