Chapter 8: Defective Decision Making

Front 1

What is a decision require?

Back 1

A choice between two or more alternatives.

Front 2

What is problem solving?

Back 2

Necessitates decision-making, but not all decision making involves a problem to be solved.

Front 3

What does critical thinking require?

Back 3

Group members to analyze and evaluate ideas and information in order to reach sound judgments and conclusions.

Front 4

What is critical thinking essential to?

Back 4

any discussion of small group decision making and problem solving.

Front 5

What is essential to group decision making and problem solving?

Back 5

Adequate and credible information.

Front 6

What is information overload?

Back 6

Occurs when the rate of information flow into a system and/or the complexity of that information exceed the system's processing capacity.

Front 7

What is the first consequence of information overload?

Back 7

Critical thinking impairment.

Front 8

What happens when critical thinking is impaired?

Back 8

It is difficult to distinguish useless from useful information.

Front 9

What is the second consequence of information overload?

Back 9

Indecisiveness.

Front 10

What is the third consequence of information overload?

Back 10

Difficulty concentrating.

Front 11

What happens when the amount of info that is competing is too much?

Back 11

Focusing on one thing becomes problematic

Front 12

What is the first way to cope with information overload?

Back 12

Screening Information.

Front 13

What happens with screening information?

Back 13

You reduce the amount of info that you are exposed to.

Front 14

What is the second way to cope with information overload?

Back 14

Shutting off technology.

Front 15

What is the third way to cope with information overload?

Back 15

Specialization: know a lot about a little.

Front 16

What is the fourth way to cope with info overload?

Back 16

Become selective. Choose based on the group's priorities and goals.

Front 17

What is the 5th way to cope with info overload?

Back 17

Limit the search.

Front 18

What is the 6th way to cope with info overload?

Back 18

Narrow the search.

Front 19

What is information underload?

Back 19

A insufficient amount of information available to a group for decision-making purposes.

Front 20

When does info underload occur?

Back 20

In groups because an individual member sits on critical info and doesn't share it with the group, or time pressure impedes sharing info.

Front 21

What does unshared info in groups lead to?

Back 21

Poor decision-making.

Front 22

What is info underload a problem of?

Back 22

Too much closeness in a system.

Front 23

What are mindsets?

Back 23

Psychological and cognitive predispositions to see the world in a particular way.

Front 24

What is confirmation bias?

Back 24

Our strong tendency to seek and attend to info that confirms our beliefs and attitudes, and to ignore info that contradicts our current beliefs and attitudes.

Front 25

What is rationalization of disconfirmation?

Back 25

the invention of explanations for info that contradicts a belief.

Front 26

What is the first way to combat confirmation bias?

Back 26

Present disconfirming evidence to the group.

Front 27

What is the second way to combat confirmation bias?

Back 27

Play devil's advocate.

Front 28

What is the third way to combat confirmation bias?

Back 28

Gather allies to help challenge confirmation bias.

Front 29

What are false dichotomies?

Back 29

The tendency to view the world in terms of only two opposing possibilities when other possibilities are available.

Front 30

What do groups locked into a false dichotomy never consider?

Back 30

A third alternative.

Front 31

What are two ways to combat false dichotomies?

Back 31

1. Be suspicious of absolutes.

2. Employ the language of provisionalism.

Front 32

What are inferences?

Back 32

Conclusions about the unknown based on what is known.

Front 33

Where do we draw inferences from?

Back 33

Previous experiences, factual data, and predispostions.

Front 34

What type of inferences are likely to produce inferential errors?

Back 34

Those drawn on limited and faulty information.

Front 35

Groups that use what kind of decision making have more inferential errors?

Back 35

Ineffective decision making.

Front 36

What is the vividness effect?

Back 36

the potential of a dramatic example prompts us to overvalue an event and undervalue statistical probabilities of an event occuring.

Front 37

What are humans predisposed to?

Back 37

To look for causes of events that reamin unexplained.

Front 38

What is risky shift?

Back 38

When you are more likely to take risks in a group than as an individual.

Front 39

What is group polarization?

Back 39

The group tendency to make a decision after discussion that is more extreme, either riskier or more cautious, than the initial preferences of group members.

Front 40

What do groups tend to do if there is a clear majority leaning one way or another?

Back 40

Polarize decision making.

Front 41

What are the two reasons why groups polarize?

Back 41

1. Social comparison.

2. Persuasive argumentation.

Front 42

What is social comparison?

Back 42

An individual uses the group norm regarding risk taking or caution to a point of reference.

Front 43

What is persuasive argumentation?

Back 43

It is influenced by other group members through persuasion.

Front 44

When are groups more risky?

Back 44

When they are large,members do not know each other well, and when members are knowledgable and well informed about the problem.

Front 45

What is the first way to combat group polarization?

Back 45

Encourage a wide range of views on issues to be discussed in the group.

Front 46

What is the second way to combat group polarization?

Back 46

If diversity of viewpoints is not represented by a group member, provide well-reasoned and researched material in written or oral form to group members for serious consideration.

Front 47

What is the third way to combat group polarization?

Back 47

A facilitator during group discussions should encourage group members to consider opposing viewpoints on issues.

Front 48

What is the 4th way to combat group polarization?

Back 48

Discuss issues openly before taking a firm position.

Front 49

What is groupthink?

Back 49

A mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group when the members strive for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.

Front 50

What are the 2 general conditions necessary for groupthink to occur?

Back 50

Cohesiveness and occurrence seeking.

Front 51

Where is groupthink rooted?

Back 51

In excessive cohesiveness and a resulting pressure to present a united front to those outside the group.

Front 52

What is the first symptom of groupthink?

Back 52

Overestimation of the group's power and morality: arrogance.

Front 53

What is arrogance in a group?

Back 53

Illusion of invulnerability.

Front 54

What is the second system of groupthink?

Back 54

Closemindedness.

Front 55

What do you do when you are closeminded?

Back 55

Rationalize and have negative stereotyped views of the enemy.

Front 56

What is the third symptom of groupthink?

Back 56

Presenting an united front.

Front 57

What are the ways to prevent groupthink?

Back 57

1. Become viligant decision makers.

2. Recognize when groupthink is manifesting.

3. Minimize status differences.

4. seek info that challenges an emerging concurrence.

5. Assign one or two members to play devil's advocate.

6. Institute a dialectical inquiry: counterargument.

7. Assign a group member to play the reminder role.