Different paths to consensus? The impact of need for closure on model-supported group conflict management

Empirical evidence on how cognitive factors impact the effectiveness of model-supported group decision making is lacking. This study reports on an experiment on the effects of need for closure, defined as a desire for definite knowledge on some issue and the eschewal of ambiguity. The study was conducted with over 40 postgraduate student groups. A quantitative analysis shows that compared to groups low in need for closure, groups high in need for closure experienced less conflict when using Value-Focused Thinking to make a budget allocation decision. Furthermore, low need for closure groups used the model to surface conflict and engaged in open discussions to come to an agreement. By contrast, high need for closure groups suppressed conflict and used the model to put boundaries on the discussion. Interestingly, both groups achieve similar levels of consensus, and high need for closure groups are more satisfied than low need for closure groups. A qualitative analysis of a subset of groups reveals that in high need for closure groups only a few participants control the model building process, and final decisions are not based on the model but on simpler tools. The findings highlight the need to account for the effects of cognitive factors when designing and deploying model-based support for practical interventions.

[1]  A. Kruglanski,et al.  Motivated resistance and openness to persuasion in the presence or absence of prior information. , 1993, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[2]  Mark Snyder,et al.  Personality and social behavior , 1985 .

[3]  Gerardine DeSanctis,et al.  Using a GDSS to Facilitate Group Consensus: Some Intended and Unintended Consequences , 1988, MIS Q..

[4]  Kevin R. Murphy,et al.  The Relation Between Personality and Contextual Performance in "Strong" Versus "Weak" Situations , 2001 .

[5]  Marshall Scott Poole,et al.  The structuration of group decisions. , 1996 .

[6]  K. Eisenhardt,et al.  Exploring the Black Box: An Analysis of Work Group Diversity, Conflict and Performance , 1999 .

[7]  H. Toutenburg.  Fleiss, J. L.: Statistical Methods for Rates and Proportions. John Wiley & Sons, New York‐London‐Sydney‐Toronto 1973. XIII, 233 S. , 1974 .

[8]  David De Cremer,et al.  Social dilemmas as strong versus weak situations: Social value orientations and tacit coordination under resource size uncertainty , 2006 .

[9]  Kenneth S. Law,et al.  CONFLICT MANAGEMENT, EFFICACY, AND PERFORMANCE IN ORGANIZATIONAL TEAMS , 2000 .

[10]  성극제.  Book Review : Getting to Yes ! - R. Fisher & W. Ury , Penguin Books ,1991 ( 성극제, 협상연구, 2002 ) , 2002 .

[11]  A. Pratkanis,et al.  Twenty-Five Years of Groupthink Theory and Research: Lessons from the Evaluation of a Theory. , 1998, Organizational behavior and human decision processes.

[12]  Marshall Scott Poole,et al.  Working Through Conflict: Strategies for Relationships, Groups, and Organizations , 2012 .

[13]  Dean Tjosvold,et al.  Book review : Group model building : facilitating team learning using system dynamics , 1998 .

[14]  K. Jehn,et al.  The paradox of intragroup conflict: a meta-analysis. , 2012, The Journal of applied psychology.

[15]  Carlos A. Bana e Costa,et al.  A career choice problem: An example of how to use MACBETH to build a quantitative value model based on qualitative value judgments , 2004, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[16]  Steven J. Armstrong,et al.  Individual Differences in Cognitive Style and their Effects on Task and Social Orientations of Self-Managed Work Teams , 2001 .

[17]  Raimo P. Hämäläinen,et al.  On the importance of behavioral operational research: The case of understanding and communicating about dynamic systems , 2013, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[18]  Colin Eden,et al.  Strategic Options Development and Analysis , 2010, Systems Approaches to Making Change: A Practical Guide.

[19]  C. Gersick.  MARKING TIME: PREDICTABLE TRANSITIONS IN TASK GROUPS , 1989 .

[20]  S. Green,et al.  The effects of three social decision schemes on decision group process , 1980 .

[21]  E. Thomas,et al.  Effects of group size. , 1963, Psychological bulletin.

[22]  Eva Cools,et al.  Role of Cognitive Styles in Business and Management: Reviewing 40 Years of Research , 2012 .

[23]  K. Eisenhardt,et al.  How management teams can have a good fight. , 2009, Harvard business review.

[24]  Martin S. Schilling,et al.  How Effective Are Decision Analyses? Assessing Decision Process and Group Alignment Effects , 2007, Decis. Anal..

[25]  Colin Eden,et al.  Tackling Strategic Problems: The Role of Group Decision Support , 1991 .

[26]  H. Gardner.  The mind's new science: a history of the cognitive revolution , 1985 .

[27]  Detlof von Winterfeldt,et al.  Advances in decision analysis : from foundations to applications , 2007 .

