scholarly journals Groups Make Better Self-Interested Decisions

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Charness ◽  
Matthias Sutter

In this paper, we describe what economists have learned about differences between group and individual decision-making. This literature is still young, and in this paper, we will mostly draw on experimental work (mainly in the laboratory) that has compared individual decision-making to group decision-making, and to individual decision-making in situations with salient group membership. The bottom line emerging from economic research on group decision-making is that groups are more likely to make choices that follow standard game-theoretic predictions, while individuals are more likely to be influenced by biases, cognitive limitations, and social considerations. In this sense, groups are generally less “behavioral” than individuals. An immediate implication of this result is that individual decisions in isolation cannot necessarily be assumed to be good predictors of the decisions made by groups. More broadly, the evidence casts doubts on traditional approaches that model economic behavior as if individuals were making decisions in isolation.

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takehiro Ito ◽  
Akihiro Suzuki ◽  
Toru Takemoto ◽  
Kazuhito Ogawa ◽  
Hiromasa Takahashi

Abstract We examine how group decision-making affects other-regarding behavior in experimental dictator games. In particular, we assess whether the effects of iterated games differ for group and individual decision-making and whether the difference in decision-making style (individual or group) changes the perception of social identity. We make two findings on group decision-making. First, group decisions become more selfish when repeating the game after changing group members. Second, a dictator group donates more to a recipient group at the same university than to a recipient group at a different university. These findings are not true for individual decision-making.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arpan Kumar Kar ◽  
Ashis Kumar Pani

Purpose – The application of theories on group decision support is yet to be explored extensively in supplier selection literature, although the literature in both domains is extremely rich, in isolation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of group decision support theories for supplier selection. Design/methodology/approach – The row geometric mean method (RGMM) of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been used in this study for the prioritization of group preferences under consensus. A case study was conducted to test the theories of consensual group decision making and compare it with other approaches based on AHP. Findings – The study establishes that the application of decision support theories for group decision making can improve the supplier selection process. Findings further imply that RGMM is more effective than eigen value method, for group decision making under consensus. Research limitations/implications – Methodologically, the study highlights the greater regularity in outcome of group decision making, vis-à-vis individual decision making, for the same decision-making context. Also, it highlights how RGMM is more effective since it preserves reciprocal properties and diversity in preferences better. Practical implications – The study establishes that firms can improve supplier selection processes by leveraging on the collective expertise of a group rather than depending on individual decision-making expertise. Originality/value – This study explores the application of different theories based on AHP for consensual group decision making. It compares different approaches based on AHP and establishes that RGMM is a superior approach for supplier selection.


Author(s):  
Junyi Zhang ◽  
Harry Timmermans ◽  
Aloys Borgers

Existing activity-based models of transport demand typically assume an individual decision-making process. The focus on theories of individual decision making may be partially due to the lack of behaviorally oriented modeling methodologies for group decision making. Therefore, an attempt has been made to develop a new model (called the g-Logit household time-use model) for time-use analysis that incorporates group decision-making mechanisms. To do that, it is proposed that household utility function be defined in the form of multilinear utility function, which can represent interactions among household members and interactions among their activities (four types of activity: in-home, out-of-home independent, allocated, and shared). By introducing this household utility function into the time allocation approach, each member’s time-use functions for different types of activities are obtained. The function for independent activities has a structure similar to the one for allocated activities, except the weight parameters are different. In contrast, the time-use function for shared activities has a completely different structure, which results from the complicated processes and strategies for household decision making. The effectiveness of the proposed model is confirmed with activity-travel diary data.


Author(s):  
Cheng-Ju Hsieh ◽  
Mario Fifić ◽  
Cheng-Ta Yang

Abstract It has widely been accepted that aggregating group-level decisions is superior to individual decisions. As compared to individuals, groups tend to show a decision advantage in their response accuracy. However, there has been a lack of research exploring whether group decisions are more efficient than individual decisions with a faster information-processing speed. To investigate the relationship between accuracy and response time (RT) in group decision-making, we applied systems’ factorial technology, developed by Townsend and Nozawa (Journal of Mathematical Psychology 39, 321–359, 1995) and regarded as a theory-driven methodology, to study the information-processing properties. More specifically, we measured the workload capacity CAND(t), which only considers the correct responses, and the assessment function of capacity AAND(t), which considers the speed-accuracy trade-off, to make a strong inference about the system-level processing efficiency. A two-interval, forced-choice oddball detection task, where participants had to detect which interval contains an odd target, was conducted in Experiment 1. Then, in Experiment 2, a yes/no Gabor detection task was adopted, where participants had to detect the presence of a Gabor patch. Our results replicated previous findings using the accuracy-based measure: Group detection sensitivity was better than the detection sensitivity of the best individual, especially when the two individuals had similar detection sensitivities. On the other hand, both workload capacity measures, CAND(t) and AAND(t), showed evidence of supercapacity processing, thus suggesting a collective benefit. The ordered relationship between accuracy-based and RT-based collective benefit was limited to the AAND(t) of the correct and fast responses, which may help uncover the processing mechanism behind collective benefits. Our results suggested that AAND(t), which combines both accuracy and RT into inferences, can be regarded as a novel and diagnostic tool for studying the group decision-making process.


