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Political Decision Making in Face-to-Face Groups: Theory, Methods, and an Empirical Application in Switzerland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

Robert H. Dorff  and
Jürg Steiner
Robert H. Dorff
Affiliation:
North Carolina State University
Jürg Steiner
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill University of Geneva
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Abstract

This article presents a model of decision making and introduces a new theoretical variable to the literature, namely, the modes of decision making. The theoretical focus is on the face-to-face group, and the article also develops an innovative methodology for studying this type of decision-making behavior. Variation in the decision modes is explained as a function of the strategic considerations of individual decision makers. These considerations are affected by a set of four independent variables: structure of the decision group, substance of the conflict, context of the conflict, and the decision process. The data, drawn from observations of decision-making groups in Switzerland, are tested with discriminant analysis and a simulation. In both cases total correct classifications exceed 55 percent, indicating that there is a meaningful structure relating variation in the decision modes to the theoretical framework.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 75 , Issue 2 , June 1981 , pp. 368 - 380
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1981

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