When does diversity trump ability (and vice versa) in group decision making? A simulation study.

ABSTRACT: It is often unclear which factor plays a more critical role in determining a group's performance: the diversity among members of the group or their individual abilities. In this study, we addressed this "diversity vs. ability" issue in a decision-making task. We conducted three simulation studies in which we manipulated agents' individual ability (or accuracy, in the context of our investigation) and group diversity by varying (1) the heuristics agents used to search task-relevant information (i.e., cues); (2) the size of their groups; (3) how much they had learned about a good cue search order; and (4) the magnitude of errors in the information they searched. In each study, we found that a manipulation reducing agents' individual accuracy simultaneously increased their group's diversity,

SUBMITTER: Luan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3281038 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature