Are more heads more motivated than one? The role of communication in group belief updating

Nina Xue (), Lata Gangadharan () and Philip J. Grossman ()
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Nina Xue: Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business
Lata Gangadharan: Monash University
Philip J. Grossman: Monash University

Department of Economics Working Papers from Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics

Abstract: Many decisions are made by groups operating under uncertainty, with beliefs playing a critical role. However, little is known about how groups, often driven by self-serving motivations, aggregate these beliefs. In an experiment, we examine how groups form and update beliefs following communication. Belief updating in groups is more asymmetric (and pessimistic) but this asymmetry is not driven by self-serving motivations. Based on text analyses, risk is a prominent topic in discussions and we observe a self-serving bias in more risk-averse groups. Group decision making is a necessary but not sufficient condition for biased beliefs – group composition also matters.

Keywords: belief updating; group decision making; self-serving bias; communication; experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 C92 D23 D83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-03
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