The influence of positive and negative normative feedback on the development and persistence of group routines

Jilliam Frazier Avery, Purdue University

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of positive and negative normative feedback on the routines developed by groups involved in a repetitive decision making task. It was also of interest to look at the effect of strength of routinization on how groups reacted to later environmental catastrophes. Strength of routinization was expected to be influenced by early exposure to positive or negative feedback and by the length of time the groups were given to routinize. 48 groups of three undergraduate students participated in a repetitive decision making task. Routinization was measured in terms of decision making time, information search, and strategy change. Groups receiving negative feedback routinized faster, but reacted more to the catastrophe than did groups receiving positive normative feedback, as measured by the strategy change variable. No difference between groups was found using decision making time or information search as indicants of routinization. In addition, no differences in the groups' reactions to the introduction of an early versus late environmental catastrophe were found using any of the indicants. Implications for the study of organizational routinization are discussed.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Hofmann, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Occupational psychology

COinS