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Groups as imperfection decision makers - Larson, Christensen, Franz & Abbott (1998). Diagnosing groups: the pooling, management and impact of shared and unshared case information in teambased medical decision making

4 important questions on Groups as imperfection decision makers - Larson, Christensen, Franz & Abbott (1998). Diagnosing groups: the pooling, management and impact of shared and unshared case information in teambased medical decision making

Why this research? Larson, Christensen, Franz & Abbott (1998).

To examine the way in which 1) decision making in teams pool their shared and unshared information during group discusion, 2) to explore the information management role that group leaders naturally play during discusion, 3) and to investigate the impact of discussing shared and unshared information on group decision effectiveness.

Results Larson, Christensen, Franz & Abbott (1998).

People more often mention shared information than unshared information.
shared information is mentioned earlier in a discussion
leaders will repeat more shared information than other teammembers
leaders will repeat more unshared information than other teammembers
leaders will repeat more unshared information over time.

What about the quality of decison making? Larson, Christensen, Franz & Abbott (1998).

the more unshared information teams pooled, the more accurate diagnoses were.
diagnoses are more biased when people discuss more shared information, but repeating unshared information reduces amount of bias.

Strenght and weaknesses? Larson, Christensen, Franz & Abbott (1998).

strenght
used highly trained professionals and the give task was also quite simular to the ones that made on a routine basis as part of their work (nearly real condition)
weaknesses
weak manipulation of leadership (random assignment of leader role)