2008 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 283-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pi-Yueh Cheng ◽  
Wen-Bin Chiou

Prospect theory proposes that framing effects result in a preference for risk-averse choices in gain situations and risk-seeking choices in loss situations. However, in group polarization situations, groups show a pronounced tendency to shift toward more extreme positions than those they initially held. Whether framing effects in group decision making are more prominent as a result of the group-polarization effect was examined. Purposive sampling of 120 college students (57 men, 63 women; M age = 20.1 yr., SD = 0.9) allowed assessment of relative preference between cautious and risky choices in individual and group decisions. Findings indicated that both group polarization and framing effects occur in investment decisions. More importantly, group decisions in a gain situation appear to be more cautious, i.e., risk averse, than individual decisions, whereas group decisions in the loss situation appear to be more risky than individual decisions. Thus, group decision making may expand framing effects when it comes to investment choices through group polarization.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (05) ◽  
pp. 1055-1114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng-Hua Xiong ◽  
Zhen-Song Chen ◽  
Yan-Lai Li ◽  
Kwai-Sang Chin

Developing aggregation operators for interval-valued hesitant fuzzy sets (IVHFSs) is a technological task we are faced with, because they are specifically important in many problems related to the fusion of interval-valued hesitant fuzzy information. This paper develops several novel kinds of power geometric operators, which are referred to as variable power geometric operators, and extends them to interval-valued hesitant fuzzy environments. A series of generalized interval-valued hesitant fuzzy power geometric (GIVHFG) operators are also proposed to aggregate the IVHFSs to model mandatory requirements. One of the important characteristics of these operators is that objective weights of input arguments are variable with the change of a non-negative parameter. By adjusting the exact value of the parameter, the influence caused by some “false” or “biased” arguments can be reduced. We demonstrate some desirable and useful properties of the proposed aggregation operators and utilize them to develop techniques for multiple criteria group decision making with IVHFSs considering the heterogeneous opinions among individual decision makers. Furthermore, we propose an entropy weights-based fitting approach for objectively obtaining the appropriate value of the parameter. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Asaoka

Japanese corporate law (the Companies Act) requires that boards have three or more directors, and thus makes group decision making obligatory within firms. But according to some observers, boards of directors are often a mere formality in Japan, especially for non-public and small-to-medium-sized firms. The literature of behavioural science shows that group decision making does not necessarily produce better outcomes than individual decisions. In fact, a model of a group decision making shows that it can cause underinvestment at firms. The three-or-more requirement was formed with path dependency dating back to the late 19th century when Japan transplanted legal systems from overseas, but it was by no means the standard. Giving managers flexibility in organizational design is desirable in that it can accommodate firms’ internal characteristics and tendencies and facilitate the establishment of start-ups, new subsidiaries and joint ventures.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saugat Bhattacharyya ◽  
Davide Valeriani ◽  
Caterina Cinel ◽  
Luca Citi ◽  
Riccardo Poli

Abstract In this paper we present and test collaborative Brain-Computer Interfaces (cBCIs) that can significantly increase both the speed and the accuracy of group decision-making in realistic situations. The key distinguishing features of this work are: (1) our cBCIs combine behavioural, physiological and neural data in such a way as to be able to provide a group decision at any time after the quickest team member casts their vote, but the quality of a cBCI-assisted decision improves monotonically the longer the group decision can wait; (2) we apply our cBCIs to two realistic scenarios of military relevance (patrolling a dark corridor and manning an outpost at night where users need to identify any unidentified characters that appear) in which decisions are based on information conveyed through video feeds; and (3) our cBCIs exploit Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) elicited in brain activity by the appearance of potential threats but, uniquely, the appearance time is estimated automatically by the system (rather than being unrealistically provided to it). As a result of these elements, groups assisted by our cBCIs make both more accurate and faster decisions than when individual decisions are integrated in more traditional manners.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0259354
Author(s):  
Jinling Zhao ◽  
Yubing Sui ◽  
Yang Xu ◽  
K. K. Lai

This paper proposes a multiple criteria group decision making with individual preferences (MCGDM-IP) to address the robot selection problem (RSP). Four objective criteria elicitation approaches, namely, Shannon entropy approach, CRITIC approach, distance-based approach, and ideal-point approach, are proposed to indicate individual decision makers. A preliminary group decision matrix is therefore formulated. Both preferential differences representing the preference degrees among different robots, and preferential priorities representing the favorite ranking of robots for each individual decision maker, are analyzed to propose a revised group decision matrix. A satisfaction index is developed to manifest the merits of the proposed MCGDM-IP. An illustrative example using the data drawn from previous literature is conducted to indicate the effectiveness and validity of MCGDM-IP. The results demonstrate that the MCGDM-IP could generate a more satisfactory scheme to evaluate and select industrial robots, with an improvement of group satisfactory level as 2.12%.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Panjkaj Srivastava ◽  
Rajkrishna Mondal

Naturally, individual decision style is qualitative rather than quantitative settings. In nature, the human way of thinking is uncertain and fuzziness that demands the use of the linguistic approach of problems related to the decision. The group decision making process is highly affected by hesitant situations among the members for clarity-based decisions. In order to remove the hesitant situations, the proposed Hesitant Fuzzy Envelope expert system provides the group decision making processes with more realistic output in envelope form rather than CRISP one. In this study, we shall discuss a linguistic based expert system that will help to make more realistic decisions in a hesitant situation by using Hesitant Fuzzy Envelope technique.


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