Competitive and Cooperative Decision-Making Groups

Abstract

This study investigates differences among four decision-making groups and describes the patterns of communication unique to two groups. In the first part of the investigation, four decision-making groups are given either competitive or cooperative inducements and are compared on two measures: competition and satisfaction. The two groups given the competitive inducement (Groups I and III) were found to have significantly higher competition and lower satisfaction than the groups given cooperative inducements (Groups II and IV). In the second part of the study a lag sequential analysis is conducted on the coded communicative sequences in the highest and lowest competition groups (I and II, respectively). This analysis yields patterns to decision-making unique to each sample group. Group I's communication is characterized by highly probable (above-chance) sequences of disagreement messages and few probable agreement messages. Group II's communication patterns consist of highly probable sequences of decision development and probable agreement/support messages throughout the group interaction.