scholarly journals Conflicts of interest and the evolution of decision sharing

2008 ◽  
Vol 364 (1518) ◽  
pp. 807-819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa Conradt ◽  
Timothy J Roper
Keyword(s):  
Group Decision ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Decision Models ◽  
Movement Direction ◽  
Collective Decisions ◽  
Social Animals ◽  
Dominant Member ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Decision Type

Social animals regularly face consensus decisions whereby they choose, collectively, between mutually exclusive actions. Such decisions often involve conflicts of interest between group members with respect to preferred action. Conflicts could, in principle, be resolved, either by sharing decisions between members (‘shared decisions’) or by one ‘dominant’ member making decisions on behalf of the whole group (‘unshared decisions’). Both, shared and unshared decisions, have been observed. However, it is unclear as to what favours the evolution of either decision type. Here, after a brief literature review, we present a novel method, involving a combination of self-organizing system and game theory modelling, of investigating the evolution of shared and unshared decisions. We apply the method to decisions on movement direction. We find that both, shared and unshared, decisions can evolve without individuals having a global overview of the group's behaviour or any knowledge about other members' preferences or intentions. Selection favours unshared over shared decisions when conflicts are high relative to grouping benefits, and vice versa. These results differ from those of group decision models relating to activity timings. We attribute this to fundamental differences between collective decisions about modalities that are disjunct (here, space) or continuous (here, time) with respect to costs/benefits.

A Formal Approach to Handling Conflicts in Multiattribute Group Decision Making

2005 ◽  
Vol 128 (4) ◽  
pp. 678-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tung-King See ◽  
Kemper Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Group Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision ◽  
Decision Problems ◽  
Team Leaders ◽  
Formal Approach ◽  
Aggregation Functions ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Problem Data

Supporting the decision of a group in engineering design is a challenging and complicated problem when issues like consensus and compromise must be taken into account. In this paper, we present the foundations of the group hypothetical equivalents and inequivalents method and two fundamental extensions making it applicable to new classes of group decision problems. The first extension focuses on updating the formulation to place unequal importance on the preferences of the group members. The formulation presented in this paper allows team leaders to emphasize the input from certain group members based on experience or other factors. The second extension focuses on the theoretical implications of using a general class of aggregation functions. Illustration and validation of the developments are presented using a vehicle selection problem. Data from ten engineering design groups are used to demonstrate the application of the method.

scholarly journals Learning While Deciding in Groups

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Tindale ◽  
Jeremy R. Winget
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision ◽  
Decision Processes ◽  
Learning Potential ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Actual Learning

Groups are used to make many important societal decisions. Similar to individuals, by paying attention to the information available during the decision processes and the consequences of the decisions, groups can learn from their decisions as well. In addition, group members can learn from each other by exchanging information and being exposed to different perspectives. However, groups make decisions in many different ways and the potential and actual learning that takes place will vary as a function of the manner in which groups reach consensus. This chapter reviews the literature on group decision making with a special emphasis on how and when group decision making leads to learning. We argue that learning is possible in virtually any group decision making environment but freely interacting groups create the greatest potential for learning. We also discuss when and why group may not always take advantage of the learning potential.

Group Decision Making for Advanced Manufacturing Technology Selection Using the Choquet Integral

2011 ◽  
pp. 193-212
Author(s):  
Cengiz Kahraman ◽  
Selçuk Çebi ◽  
Ihsan Kaya
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision ◽  
Choquet Integral ◽  
Manufacturing Technology ◽  
Advanced Manufacturing Technology ◽  
Advanced Manufacturing ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Automated Storage ◽  
Method Of Production

Advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) is defined as a modern method of production incorporating highly automated and sophisticated computerized design and operational systems. Hence, an investment decision to adopt AMT is a strategic decision. A group decision making process is stressful when group members have different views under multiple and conflicting criteria. Satisfying group members’ opinions has a critical impact on a decision. In this chapter, a multiple criteria group decision making problem under a fuzzy environment is used for the selection among AMTs. Choquet integral methodology is used for this selection. A strategic investment problem of a company for a suitable Automated Storage/Retrieval System (AS/RS) is considered and discussed.

