Andrea B. Hollingshead

Retrieval processes in transactive memory systems

Two experiments examined retrieval processes in transactive memory systems (D. M. Wegner, 1987). In Experiment 1, intimate couples who worked face to face performed better on a knowledge-pooling task than strangers who worked face to face and better than intimate couples who worked via a computer conferencing system. Additional analyses indicated that intimate couples when interacting face to face were better able to determine which partner was correct on questions that only 1 member knew the answer to prior to discussion. In Experiment 2, intimate couples scored significantly better on the knowledge task when they had access to either nonverbal or paralinguistic communication cues than when they had access to neither. Taken together, the results indicate that both nonverbal and paralinguistic communication play an important role in the retrieval of knowledge in transactive memory systems.

From cooperative to motivated information sharing in groups: moving beyond the hidden profile paradigm

A seminal study conducted by Stasser and Titus (1985) found that groups often make suboptimal decisions on tasks structured as hidden profiles because they tend to discuss and incorporate into their decisions information that is shared (known to all members) at the expense of information that is unshared (known to a single member). In other words, groups are not able to take advantage of the unique knowledge and expertise of their members. Over the past 19 years this unsettling finding has stimulated much research that seeks answers to the questions: why and under what conditions will groups favor shared information over unshared information in their collective decisions? This article presents a review and a critique of the literature on collective information sharing that was initiated by the Stasser and Titus study. The preponderance of research in the Stasser and Titus tradition carries with it strong theoretical assumptions that bear little mundane realism to natural decision‐making groups. For example, group members are presumed to work cooperatively with one another, to be unbiased, and to present information in an objective manner. In contrast, this paper lays out the perspective that information exchange is a motivated process whereby members deliberately select what information to mention and how to mention it to particular members in order to satisfy goals.

Collaborative learning and computer‐supported groups

Computer‐supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is the educational use of on‐line groups. Utilizing on‐line groups for instruction requires an understanding of the multiple issues involved in CSCL, such as the pedagogy applicable to groups and how communication technology influences group interaction. Theoretical and empirical research relevant to the use of CSCL‐including collaborative learning research and computer‐mediated communication research‐is discussed using a descriptive model to categoric the extant literature. The model provides guidance in designing and utilizing CSCL activities with university‐level groups.

Perceptions of Expertise and Transactive Memory in Work Relationships

People involved in close interpersonal relationships often develop a transactive memory system - a division of cognitive labor with respect to the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information from different substantive domains. The present study examined transactive memory systems using a sample of clerical office workers in a laboratory setting. It tested the general hypothesis that individual learning in work relationships is affected by perceptions of the relative expertise of coworkers. Participants were told that they would work on a task with a partner who had either similar or different work-related knowledge and job responsibilities. The findings supported the hypotheses that (a) people learn and recall more information in their own areas of expertise when their partner has different rather than similar work-related expertise; and (b) this effect reverses for recall of information outside work-related expertise. Taken together, the data showed that transactive memory is a property of work relationships, not just romantic relationships, and that role-based expertise can serve as its basis.

Groups, Tasks, and Technology The Effects of Experience and Change

Thisfinal article presents a summary ofthefindings in thefourpreceding substantive studies, placing them in the context of the theoretical formulations underlying the work. It then discusses some of the issues involved in attempts to do research on the effects of experience and change.

Collective versus individual induction: Recognition of truth, rejection of error, and collective information processing.

Four-person groups and 4 independent individuals solved rule induction problems under 4 levels of potential information. Groups performed at the level of the 2nd-best individuals for correct hypotheses (recognition of truth) and at the level of the best individuals for nonplausible hypotheses (rejection of error)

Sociocognition in work groups: The evolution of group integrative complexity and its relation to task performance.

The study described in this article examined the integrative complexity of shared conceptualizations of group culture: how they can be distinguished from member cognitions about group culture and how they affect taskperformance over time. Twenty-two workgroups wrote weekly essays about their collective activity over a 12-week period. Group members first wrote independent accounts and then collaborated to create a single group account of their activity during that week During thefirst 5 weeks of that period, the integrative complexity of group essays was not significantly differentfrom that of average individual essays but was significantly lower than that of essays written by the highest complexity members. During the last 5 weeks, the level of group complexity increased at a greater rate than either the average orhighest individual levels, until it was significantly greater than that of the average individual and statistically equivalent to that of the highest member The results also supported the notion that the relation of integrative complexity-at the group level-to the quality of decision outcomes depends on the nature of the task Taken as a whole, these findings support the developing notion that thoughts and ideas can be conceived as collective, rather than purely individual, phenomena.

The Functional Perspective as a Lens for Understanding Groups

The functional perspective is a normative approach to describing and predicting group performance that focuses on the functions of inputs and/or processes. The aim of theory and research from this perspective is to understand why some groups are successful and others are not. This article investigates theory and, to a lesser extent, research of small groups based on the functional perspective. The authors present the underlying theoretical assumptions and review theories that fit into the functional perspective from several representative areas of research. They conclude by outlining notable strengths and weaknesses associated with viewing groups from this perspective and propose some directions for future theory development.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Small Groups

After many years of developing in small islands scattered around different disciplines, small group research has reached a point where interdisciplinary scholarship has the potential to foster major progress. The goal of this special issue on interdisciplinary perspectives is to capitalize on the theoretical advances made over the last 50 years by synthesizing and integrating models and theories on small groups proposed by various disciplines into a set of general theoretical perspectives. In this introduction, the authors identify nine general theoretical perspectives from which small groups have been examined: the psychodynamic, functional, temporal, conflict-power-status, symbolic-interpretive, social identity, social-evolutionary, social network, and feminist perspectives. This article summarizes each theoretical perspective briefly and then offers some observations about the perspectives as a whole. Articles describing three of these interdisciplinary perspectives appear in this special issue, and four other perspectives will be introduced in the next issue.

Participation in Small Groups

This essay reviews the literature on participation in small groups. Studies are distinguished as concerned with (a) identifying social or psychological factors that are assumed to be responsible for distributions of speaking opportunities in groups or (b) assessing the effect of participation hierarchies on group process and outcomes. Five general classes of antecedents are identified: member, group, and task characteristics; technology; and time. Three types of participation effects are also identified: individual* and group-level effects and effects on interaction. Two general criticisms are provided: First, a theory of participation is needed that specifies the role of antecedents on participation and how such antecedents play a role in participation outcomes; second, studies of participation should consider the role of discourse in the distribution of opportunities to speak. Suggestions for future research are offered.