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How Do Groups Work? Age Differences in Performance and the Social Outcomes of Peer Collaboration
Author(s) -
Leman Patrick J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
cognitive science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.498
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1551-6709
pISSN - 0364-0213
DOI - 10.1111/cogs.12172
Subject(s) - group cohesiveness , constructive , salient , psychology , group process , group (periodic table) , social group , class (philosophy) , peer group , contrast (vision) , group work , age groups , social psychology , process (computing) , mathematics education , sociology , computer science , demography , artificial intelligence , chemistry , organic chemistry , operating system
Do children derive different benefits from group collaboration at different ages? In the present study, 183 children from two age groups (8.8 and 13.4 years) took part in a class quiz as members of a group, or individually. In some groups, cohesiveness was made salient by awarding prizes to the top performing groups. In other groups, prizes were awarded to the best performing individuals. Findings, both in terms of social outcomes and performance in the quiz, indicated that the 8‐year olds viewed the benefits of group membership in terms of the opportunities to receive information from other members. The 13‐year olds, in contrast, viewed group collaboration as a constructive process where success was connected with group cohesiveness.