[28]  Nuno Videira,et al.  Mapping Maritime Sustainability Issues with Stakeholder Groups , 2012 .

[29]  R. Volkema.  The Influence of Cognitive-based Group Composition on Decision-making Process and Outcome , 1998 .

[30]  C. D. De Dreu,et al.  Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: a meta-analysis. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[31]  Richard L. Daft,et al.  Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design , 1986 .

[32]  S. French.  Planning under Pressure: The Strategic Choice Approach , 1988 .

[33]  George P. Richardson,et al.  Teamwork in group model building , 1995 .

[34]  Colin Eden,et al.  Decision making in groups : theory and practice , 2010 .

[35]  Ralph L. Keeney,et al.  Value-Focused Thinking , 1996 .

[36]  Dennis S. Gouran,et al.  Behavioral correlates of perceptions of quality in decision‐making discussions , 1978 .

[37]  Jon Coaffee,et al.  Planning Under Pressure – The Strategic Choice Approach (3rd ed.) , 2006 .

[38]  A. Kruglanski.  The Psychology of Closed Mindedness , 2004 .

[39]  John Mingers,et al.  Soft OR comes of age—but not everywhere! , 2011 .

[40]  Marshall Scott Poole,et al.  The Effects of Variations in Capabilities of GDSS Designs on Management of Cognitive Conflict in Groups , 1992, Inf. Syst. Res..

[41]  Anne P. Massey,et al.  Understanding and facilitating group problem structuring and formulation: Mental representations, interaction, and representation aids , 1996, Decis. Support Syst..

[42]  Arie W. Kruglanski,et al.  Motivations for judging and knowing: Implications for causal attribution. , 1990 .

[43]  S. French.  Value‐focused thinking: A path to creative decision making, Keeney, R. L., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992, ISBN 0‐674‐93197‐1 , 1993 .

[44]  I. Janis.  Victims Of Groupthink , 1972 .

[45]  J. Cacioppo,et al.  The need for cognition. , 1982 .

[46]  James M. Bloodgood,et al.  Why Decisions Fail: Avoiding the Blunders and Traps That Lead to Debacles , 2003 .

[47]  William L. Ury,et al.  Getting to Yes , 2019, Boy on the Bridge.

[48]  Paul C. Nutt,et al.  Investigating the Success of Decision Making Processes , 2008 .

[49]  L. Franco,et al.  Understanding multi-methodology: Evaluating the perceived impact of mixing methods for group budgetary decisions , 2011 .

[50]  Eric F. Rietzschel,et al.  Beyond productivity loss in brainstorming groups: The evolution of a question , 2010 .

[51]  Simon Peck,et al.  Group Model Building: Facilitating Team Learning Using System Dynamics , 1996, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[52]  Erik Dane,et al.  Exploring Intuition and its Role in Managerial Decision Making , 2007 .

[53]  Jennifer M Talarico,et al.  A review of 40 years of research , 2018 .

[54]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[55]  Leroy White,et al.  Understanding problem structuring methods interventions , 2009, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[56]  A. Kruglanski,et al.  Three decades of lay epistemics: The why, how, and who of knowledge formation , 2009 .

[57]  C. D. De Dreu,et al.  Work group diversity and group performance: an integrative model and research agenda. , 2004, The Journal of applied psychology.

[58]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  A power primer. , 1992, Psychological bulletin.

[59]  Jac A. M. Vennix,et al.  Modeling as persuasion: The impact of group model building on attitudes and behavior , 2010 .

[60]  Colin Eden,et al.  On evaluating the performance of 'wide-band' GDSS's , 1995 .

[61]  Colin Eden,et al.  Problem structuring: on the nature of, and reaching agreement about, goals , 2013 .

[62]  Ralph L. Keeney,et al.  Value-Focused Brainstorming , 2012, Decis. Anal..

[63]  Peter Checkland,et al.  Learning For Action: A Short Definitive Account of Soft Systems Methodology, and its use for Practitioners, Teachers and Students , 2007 .

[64]  A. Roets,et al.  Separating Ability From Need: Clarifying the Dimensional Structure of the Need for Closure Scale , 2007, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[65]  L. Phillips,et al.  Faciliated Work Groups: Theory and Practice , 1993 .

[66]  Warren E. Watson,et al.  Member competence, group interaction, and group decision making: A longitudinal study. , 1991 .

[67]  Antonio Chirumbolo,et al.  Effects of need for closure on creativity in small group interactions , 2004 .

[68]  W. Grove.  Statistical Methods for Rates and Proportions, 2nd ed , 1981 .

[69]  G. Hodgkinson,et al.  Conceptual note: Exploring the cognitive significance of organizational strategizing: A dual-process framework and research agenda , 2007 .

