A test of synergy in dynamic system control tasks.

Abstract

Individual performance in controlling complex dynamic systems such as managing production in a company or keeping ecosystems in balance is often suboptimal. In this article, we provide the first unequivocal test of whether groups are superior to individuals when controlling dynamic systems. In addition, we test to what extent performance advantages of groups are simply the result of statistically aggregating a larger number of individual opinions and to what extent they represent true synergy attributable to within-group interaction. In 3 experiments, we compared the system control performance of interacting real groups with that of equally sized nominal groups and with individuals. We provide evidence that groups indeed perform better than individuals in dynamic system control tasks. Furthermore, in comparing real groups with nominal groups, we show that, although the majority of real groups’ performance advantage stems from statistical aggregation, there is also evidence of true synergy. Finally, we identify the mechanism by which groups achieve synergy, namely group-to-individual transfer. Discussion allows group members to exchange critical information about the system, leading to an improved individual capability to control the system, which, in turn, improves group performance.

The benefit of collaboration: Disentangling the sources of synergy in group judgments

“…Previous experiments conducted with the aI-G design showed strong support for G-I transfer (Schultze et al, , 2021 while only one experiment -under favoring conditions -showed support for differential weighting. In particular, differential weighting did only occur in a task with a population bias, where the judges overestimated the weight of small items presented in front of them .…”

“…Note that G-I transfer is not restricted to quantitative judgment tasks as it has also been observed in a variety of other tasks. In particular, G-I transfer has been previously identified in groups working on collective induction tasks , in groups solving reasoning tasks , and most recently in groups controlling dynamic systems (Schultze, Drewes, & Schulz-Hardt, 2021). Therefore, relying on interacting groups in organizations is an effective way to enhance the individual capabilities of the workforce.…”

“…Coordination does necessarily take place on the group level. In many tasks, only process losses and not process gains due to coordination are possible, because often the group potential already implies a perfect coordination of the group members' contributions (Drewes, Schultze, & Schulz-Hardt 2021). One example for process loss may be within an additive task such as physical rope pulling (Latané et al, 1979).…”