Group Performance Depends on the Majority Rule

• Published in: Psychological science Vol. 9; no. 6; pp. 456 - 463
• Main Authors: Sorkin, Robert D., West, Ryan, Robinson, Donald E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Blackwell Publishing 01.11.1998; SAGE Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Decision making; Economic theory; False alarms; Group dynamics; Group performance; Group size; Majority rule; Mathematical theorems; Normativity; Signal detection; Signal detection theory; Voting paradox

Some group decisions require a two-thirds or three-quarters majority of the people voting; others require only a simple majority. Does the accuracy of a group's decision making depend on which majority rule is used? A signal detection theory analysis was used to answer this question. Each membe...