Motivated information processing in group decision making: the case of hidden profiles

When complex problems are to be solved, groups are often used to make decisions. A popular reason for this is the assumption that group members work in a cooperative way and, by consequence, they make more informed decisions. This article reconsiders the classic cooperation assumption and reviews the literature on hidden-profiles from the perspective of competitive motivations. By using recent experimental evidence, this article casts doubt on some classic results and opens new perspectives of research with regard to the role of cooperative and competitive motivations on group decision-making.