ABSTRACT
In the next four chapters, I consider group performance on each of four broad categories of tasks: idea generation tasks, problem-solving tasks, judgment tasks, and decision-making tasks. These are, of course, only a subset of all the many possible tasks that groups perform. For example, they fit just three of the eight types found in McGrath’s (1984) task circumplex (see Chapter 2). Nevertheless, these task categories have commanded the lion’s share of attention in the small group performance literature. For each one, I describe the most important empirical research concerned with group performance on such tasks, giving particular emphasis to recent developments, and suggest where research in the search for synergy on such tasks might best be directed in the future.
