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Argumentation and Emotional Processes in Group Decision-Making: Illustration of a Multilevel Interaction Process Analysis Approach

German Postgraduate School for Administrative Sciences Speyer, Germany, dbeck{at}dhv-speyer.de

Rudolf Fisch

Research Institute for Public Administration at the German Postgraduate School for Administrative Sciences Speyer, Germany

Given the importance of group decision-making for organizations, small group research finds itself challenged to contribute to a better understanding and management of the underlying processes. A multi-level interaction process analysis is presented considering group decision- making as a social interaction process. In an illustrative case study, the deliberation of a jury dramatized in the film ‘Twelve Angry Men’ is analyzed. The interactions are coded at the behavioral level using the Conference Coding System, distinguishing task-oriented, social- emotional and procedural aspects of social interaction. At the content level, the focus is on critical incidents in information exchange, looking for argumentational turning points, and critical points in decision-making. Different data analysis strategies are used to study the interaction process at the behavioral and content level and their interdependence. The results are interpreted in the context of different theories on group decision-making and several heuristic hypotheses about the process dynamics of group decision-making are derived.

Key Words: group decision-making • group information processing • interaction process analysis

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