Business and Management INK

Charles Pavitt on Social Influence During Group Decision Making

October 23, 2014 1037

chess-722932-m[Editor’s Note: A special thanks to Charles Pavitt of University of Delaware, who took the time to give us some background on his article “An Interactive Input–Process–Output Model of Social Influence in Decision-Making Groups,” recently published in Small Group Research.]

I have been interested in social influence during group decision making since the mid 1990s. At that time, I was teaching small group communication a lot and using one of the classic Kogan/Wallach choice dilemmas as an exercise when teaching about the group polarization effect (tendency for groups to polarize SGR_72ppiRGB_powerpointin the direction the members originally lean toward). After watching at least 100 student groups doing the exercise, I realized that there were some communicative phenomena that were not adequately addressed in the then-current social psychological theory regarding group polarization. First, there was a natural stage process (first exchange preferred option, then exchange relevant information but only if there is disagreement on preferred options) that probably generalizes to any group decision making. Second, and I verified this later in my research, if groups are in general agreement on one option, they NEVER have anything good to say about any other option (which is why groups usually don’t find the better option in hidden profile research, in which each member’s information suggests one option but the information everyone has as a whole favors a better option).

Later, I came to realize that the traditional distinction between two types of group social influence (normative and informational) was a product of research without true group communication, and there are in actuality three types – that based on learning new relevant information, that based on learning the option preferences of trusted group members, and that based on wanting the group to like you or wanting the boss to accept you (which encompasses verbal compliance but no true preference change). Anyway, the motivation for this paper was based on these two insights – that there are three routes to social influence, and they unfold and intertwine over time in ways previous theory did not sufficiently describe.

[Interest in chatting with Dr. Pavitt about his work? You can email him at chazzq (at) udel (dot) edu. You can also click here to read “An Interactive Input–Process–Output Model of Social Influence in Decision-Making Groups” for free from Small Group Research! Want all the latest news and research from Small Group Research sent directly to your inbox? Click here to sign up for e-alerts!]

pavitt_cropCharles Pavitt is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Delaware, United States. He enjoys doing scholarly work relevant to small group and interpersonal communication, communication theory, and (in his spare time) baseball.

Business and Management INK puts the spotlight on research published in our more than 100 management and business journals. We feature an inside view of the research that’s being published in top-tier SAGE journals by the authors themselves.

View all posts by Business & Management INK

Related Articles

Boards and Internationalization Speed
Business and Management INK
November 18, 2024

Boards and Internationalization Speed

Read Now
How Managers Can Enhance Trust
Business and Management INK
November 11, 2024

How Managers Can Enhance Trust

Read Now
The Role of Place in Sustainability
Business and Management INK
October 28, 2024

The Role of Place in Sustainability

Read Now
Turning to Glitter in Management Studies – Why We Should Take ‘Unserious’ Glitter Serious to Understand New Management Practices
Business and Management INK
October 24, 2024

Turning to Glitter in Management Studies – Why We Should Take ‘Unserious’ Glitter Serious to Understand New Management Practices

Read Now
Utilizing Academic-Practitioner Partnering for Societal Impact

Utilizing Academic-Practitioner Partnering for Societal Impact

In this article, co-authors Natalie Slawinski, Bruna Brito, Jennifer Brenton, and Wendy Smith reflect on the inspiration behind their research article, “Reflections on deep academic–practitioner partnering for generative societal impact,” published in Strategic Organization.

Read Now
Trippin’ Forward: Management Research and the Development of Psychedelics

Trippin’ Forward: Management Research and the Development of Psychedelics

Charlie Smith reflects on his interest in psychedelic research, the topic of his research article, “Psychedelics, Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy and Employees’ Wellbeing,” published in Journal of Management Inquiry.

Read Now
Using Ethnography to Explore Entrepreneurial Extracurricular Activities

Using Ethnography to Explore Entrepreneurial Extracurricular Activities

Co-authors Birgitte Wraae and Nicolai Nybye reflect on the inspiration behind their research article, “Learning to Be “Me,” “the Team,” and “the Company” Through Entrepreneurial Extracurricular Activities: An Ethnographic Approach,” published in Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy.

Read Now
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments