Good and bad group performance: Same process—different outcomes

Much of the research on small group performance shows that groups tend to outperform individuals in most task domains. However, there is also evidence that groups sometimes perform worse than individuals, occasionally with severe negative consequences. Theoretical attempts to explain such negative p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGroup processes & intergroup relations Vol. 15; no. 5; pp. 603 - 618
Main Authors Tindale, R. Scott, Smith, Christine M., Dykema-Engblade, Amanda, Kluwe, Katharina
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.09.2012
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects
Experimental methods
Group behaviour
Group Dynamics
Group performance
Intergroup relations
Studies
Task analysis
Task Performance
Teamwork
group performance
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Summary:Much of the research on small group performance shows that groups tend to outperform individuals in most task domains. However, there is also evidence that groups sometimes perform worse than individuals, occasionally with severe negative consequences. Theoretical attempts to explain such negative performance events have tended to point to characteristics of the group or the group process that were different than those found for better performing groups. We argue that typical group processes can be used to explain both good and bad group performance in many instances. Results from a pair of experiments focusing on two different task domains are reported and used to support our arguments.
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ISSN:1368-4302
1461-7188
DOI:10.1177/1368430212454928