When groups are more competitive than individuals: The domain of the discontinuity effect

The related goals of the research were to delineate the domain of discontin uity, Ist by demonstrating its occurrence in a nonmatrix situation and, 2nd , by establishing the antecedent outcome conditions necessary for producing a discontinuity effect. The Ist goal was met by designing a mixed motive s ituation involving the production of origami products. Under these conditio ns, the magnitude of the discontinuity effect did not significantly differ from that in a matrix-only condition, The 2nd goal was met by a separate ex periment that used H. H. Kelley and J. W. Thibaut's (1978) analysis of degr ee of noncorrespondence of outcomes. This experiment demonstrated that as n oncorrespondence increased, so did the rate of competitive responding by gr oups but not by individuals. This pattern was qualified by an interaction w ith gender such that competitiveness was more markedly affected by noncorre spondence for groups of women than for groups of men.