ERIC Number: EJ1051759
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Aug
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0012-1649
EISSN: N/A
How Do Children Share Information in Groups?
Gummerum, Michaela; Leman, Patrick J.; Hollins, Tara S.
Developmental Psychology, v50 n8 p2105-2114 Aug 2014
Group decision making should be particularly beneficial when group members share unique information, because then a group can make a better decision than each group member alone. This study examined how elementary-school children share unique information during group decision making. Seventy-nine groups of 3 same-sex and same-age 7- and 9-year-old children (N = 237) had to decide which 1 of 2 hypothetical candidates should play the lead role in a school musical. When information was unshared, group members had to exchange their uniquely held information to identify the best candidate. Only a minority of groups picked the best candidate when information was unshared. Yet, groups of 7-year-old children were better at identifying the best candidate and were less likely to focus on the discussion of shared information than groups of 9-year-olds. These findings are interpreted with reference to processes underlying information sharing in groups, namely collective information sampling, preference-consistent evaluation, and collaborative inhibition/intersubjectivity.
Descriptors: Group Dynamics, Sharing Behavior, Elementary School Students, Children, Information Dissemination, Age Differences, Cooperation, Foreign Countries, Inhibition, Group Discussion, Decision Making, Coding, Comparative Analysis, Participative Decision Making
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A