Two Heads Better Than One?
Is it true that more sensible decisions are reached by putting our heads together? Scientific American on studies that examine the effect of communication on problem solving.
“The first results showed that, yes, two heads were indeed better than one. The volunteers combined their information ‘optimally’ and reached a level that none of the players could possibly achieve as an individual (good news for Warren and Ben!). In effect, the volunteers were able to combine weak neuronal activities residing in two separate brains to maximize performance. There was, however, a twist in the tale. The key to the success was communication – about how they felt about their answer and how confident they were in their decision. When they were not allowed to communicate with each other about their confidence, they couldn’t do any better than the best solo player.”
