Collaborative Research on the Emergence of Social Order in Task Groups

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SES- 0956796Shane R. ThyeUniversity of South CarolinaSES-0957982Edward J. LawlerCornell UniversityThis project investigates why collaboration may not occur among group members even when the conditions for collaboration are present such as common interests and shared identities. The investigators contend that affective ties of people to the group are critical, and these develop from jointly solving tasks that give people a sense of shared responsibility. They hypothesize that in a cooperative group setting, people with common interests and common identities develop affective group ties only if they are involved in joint tasks that give them a sense of shared responsibility. When this occurs, people are more willing to act in the collective interests. The hypothesis is tested in two lab experiments that combine interactions around a task (low or high in jointness) with (a) common interests (experiment 1) or (b) common identities (experiment 2). In the experiment, groups of four people engage in individual and joint tasks that involve well-known survival scenarios, such as "lost on the moon," where participants rank the importance of several items to their survival. BROADER IMPACTS: The project addresses an important and pervasive problem, that is, how to create and sustain social order (cooperation, collaboration, etc.). The issue takes on new relevance in the contemporary world given globalization and associated economic and political changes. People interact with more people at greater distance, all of which make group ties even more important as a source of collaboration and cooperation. This research develops a way to produce and sustain such ties and, thereby, promote individual sacrifices for the group or collective benefit. It has broad implications for how social divides can be crossed or bridged to create new group affiliations.