ABSTRACT
A substantial research effort has been invested in the study of thechoice shift phenomenon or the group polarization effect forthe past 25 years. The choice shift is the tendency of a group to make a more polarized decision than the average decision of its members. This phenomenon is an extension of the so-called risky shift. The risky choice shift is the tendency of a group to make a riskier decision than the average of its members. It can be compared to the cautious choice shift, the tendency of a group to make a more cautious decision than the average decision of its members. Although the research in this area has tended to focus on the reasons the choice shift occurs, Myers and Larnm (1976) indicated that experiments on this topic apply to the decisionmaking processes used in jury deliberations, negotiations, ethical issues, and person perception. Three explanations of the choice shift have received a considerable amount ofsupport over the years: the diffusion of responsibility hypothesis, the social comparison hypothesis, and the persuasive arguments hypothesis. This chapter reports the results of an experiment that compares these explanations by manipulating the nature of the topic (cautious versus risky), the content of a recorded message (risky versus cautious versus irrelevant), and participation in a group discussion (absence versus presence).