Decision Models and Group Decision Support Systems for Emergency Management and City Resilience

2021 ◽  
pp. 723-740
Author(s):  
Yumei Chen ◽  
Xiaoyi Zhao ◽  
Eliot Rich ◽  
Luis Felipe Luna-Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Decision Support Systems ◽  
Group Decision ◽  
Support Systems ◽  
Group Decision Support ◽  
Group Decision Support Systems ◽  
Decision Models ◽  
Graduate Course ◽  
Coastal Cities

This paper introduces the concept of Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) as a tool to support emergency management and resilience in coastal cities. As an illustration of the potential value of GDSS, we discuss the use of the Pointe Claire teaching case. Participants in the exercise work in groups to approach the case using four different computer-supported decision models to explore and recommend policies for emergency mitigation and city resilience. The case, as well as the decision models, can be a valuable GDSS tool, particularly in the mitigation stages of the emergency management cycle. We present preliminary results from the use of the case, models and a simulation environment in a graduate course. We finish the paper by presenting our experience as a framework for building more efficient and secure emergency management systems through the use of GDSS.

scholarly journals Fight tactics in wood ants: individuals in smaller groups fight harder but die faster

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1722) ◽  
pp. 3243-3250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim P. Batchelor ◽  
Mark Briffa
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Resource Holding Potential ◽  
Attrition Rates ◽  
Formica Rufa ◽  
Wood Ants ◽  
Social Animals ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The Individual

When social animals engage in inter-group contests, the outcome is determined by group sizes and individual masses, which together determine group resource-holding potential (‘group RHP’). Individuals that perceive themselves as being in a group with high RHP may receive a motivational increase and increase their aggression levels. Alternatively, individuals in lower RHP groups may increase their aggression levels in an attempt to overcome the RHP deficit. We investigate how ‘group RHP’ influences agonistic tactics in red wood ants Formica rufa . Larger groups had higher total agonistic indices, but per capita agonistic indices were highest in the smallest groups, indicating that individuals in smaller groups fought harder. Agonistic indices were influenced by relative mean mass, focal group size, opponent group size and opponent group agonistic index. Focal group attrition rates decreased as focal group relative agonistic indices increased and there was a strong negative influence of relative mean mass. The highest focal attrition rates were received when opponent groups were numerically large and composed of large individuals. Thus, fight tactics in F. rufa seem to vary with both aspects of group RHP, group size and the individual attributes of group members, indicating that information on these are available to fighting ants.

A Formal Approach to Handling Conflicts in Multiattribute Group Decision Making

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tung-King See ◽  
Kemper Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Group Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision ◽  
Formal Approach ◽  
Attribute Weights ◽  
Decision Methods ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Support Decision Making

The Hypothetical Equivalents and Inequivalents Method (HEIM) has been developed to support decision making in multiattribute problems where one decision maker is making the decision. In this paper HEIM is modified to support group decision making in multiattribute problems, resulting in the Group Hypothetical Equivalents and Inequivalents Method (G-HEIM). Instead of aggregating attribute weights or overall alternative values from each individual as is common in other group decision methods, G-HEIM operates by aggregating individual preferences. It is recognized that in group decision making, common preferences among group members can rarely be guaranteed, unless individual freedom is greatly limited. G-HEIM instead allows individuals to freely express preferences over a number of hypothetical alternatives and then explores the level of conflict or differences from the aggregated group preferences. The relationship between the level of conflicting preferences and the usability of the resulting decision is also directly studied using the G-HEIM. An automotive selection example is used to illustrate the approach.