[70]  S. Jackson,et al.  Recent Research on Team and Organizational Diversity: SWOT Analysis and Implications , 2003 .

[71]  Andrew F. Hayes,et al.  A Primer on Multilevel Modeling , 2006 .

[72]  Colin Eden,et al.  Negotiation in Strategy Making Teams: Group Support Systems and the Process of Cognitive Change , 2011 .

[73]  Bernard A. Nijstad,et al.  Motivated information processing in organizational teams: Progress, puzzles, and prospects , 2012 .

[74]  L. Alberto Franco,et al.  Facilitated modelling in operational research , 2010, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[75]  Jac A. M. Vennix,et al.  Group model-building: tackling messy problems , 1999 .

[76]  T. R. Featheringham,et al.  On systemic problem solving and the error of the third kind , 1974 .

[77]  C. Gersick.  Time and Transition in Work Teams: Toward a New Model of Group Development , 1988 .

[78]  J. Fleiss.  Statistical methods for rates and proportions , 1974 .

[79]  Fran Ackermann,et al.  Approaches to sharing knowledge in group problem structuring , 2003, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[80]  L. Alberto Franco,et al.  Structuring resource allocation decisions: A framework for building multi-criteria portfolio models with area-grouped options , 2009, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[81]  James C. Bezdek,et al.  A Fuzzy Analysis of Consensus in Small Groups , 1980 .

[82]  Won-Woo Park,et al.  A comprehensive empirical investigation of the relationships among variables of the groupthink model , 2000 .

[83]  A. Hare,et al.  Group Size , 1981 .

[84]  Gerardine DeSanctis,et al.  Capturing the Complexity in Advanced Technology Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory , 1994 .

[85]  Arie W Kruglanski,et al.  Groups as epistemic providers: need for closure and the unfolding of group-centrism. , 2006, Psychological review.

[86]  Gerard P. Hodgkinson,et al.  Comparing Managers' Mental Models of Competition: Why Self-report Measures of Belief Similarity Won't Do , 2002 .

[87]  Marshall Scott Poole,et al.  Exploring Conflict Management Processes in Jury Deliberations Through Interaction Analysis , 2009 .

[88]  M.H.F. McCardle-Keurentjes.  Facilitated Modelling and Hidden Profiles. An Experimental Evaluation of Group Model Building , 2015 .

[89]  A. Kruglanski,et al.  Group members' reactions to opinion deviates and conformists at varying degrees of proximity to decision deadline and of environmental noise. , 1991, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[90]  A. Edmondson.  Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams , 1999 .

[91]  A. Kruglanski,et al.  Autocracy Bias in Informal Groups Under Need for Closure , 2003, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[92]  A. Kruglanski,et al.  Motivated Cognition and Group Interaction: Need for Closure Affects the Contents and Processes of Collective Negotiations , 1999 .

[93]  L. Alberto Franco,et al.  Exploring new directions for research in problem structuring methods: on the role of cognitive style , 2007, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[94]  Arie W. Kruglanski,et al.  Lay Epistemics and Human Knowledge: Cognitive and Motivational Bases , 2013 .

[95]  Marshall Scott Poole,et al.  Decision development in small groups II: A study of multiple sequences in decision making 1 , 1983 .

[96]  S. Fiske,et al.  The Handbook of Social Psychology , 1935 .

[97]  Fran Ackermann,et al.  Problem structuring methods 'in the Dock': Arguing the case for Soft OR , 2012, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[98]  Valerie Belton,et al.  Technology-driven and model-driven approaches to group decision support: focus, research philosophy, and key concepts , 2003, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[99]  Gerardine DeSanctis,et al.  A foundation for the study of group decision support systems , 1987 .

[100]  L. Alberto Franco,et al.  Problem structuring methods as intervention tools: Reflections from their use with multi-organisational teams , 2009 .

[101]  D. Garvin,et al.  What you don't know about making decisions , 2001, IEEE Engineering Management Review.

[102]  Curtis D. Hardin,et al.  Shared reality: How social verification makes the subjective objective. , 1996 .

[103]  Antonio Pierro,et al.  A cross-cultural study of the Need for Cognitive Closure Scale: comparing its structure in Croatia, Italy, USA and The Netherlands. , 2002, The British journal of social psychology.

[104]  A. Kruglanski,et al.  Individual differences in need for cognitive closure. , 1994, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[105]  M. S. Poole,et al.  Decision Development in Small Groups IV A Typology of Group Decision Paths , 1989 .

[106]  A. Kruglanski,et al.  Motivated closing of the mind: "seizing" and "freezing". , 1996, Psychological review.

[107]  G. Northcraft,et al.  You have printed the following article : Why Differences Make a Difference : A Field Study of Diversity , Conflict , and Performance in Workgroups , 2007 .