Group cohesiveness and quality of decision making: An integration of tests of the groupthink hypothesis

Mullen (1994) · Small Group Research · Read the paper

Brian Mullen, Tara Anthony, Eduardo Salas and James Driskell pooled tests of the groupthink hypothesis in a meta-analysis of how group cohesiveness affects the quality of group decisions. They found no significant overall effect of cohesiveness on decision quality. More cohesive groups made poorer decisions when another groupthink antecedent, directive leadership, was present, and as group size increased. The harm was greater when cohesiveness was measured as interpersonal attraction than as commitment to the task or group pride, and the authors cautioned that the group pride results should be read carefully because pride varied very little across the included tests.

Brian Mullen, Tara Anthony, Eduardo Salas and James Driskell pooled tests of the groupthink hypothesis in a meta-analysis of how group cohesiveness affects the quality of group decisions. They found no significant overall effect of cohesiveness on decision quality. More cohesive groups made poorer decisions when another groupthink antecedent, directive leadership, was present, and as group size increased. The harm was greater when cohesiveness was measured as interpersonal attraction than as commitment to the task or group pride, and the authors cautioned that the group pride results should be read carefully because pride varied very little across the included tests.

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Mullen, B., Anthony, T., Salas, E., & Driskell, J. E. (1994). Group cohesiveness and quality of decision making: An integration of tests of the groupthink hypothesis. Small Group Research, 25(2), 189-204. doi:10.1177/1046496494252003