Individual and Group Performance
Two freshman psychology classes were presented a series of factual statements and asked to respond either true or false both individually and collectively to determine the importance of individual performance preceding group performance and vice versa in terms of shift (change of an answer given to a statement in one situation from an answer previously given to the same statement in another situation), the influence on accuracy of one situation preceding the other and the amount of shift observed in students with high grades and those with low grades. The data indicated that students at the extreme lower grade level (quartile IV) tended to shift more than students at the extreme upper level (quartile I), but no clear-cut differentiation appeared in central areas (quartiles II and III). No significant difference in shift occurred when group performance preceded individual performance or vice versa. Group performance preceding individual performance did prove to have a beneficial influence upon the individual's performance in that Ss conform somewhat to the performance of the group. The accuracy of the group performance was superior to that of the individuals.