Are groups more likely to defer choice than their members?
When faced with a choice, people can normally select no option, i.e., defer choice. Previous research has investigated when and why individuals defer choice, but has almost never looked at these questions when groups of people make choices. Separate reasons predict that groups may be equally likely,...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2011-04-01
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Series: | Judgment and Decision Making |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1930297500001443/type/journal_article |
_version_ | 1797696006564872192 |
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author | Chris M. White Sebastian Hafenbrädl Ulrich Hoffrage Nils Reisen Jan K. Woike |
author_facet | Chris M. White Sebastian Hafenbrädl Ulrich Hoffrage Nils Reisen Jan K. Woike |
author_sort | Chris M. White |
collection | DOAJ |
description | When faced with a choice, people can normally select no option, i.e., defer choice. Previous research has investigated when and why individuals defer choice, but has almost never looked at these questions when groups of people make choices. Separate reasons predict that groups may be equally likely, more likely, or less likely than individuals to defer choice. We re-analyzed some previously published data and conducted a new experiment to address this question. We found that small groups of people tended to defer choice more often than their members would. Assuming that the groups used a plurality rule but gave additional weight to individual preferences to defer choice allowed the groups’ responses to be predicted quite well. We discuss several possible explanations of these findings. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:20:20Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-a539197dde3c48b581bfc4bf6bb25558 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1930-2975 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:20:20Z |
publishDate | 2011-04-01 |
publisher | Cambridge University Press |
record_format | Article |
series | Judgment and Decision Making |
spelling | doaj.art-a539197dde3c48b581bfc4bf6bb255582023-09-03T14:02:46ZengCambridge University PressJudgment and Decision Making1930-29752011-04-01623925110.1017/S1930297500001443Are groups more likely to defer choice than their members?Chris M. White0Sebastian Hafenbrädl1Ulrich HoffrageNils Reisen2Jan K. Woike3Faculty of Business and Economics, University of LausanneFaculty of Business and Economics, University of LausanneFaculty of Business and Economics, University of LausanneFaculty of Business and Economics, University of LausanneWhen faced with a choice, people can normally select no option, i.e., defer choice. Previous research has investigated when and why individuals defer choice, but has almost never looked at these questions when groups of people make choices. Separate reasons predict that groups may be equally likely, more likely, or less likely than individuals to defer choice. We re-analyzed some previously published data and conducted a new experiment to address this question. We found that small groups of people tended to defer choice more often than their members would. Assuming that the groups used a plurality rule but gave additional weight to individual preferences to defer choice allowed the groups’ responses to be predicted quite well. We discuss several possible explanations of these findings.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1930297500001443/type/journal_articlegroup decision makingchoice deferraldecision avoidancedecision delay |
spellingShingle | Chris M. White Sebastian Hafenbrädl Ulrich Hoffrage Nils Reisen Jan K. Woike Are groups more likely to defer choice than their members? Judgment and Decision Making group decision making choice deferral decision avoidance decision delay |
title | Are groups more likely to defer choice than their members? |
title_full | Are groups more likely to defer choice than their members? |
title_fullStr | Are groups more likely to defer choice than their members? |
title_full_unstemmed | Are groups more likely to defer choice than their members? |
title_short | Are groups more likely to defer choice than their members? |
title_sort | are groups more likely to defer choice than their members |
topic | group decision making choice deferral decision avoidance decision delay |
url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1930297500001443/type/journal_article |
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