Describe the results of the research study on whether groups of people working together have a collective intelligence (Woolley, Chabris, Pentland, Hashmi, & Malone, 2010). What factors contributed (or detracted) from the group’s collective intelligence?

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Briefly discuss a situation in which you worked on a group project at work, school, or within your family. In what ways did your experience reflect the research findings? How was the experience dissimilar?

What will be an ideal response?

ANSWER:
Evidence from the research study suggested that a group or collective intelligence did emerge. For each group, performance across the different tasks was highly and positively correlated. Further statistical analyses ruled out the average individual intelligence of the group or the maximum individual intelligence of individuals in the group as significant predictors of group performance, leaving collective intelligence as a single, strong predictor of group performance.
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What was the basis of this collective intelligence? Surprisingly, typical group features such as motivation, satisfaction, or group cohesion failed to predict group performance. Individual features, such as the individual intelligence of the members, also failed to predict group performance. Instead, the members’ scores on the social sensitivity instrument, called the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test, and how evenly speaking turns were distributed had a large impact on the group’s collective intelligence.
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Students will then discuss a personal experience of working on a group project and compare their experience to the findings of the research study.