The effect of "Trust dynamics": Perspective taking during collaborative problem solving

The effect of “ Trust dynamics ” : Perspective taking during collaborative problem solving Yugo Hayashi (hayashi.yugo.gp@u.tsukuba.ac.jp) Faculty of Library, Information and Media Science, University of Tsukuba 1-2, Kasuga, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8550, Japan Abstract these studies, perspective taking promotes the facilitation of conceptual change for gaining a deeper understanding. How- ever, in such activities, we have to consider the effects of con- flicts that occur during interactions. Conflicts occur due to disagreements among group members concerning ideas and opinions about the task being performed (Jehn, Greer, Levine, & Szulanski, 2008). Overcoming such conflicts not only is important for establishing common ground but also can pro- vide an opportunity for new discoveries. On the basis of these studies, we investigated the effects of a type of social dynamic that is expected to facilitate an “ exocentric ” perspective for overcoming group conflict. We investigated the influence of reflections on self/others’ trust within group-based problem solving. We assessed the role of trust dynamics on perspective-taking activities within conflic- tive groups, extending the experimental framework used by Hayashi (2012) and including conversational agents for con- trolling participants’ interactions related to trust dynamics and perspective taking behavior. Results showed that (1) reflec- tions of self/other trust in conflictive groups may influence trust towards other members, and (2) reflections of trust by members with conflicting perspectives may facilitate trust and perspective taking. This suggests that the level of trust dy- namics facilitates trust and can function to manifest perspec- tive taking within cooperative groups. Keywords: Trust dynamics; perspective taking; collaboration; group dynamics. Influence of trust dynamics in groups Introduction Conflict is inevitable in human interactions, even within in- group activities. We investigated the mediating factor of group dynamics on “ perspective-taking activity ” within conflictual situations, focusing on how social cognitive fac- tors, such as reflections of “ trust dynamics, ” could facil- itate the interaction process. Multiple conversational agents were used to control for group members’ interactions, such as perspective-taking and social dynamics. Perspective taking and conflicts in groups Perspective taking is an essential activity for social interac- tion. It perspective taking requires higher-level cognition and is rife with unintended errors and difficulties (Keysar, Barr, Balin, & Brauner, 2000; Hayashi & Miwa, 2009). Perspec- tive taking plays an important role in establishing common ground between adult speakers. Keysar et al. (2000) points out that this activity includes complicated cognitive opera- tions, and people tend to have egocentric biases that hinder such activities. Hayashi, Miwa, and Morita (2006) showed that an individual’s egocentric biases constrains perspective- taking activities during a cooperative task. Within cooperative group activities (e.g., scientific re- search groups), perspective taking also plays an important role in discovering new solutions and knowledge. For ex- ample, Dunbar (1995) and colleagues investigated the use of inductive reasoning within a scientific research group and proposed the concept of distributed reasoning, where group members achieve their goals by taking charge of different types of inferences. Other studies have also investigated the nature of learners collaboratively working on complex prob- lems while focusing on explaining such activities, role shar- ing, and reflective interactions (Okada & Simon, 1997). In Organizational and social network studies have shown that the perception of “ trust in other member(s) ” within the group is important for facilitating group performance (Kramer, 1999; Castellano, Fortunato, & Loreto, 2009). Within-group perspective taking is an interactive social process that could be mediated by the level of trust and respect within that group. Unfortunately, few studies have investigated how the percep- tion of such dynamics affects cognitive processes during co- operative group activities. Here, we briefly review what we mean by “ trust ” and reframe the term for our study. Mayer and Davis (1995) con- ceptually defines trust as “ a willingness of a party to be vul- nerable to the actions of another party based on the expecta- tion that the other will perform a particular action important to the truster. ” Yamagishi and Ymagishi (1994) propose that trust is based on profit and loss to the individual. To reach a solution to the problem, cognitive operations move from the initial unsolved state to the goal state. In group-based problem-solving activities, partners play important roles in providing information to members, and members use that in- formation on the basis of how valuable it is in attaining the goal. The level of belief, such as the trust towards group members, is very important during collaborative group activ- ities. Thus, we define trust as “ a belief that the perspective of that person will lead toward a good problem solving out- come. ” Trust has several benefits for organizations and their mem- bers. When the level of trust is increased, a group is expected to experience superior group processes (e.g., higher levels of cooperation) and higher performance, and vice versa (Dirks, 1999). Parks, Henagar, and Scamahorn (1996) examined how low- and high-trust individuals respond to messages of in- tent from other participants in a social dilemma task. They