10 Performance People join with others in groups to get things done. Groups are the world’s workers, protectors, builders, decision makers, and problem solvers. When individuals combine their talents and energies in groups, they accomplish goals that would overwhelm individuals. People working collectively inevitably encounter problems coordinating their efforts and maximizing effort, but groups are the crucible for creativity.  What processes promote group performance, and what processes inhibit it?  Do people work as hard when in groups as they do when working by themselves?  When do people give their all when working in a group?  When do groups outperform individuals?  What steps can be taken to encourage creativity in groups? 10

Working in Groups Groups with a Purpose When to Work in Groups The Process Model of Productivity Social Facilitation Performance in the Presence of Others Why Does Social Facilitation Occur? Conclusions and Applications Social Loafing The Ringelmann Effect Causes and Cures Collective Effort Model Groups vs. Individuals Additive Tasks Compensa- tory Tasks Disjunctive Tasks Conjunctive Tasks Discretion- ary Tasks Process Gains in Groups Group Creativity Brain- storming Improving Brain- storming Alternatives

Groups with a Purpose When to Work in Groups The Process Model of Productivity What happens when people join with others on the most simple of tasks? Do many hands make light the work? Are people prone to “free ride?” Are we better (smarter, more clever, more creative) together? Working in Groups

The tasks groups complete are numerous and varied. Groups with a Purpose McGrath’s task circumplex model distinguishes between generating, choosing, negotiating, and executing tasks. These tasks differ along two dimensions: conceptual- behavioral and cooperation-conflict.

When Groups? Collective Intelligence  How difficult is the task?  How complex is the task?  How important is the task?  How monotonous/dull is the task? Groups working on many different types of tasks performed better when:  They included more women  Members where higher in social sensitivity  Members contributed at relatively equal rates to the task When to Work in Groups

Steiner’s Theory of Process and Productivity Ivan Steiner (1972), in his classic work Group Process and Productivity, drew on the concept of process loss to predict when groups will perform well or poorly. Process loss: Reduction in performance effectiveness or efficiency caused by actions, operations, or dynamics that prevent the group from reaching its full potential, including reduced effort, faulty group processes, coordination problems, and ineffective leadership. Steiner’s Law of Productivity AP = PP – PL Actual productivity is equal to Potential Productivity Less Process Loss

Working in Groups Groups with a Purpose When to Work in Groups The Process Model of Productivity Social Facilitation Performance in the Presence of Others Why Does Social Facilitation Occur? Conclusions and Applications Social Loafing Groups vs. Individuals Group Creativity Social Facilitation Social facilitation: improvement in performance in the presence of others (both audience and coaction) Triplett’s (1898) early study of the influence of other people on performance of simple tasks

Zajonc’s motivational analysis of social facilitation (1965) Performance in the Presence of Others Social facilitation occurs on simple tasks that require dominant responses Social interference occurs for complex tasks that require nondominant responses Task requires nondominant responses Social interference Social interference Performance loss Presence of others Dominant responses increase and nondominant responses decrease Task requires dominant responses Performance gain Social facilitation Social facilitation

Empirical Examples: Zajonc’s Cockroach Study Speed in seconds Type of Maze Performance in the Presence of Others

Markus (1978): Donning familiar and unfamiliar garb Seconds Type of Task Performance in the Presence of Others

Theories of social facilitation Why Does Social Facilitation Occur? Two types of responses in performance settings Challenge response Threat response

Theories of social facilitation Why Does Social Facilitation Occur?

Theories of social facilitation Why Does Social Facilitation Occur? Harkin tested his mere-effort model using the Remote Associates Test (RAT) Star Glass Stamp Carpet High

Theories of social facilitation Why Does Social Facilitation Occur?

Eating in groups Prejudice as a dominant response Electronic performance monitoring (EPM) Learning in groups Cross-cultural differences Conclusions and Applications

Social Loafing The Ringelmann Effect Causes and Cures Collective Effort Model Working in Groups Social Facilitation Groups vs. Individuals Group Creativity Steiner’s Law of Productivity AP = PP – PL Actual productivity is equal to Potential Productivity Less Process Loss How productive are people when they work on simple group tasks?

