The Distance-Exclusion Model of Quantitative Decisions Made by Groups
Zarnoth, Paul Thomas
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/82260
Description
Title
The Distance-Exclusion Model of Quantitative Decisions Made by Groups
Author(s)
Zarnoth, Paul Thomas
Issue Date
1998
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Davis, James H.
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Industrial
Language
eng
Abstract
The distance-exclusion model (DEM) is a model of group decision making designed to help explain the process of consensus formation in small groups of individuals with roughly equal status or authority. More specifically, this model focuses on decision tasks for which there exists a continuum of possible responses. Examples of groups required to make such quantitative judgments include managerial committees recommending deadlines for projects, civil juries awarding damages, and panels forecasting future membership or revenue for their clubs or organizations. The research presented here is divided into two sections. First, a process of model fitting was undertaken to estimate parameters within the DEM. Then, the predictions of a more specific version of the model were tested using two additional data sets. The results of these studies suggest that the DEM is a valuable tool for describing the process of intragroup interaction and consensus formation. However, the usefulness of the DEM was also found to be limited to specific kinds of tasks. It best predicted group judgment and member reactions if the decision task was important and did not have a demonstrably correct solution. Finally, the research testing the DEM also provided additional insights related to the treatment of opinion minorities by majority factions and the differences in the cognitive reactions of majority and minority members.
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