EXPERT ROLE ASSIGNMENT AND INFORMATION SAMPLING DURING COLLECTIVE RECALL AND DECISION-MAKING

Previous research has found that decision-making groups do not effecti vely pool unshared information. This study examined how personal exper tise facilitates the mentioning and validation of unshared information in collective recall and decision-making groups by increasing members ' awareness of who holds what types of information. Assigned expertise increased substantially the proportion of unshared information mentio ned during both collective recall and decision-making tasks. Two resul ts supported the hypothesis that assigned expertise provides validatio n for the recall of unshared information. When expertise was assigned, (a) more of the unshared information mentioned during the recall task was retained on the collectively endorsed written protocol, and (b) u nshared information that was mentioned in discussion was more likely t o be correctly recognized by members after group interaction.