University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Two heads are better than one: Investigating the benefits of interaction in collaborative decision making

Unal, Belgin

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130120

Description

Title
Two heads are better than one: Investigating the benefits of interaction in collaborative decision making
Author(s)
Unal, Belgin
Issue Date
2025-05-30
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Benjamin, Aaron S
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Benjamin, Aaron S
Committee Member(s)
  • Sahakyan, Lili
  • Dell, Gary
  • Zhang, Bo
  • Gupta, Pranav
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • metacognition
  • group decision making
  • interaction
  • collaborative cognition
Abstract
Groups often outperform individuals in cognitive tasks. However, there is little consensus on the cognitive mechanisms that underlie effective teamwork. The present investigation examines whether the process of group interaction plays a critical role in enhancing collective performance. In the first three experiments, participants answered general knowledge questions either in pairs that were allowed to discuss and collaborate, or individually. Individual responses were used to construct nominal groups using a range of established aggregation policies. In all cases, interacting groups consistently outperformed all nominal group variants, suggesting that the advantages of group cognition stem not only from the increased knowledge pool, but from the interactive process itself. A fourth experiment extended this approach to the domain of misinformation detection—an area of pressing real-world concern—revealing a more complex pattern and pointing to potential limits in the generalizability of interaction benefits across task domains. These findings demonstrate the importance of fostering interaction in collaborative settings, where shared reasoning and metacognitive exchange can significantly improve collective decision-making.
Graduation Semester
2025-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130120
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2025 Belgin Ünal

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