Effects of Stress on Group versus Individual Problem Solving

This study examined the impact of perceived threat and cohesion on the ability of groups to solve problems in a situation of social conflict. The self‐reports and behaviors of 31 groups of college males were studied within a comprehensive, strategic simulation of intergroup conflict. The simulation was based on both a value conflict and an economic competition over scarce resources. A coding scheme for group problem solving was created based in part on Janis' seven symptoms of groupthink. Change scores were calculated over different points in time to assess the relationships among perceived threat, group cohesion, and dysfunctional group problem solving. Large increases in perceived threat were significantly related to decrements in problem‐solving effectiveness regardless of whether cohesion was stable or increased. Groups who reported high and increasing levels of cohesion experienced a decrement in problem solving regardless of the increase in perceived threat, while groups who showed small changes in cohesion demonstrated decreased problem solving under high perceived threat. The results were consistent with Janis' model of groupthink, and Fisher's eclectic model of intergroup conflict.

show abstract

Politicos, Apoliticals, and the Processing of Political Information

Lodge

Wahlke

1982

International Political Science Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While such concepts as "belief systems" and "levels of conceptualization" have played a central role in research on "issue voting" and other important questions, political scientists have paid relatively little attention to the processes by which human organisms process the signs and symbols they encounter in political (or in survey interview) situations, or to how people selectively attend to those stimuli. The research reported here takes from cognitive psychology and information processing the concept of a "schema" which organizes and structures those stimuli in varying ways and to varying degrees. Utilizing various measures of stimulus recall and recognition, it compares the reaction to political and non-political stimuli of persons putatively possessing a well-developed political schema ("politicos") and those lacking such a schema ("apoliticals"). The results suggest that the concept offers a promising approach for research on problems of political perception and response.Contemporary research on political behavior appears committed to the notion that the average American voter is a &dquo;homo-not-so-sapient.&dquo; Gallup polls and similar election-year surveys from the 1930s on have regularly reported low levels of public information in the American electorate. Following Converse's classic work on the nature of belief systems (1964a, 1964b, 1970), most studies characterize the typical citizen as not only having little information about government and politics, but as having attitudes of minimal consistency and content. Some &dquo;revisionist&dquo; researchers have since claimed to find more content and consistency in American voters' minds, and hence more rational and ideological voting than did Converse, leading to a contining &dquo;controversy&dquo; as to whether or not &dquo;rational&dquo; or &dquo;issue&dquo; voting is a genuine phenomenon of American voting behavior (Niemi and Weisberg, 1976).The key question in this controversy, of course, is not whether or not voters behave one way instead of another, or which ones do and at UNIV OF PENNSYLVANIA on June 16, 2015 ips.sagepub.com Downloaded from

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

customersupport@researchsolutions.com

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Effects of Stress on Group versus Individual Problem Solving

Cited by 4 publications

References 15 publications

Environmental stress and individual decision-making: Implications for the patient

Environmental stress and individual decision-making: Implications for the patient

Perceived Threat, Cohesion, and Group Problem Solving in Intergroup Conflict

Politicos, Apoliticals, and the Processing of Political Information

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About