Janis (1972) proposed that groupthink is essentially a stress-reduction process. Cohesive groups reduce the stress of decision making by suppressing critical inquiry. Theoretically, groupthink could be prevented in cohesive groups if the stress could be diffused by other factors. We investigated the effects of task structure (decision-making procedures) and an individual factor (dominance) on the quality of group decision making, anxiety, and symptoms of groupthink. Students (n = 112) participated in twenty-eight 4-person, mixed-sex groups. Groups composed of highly dominant members made higher quality decisions, exhibited lower state anxiety, and took more time to reach a decision. They also tended to make more statements of disagreement and agreement, and to report more group influence on the members. Decision-making procedures had little effect on the decision process.

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This article responds to a concern that laboratory experiments, relative to field research, are poorly suited for the study of mediation. An overview of the study of mediation is presented. Methods of field and laboratory research on mediation are described. Then the issue of the generalizability of laboratory research to field settings is discussed. Finally, the results of field and laboratory research on mediation tactics are compared. Most research on when mediators choose to use specific tactics has been field research, but the few laboratory studies have provided comparable results. Both laboratory and field research have been employed to determine the effectiveness of mediation tactics in helping the parties to settle the dispute and fairly consistent results have been obtained across these settings. We conclude that laboratory experiments on mediation should not be considered inferior to field research methods, but rather should be considered complementary.

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