Definition

Many tasks and decisions are completed by groups of people instead of by a single person. One challenge of group tasks and decisions is that members of groups are not always in agreement with each other; some members of the group might hold that one view or behavior is preferable, whereas other group members might hold that an opposing view or behavior is preferable. For example, work groups may disagree on business plans, medical teams may disagree on patient diagnoses, and trial juries may disagree on a defendant's guilt or innocence.

In many situations in which group members disagree, opposing views are not equally represented in the group. For example, 4 jurors in a 12-person jury may believe the defendant to be not guilty, whereas the ...