Confederating Effectiveness

A quantitative methodology was used in computing the results of the study because it is better for analyzing cause-and-effect, as it provides numerical data that leads to a less subjective way of quantifying and analyzing the results. The effectiveness of the pair on the task was scored based on the height of their tower as well as how long they took to complete the task. Using these criteria, the an effective pair would be one that built a tall tower in a short amount of time, and an ineffective pair would be one that built a relatively short tower in a long period of time. Afterwards, the two groups (the mimicking or non-mimicking conditions) were compared on the measure of their effectiveness when working together.
Results
All participants …show more content…
For example, a subject with experience in engineering or physics courses or someone who has completed a similar task before participating in this study may be more effective in the paper tower task than a subject who did not have the same experiences. Similarly, the confederates used in this study were high school students, not professionals in mimicking others. Although confederates attended a brief session detailing the concept of behavioral mimicry and were taught specific actions to observe in their partner and embody in their own actions, their quality of mimicry likely varied from confederate to confederate. Depending on the actions of these trained students, some of the pairs may have experienced more or less mimicry than the others, which may have affected how effective they were. Additionally, this study was conducted using teenage students in a short time frame. The actions of these students may be different than a scenario with adults in the workplace over a long-term project or goal, where this topic may be more …show more content…
This is especially crucial to continue to investiagate, as besides this research, there are no other studies that directly relate mimicry to productivity or effectiveness. Additionallyany improvements upon this study should be considered, such as using a more standardized procedure with more subjects in order to better understand the true association (or lack thereof) between mimicry and group effectiveness. Additionally, studies investigating the effect of mimicry in group in other contexts, such as long term projects, different kinds of tasks or goals, or various ages would be beneficial in understanding the extent of the effects of mimicry on how a group