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.
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You have been up all night studying for an important midterm examination and are a little tired. As you reach for your hot chocolate, you accidentally touch the hot burner on the stove. You quickly pull your hand away from the burner. Which of the following statements about your action is true?
A. The medulla oblongata and cerebellum played major parts in your response. B. The reflexive command came from the spinal cord. C. Glial cells did most of the work necessary to move your hand. D. Your brain sent instructions, via the spinal cord, to pull away from the burner.
A frequency table is most likely to be included in a research article when
A) the variable involves categories. B) there are a very small number of scores. C) a correlation is being reported. D) there are only two values for the variable.
After a vesicle fuses with the presynaptic membrane and releases its contents into the synaptic cleft, the membrane is
a. destroyed by astrocytes. b. incorporated into the postsynaptic membrane. c. recycled to form new vesicles. d. degraded and the debris removed from the axon terminal. e. incorporated into the mitochondria.
The following finding suggests that the sex drive of women is influenced by testosterone:
A) Replacement injections of testosterone increased the proceptivity of ovariectomized and adrenalectomized female rhesus monkeys. B) Various measures of sexual motivation were correlated with the testosterone levels of healthy women. C) Replacement injections of testosterone increased the sexual motivation of woman who had been both ovariectomized and adrenalectomized. D) all of the above E) none of the above