The Ringelmann Effect People become less productive when they work with others Ringelmann effect: The tendency, first documented by Max Ringelmann, for people to become less productive when they work with others; this loss of efficiency increases as group size increases, but at a gradually decreasing rate.

The loss of productivity in groups working on simple, additive tasks is caused by two types of process loss: Coordination losses—people cannot combine their efforts with maximum efficiency Social loafing--the reduction of individual effort exerted when people work in groups compared to when they work alone. Causes and Cures Latané, Williams, and Harkins disentangled the effects of both coordination loss and social loafing in their studies of groups and “pseudo-groups” generating sound.

Motivation loss Obtained output Coordination loss Potential Productivity Pseudo groups Actual groups

Ways to Increase Social Motivation Increase identifiability Minimize free-riding by making the group as small as possible (6 ± 2) Set goals (specific, clear) Increase engagement by building in interdependence Increase identification with the group (self < group) Social compensation processes also work, in some cases, to reduce process loss by increasing the level of effort expended by others in the group

Collective Effort Model Karau & William’s CEM applies motivation theory to motivation in groups Expectations Performance RewardsMotivation Valence Even if you work hard other group members may not Must share the rewards with others Group rewards not as valued as personal rewards Loss of motivation in groups

Groups vs. Individuals Additive Tasks Compensa- tory Tasks Disjunctive Tasks Conjunctive Tasks Discretion- ary Tasks Process Gains in Groups Working in Groups Social Facilitation Social Loafing Group Creativity Task demands are defined by divisibility, the type of output desired, and the social combination rule used to combine individual members’ inputs. How well will a group perform? Steiner suggests it all depends on the type of task the group is attempting.

Steiner’s Analysis of Task Demands

Additive Tasks Groups outperform individuals on additive tasks, but at a decreasing rate of gain. Potential Productivity Projected Productivity

Compensatory Tasks The “Wisdom of Crowds” effect occurs (sometimes) if members’ judgments are averaged Even a small group (8 members) was wiser than an above-average single member. Once the group reached 40 members, it became wiser than the best members.

Compensatory Tasks The “Wisdom of Crowds” effect did not occur if problem was very difficult Individuals routinely outperformed the ignorant crowd.

Disjunctive Tasks Groups perform well on disjunctive tasks if the group includes at least one individual who knows the correct solution. The truth-wins rule usually holds for groups working on Eureka problems The truth-supported-wins rule holds for groups working on non- Eureka problems. Groups are better at problems that have a known solution (intellective tasks) rather than problems that have no clear right or wrong answer (judgmental tasks).

Conjunctive Tasks Groups perform poorly on conjunctive tasks since the group’s outcome is substantially influenced by its “weakest link.”  Group improve at such tasks if they can be subdivided and each task assigned to the person most capable of performing it.  When the Kohler effect occurs, the poorest performing member improves his/her performance to keep up with the others.

Discretionary Tasks The effectiveness of groups working on discretionary tasks covaries with the method chosen to combine individuals’ inputs.

Process Gains in Groups The search for synergy-- achieving collectively results that could not be achieved by any member working alone – continues, but synergy is VERY rare. Synergy is so rare that Steiner’s Law does not include a “Process Gain” element: AP = PP – PL + PG

Working in Groups Social Facilitation Social Loafing Groups vs. Individuals Additive Tasks Compensa- tory Tasks Disjunctive Tasks Conjunctive Tasks Discretion- ary Tasks Process Gains in Groups Group Creativity Brain- storming Improving Brain- storming Alternatives Brainstorming rules Be expressive Postpone evaluation Seek quantity Piggyback ideas

Problems with Brainstorming Alternatives  Social loafing  Production blocking  Social matching  Illusion of productivity  brainwriting  synectics  nominal ‑ group technique (NGT)  electronic brainstorming (EBS)  Delphi  Buzz groups Maximizing Creativity in Groups

Working in Groups Groups with a Purpose When to Work in Groups The Process Model of Productivity Social Facilitation Performance in the Presence of Others Why Does Social Facilitation Occur? Conclusions and Applications Social Loafing The Ringelmann Effect Causes and Cures Collective Effort Model Groups vs. Individuals Additive Tasks Compensa- tory Tasks Disjunctive Tasks Conjunctive Tasks Discretion- ary Tasks Process Gains in Groups Group Creativity Brain- storming Improving Brain- storming Alternatives