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Dissertation Information for Suzanne Weishand

NAME:
- Suzanne Weishand
- (Alias) Suzanne Penn Weisband

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Management

SCHOOL:
- Carnegie Mellon University (USA) (1989)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Inspected

Title: Discussion, advocacy and computer-mediated communication effects in group decision-making

Abstract: Investigators have long thought that the positions people advocate in group discussion are closely associated with what the group decides. How might this happen? One reason may be that advocates are good listeners. They hear group discussion, "sense" the group consensus in advance, and then advocate the position publically. Alternatively, advocates might affect group decisions because they are influential. They influence the group decision through acts of dominance and persuasion. This dissertation examines whether the first group member to publically advocate a position in the group has disproportionate influence on the group decision. I also examine whether group discussion by computer mail or face-to-face determined the extent of the first advocate's influence. Possible explanations of first advocacy influence were tested in an experiment that allowed simultaneous observation of three independent variables: (1) Mode of communication (face-to-face/electronic mail), (2) discussion before advocacy (discussion/no discussion), and (3) assignment of first advocate (self-selected/randomly-assigned). It was assumed that a first advocate effect exists if first advocates' stated positions were closer to the group choice than the group's average pregroup preferences were. The results tend to support a "listening" hypothesis. In groups that held discussion before someone advocated a position, the first advocate effect was observed. In the groups that did not discuss the problem before someone said their position, not only was there no first advocate effect, but groups made decisions that were closer to the average pregroup than to the first advocate's proposal. The data suggest that majority influences and the credibility of the first advocate effected group decision making. Group discussions using computer mail contained less argumentation and more social pressure and uninhibited remarks. These group process effects revealed an unexpected third advocate effect and suggest that groups communicating electronically may be less influenced by (or less aware of) group consensus.

MPACT Scores for Suzanne Weishand

A = 1
C = 0
A+C = 1
T = 1
G = 1
W = 1
TD = 1
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:13:46

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