Determinants of support for group decisions

The effects of three factors on the reactions of group members toward a group decision and the support they subsequently accorded such decisions were examined. These factors were: (a) the decision process used by the group (majority rule with formal voting, discussion to unanimity, discussion to majority agreement, or choice by an experimenter appointed executor); (b) the level of prediscussion agreement among group members (concordance); and (c) the relative extent to which an individual's preferences were congruent with his group's decision (relative individual goal attainment, RIGA). Individual ratings of satisfaction with decisions, anticipated commitment to decisions, and the support accorded to decisions were highest in groups with initially high concordance and among individuals higher on RIGA. Members of groups required to reach unanimity and those run by executive choice exhibited comparable support for their groups' decisions across all levels of concordance. In groups required to discuss to majority agreement, support of the group decisions dropped markedly under low levels of concordance. Individual ratings of the difficulty experienced in reaching a decision were highest in groups required to reach unanimous agreement. However, members of these groups showed the greatest degree of postdecision change in the direction of their groups' decisions.