Are four heads better than one? Comparing groups and individuals on behavioral rating accuracy

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to determine whether differences between group and individual accuracy on behavioral rating tasks are due to differences in memory sensitivity or to systematic differences in the type of decision criterion adopted. Group vs. individual differences in evaluative judgment and in confidence levels, and the effects of a five-day delay were also investigated. Lastly the relationship between response bias and prior evaluative judgment was explored. The results revealed a group memory superiority but also demonstrated that groups adopt a too-liberal decision criterion when rating the occurrence of effective behaviors. In addition, in the delayed rating condition, groups were found to be more confident in their correct responses than individual subjects. And finally, for individual subjects, prior evaluative decisions were positively related to response bias in the rating of effective behaviors and negatively related to response bias in the rating of ineffective behaviors.