Interactive Visualization for Group Decision Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (06) ◽  
pp. 1839-1864 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Bajracharya ◽  
G. Carenini ◽  
B. Chamberlain ◽  
K. Chen ◽  
D. Klein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Group Decision ◽  
Interactive Visualization ◽  
Visualization Tool ◽  
Domain Experts ◽  
Individual Preferences ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

Identifying the best solutions to large infrastructure decisions is a context-dependent multi-dimensional multi-stakeholder challenge in which competing objectives must be identified and trade-offs made. Our aim is to identify and explore features in an interactive visualization tool to help make group decision analysis more participatory, transparent, and comprehensible. We extended the interactive visualization tool ValueCharts to create Group ValueCharts. The new tool was introduced in two real-world scenarios in which stakeholders were in the midst of wrestling with decisions about infrastructure investment. We modeled the alternatives under consideration, for both scenarios, using prescribed criteria identified by domain experts. Participants in both groups were given instructions on how to use the tool to represent their preferences. Preferences for all participants were then displayed and discussed. The discussions were audio-recorded and the participants were surveyed to evaluate usability. The results indicate that participants felt the tool improved group interaction and information exchange and made the discussion more participatory. They expressed that visualizing individual preferences improved the ability to analyze decision outcomes based on everyone’s preferences. Additionally, the participants strongly concurred that the tool revealed disagreements and agreements and helped identify sticking points. These results suggest that a group decision tool that allows group members to input their individual preferences and then collectively probe into any differences makes the process of decision-making more participatory, transparent, and comprehensible and increases the quality and quantity of information exchange.

scholarly journals Influencing the physiology and decisions of groups: Physiological linkage during group decision-making

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-159
Author(s):  
Katherine R. Thorson ◽  
Oana D. Dumitru ◽  
Wendy Berry Mendes ◽  
Tessa V. West
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision Making ◽  
Physiological Response ◽  
Group Decision ◽  
Physiological Responses ◽  
High Status ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Physiological Linkage ◽  
To Come ◽  
Middle Status

Many of the most important decisions in our society are made within groups, yet we know little about how the physiological responses of group members predict the decisions that groups make. In the current work, we examine whether physiological linkage from “senders” to “receivers”—which occurs when a sender’s physiological response predicts a receiver’s physiological response—is associated with senders’ success at persuading the group to make a decision in their favor. We also examine whether experimentally manipulated status—an important predictor of social behavior—is associated with physiological linkage. In groups of 5, we randomly assigned 1 person to be high status, 1 low status, and 3 middle status. Groups completed a collaborative decision-making task that required them to come to a consensus on a decision to hire 1 of 5 firms. Unbeknownst to the 3 middle-status members, high- and low-status members surreptitiously were told to each argue for different firms. We measured cardiac interbeat intervals of all group members throughout the decision-making process to assess physiological linkage. We found that the more receivers were physiologically linked to senders, the more likely groups were to make a decision in favor of the senders. We did not find that people were physiologically linked to their group members as a function of their fellow group members’ status. This work identifies physiological linkage as a novel correlate of persuasion and highlights the need to understand the relationship between group members’ physiological responses during group decision-making.

scholarly journals Lack of experience-based stratification in homing pigeon leadership hierarchies

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 150518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isobel Watts ◽  
Benjamin Pettit ◽  
Máté Nagy ◽  
Theresa Burt de Perera ◽  
Dora Biro
Keyword(s):  
Prior Experience ◽  
Release Site ◽  
Homing Pigeon ◽  
Fundamental Question ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Homing Pigeons ◽  
Adaptive Value ◽  
Collective Decisions ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Individual

In societies that make collective decisions through leadership, a fundamental question concerns the individual attributes that allow certain group members to assume leadership roles over others. Homing pigeons form transitive leadership hierarchies during flock flights, where flock members are ranked according to the average time differences with which they lead or follow others' movement. Here, we test systematically whether leadership ranks in navigational hierarchies are correlated with prior experience of a homing task. We constructed experimental flocks of pigeons with mixed navigational experience: half of the birds within each flock had been familiarized with a specific release site through multiple previous releases, while the other half had never been released from the same site. We measured the birds' hierarchical leadership ranks, then switched the same birds' roles at a second site to test whether the relative hierarchical positions of the birds in the two subsets would reverse in response to the reversal in levels of experience. We found that while across all releases the top hierarchical positions were occupied by experienced birds significantly more often than by inexperienced ones, the remaining experienced birds were not consistently clustered in the top half—in other words, the network did not become stratified. We discuss our results in light of the adaptive value of structuring leadership hierarchies according to ‘merit’ (here, navigational experience).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document